Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: jax86 on July 17, 2011, 17:29
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I have a Buff Orpington who is sitting on a clutch of 6 hatching eggs; she is definitely broody and spends all her time sitting.
I have noticed however that she does not always sit on ALL the eggs, so I have been moving them around and putting them under her. This is the first time I have allowed my hens to hatch so I am not sure if I am doing the right thing. It doesn’t seem to be the same egg each time and the egg on the edge is cool to the touch. Does this mean that there is a chance that none of the eggs will hatch if left uncovered for any length of time? Would it be better to reduce the clutch and incubate them?
Any advice would be appreciated
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don't worry she may just be turning them, they will all get the correct amount of heat :)
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Hello Jax86 and welcome to the forum :)
I am not an expert but I'm sure someone with more experience will be along to advise.
I have had broody hens sitting on clutches of eggs. My instinct is that broody hens will roll the eggs around and if they feel they are getting too hot they will roll them to the edge of the group and roll them back in later.
My first time I thought the same as you and took an egg out that she seemed to have left at the edge. Unfortunately it was viable and might well have hatched. I would leave the broody hen to do her thing.
Sometimes the broody hen will roll one egg well away from the rest and stop brooding it. This usually means that the egg is not viable and would not have hatched.
You might like to try candling the eggs to see if they are developing.
Good luck and keep us posted. By the way pictures of the chicks are a statutory requirement of this forum :D
Joyfull, your fast fingers have beaten me again :lol:
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Thanks for your advice - I can't believe how worrying all this is but very exciting at the same time.
Photos are a promise
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I agree with Joyfull. And 6 eggs are not a lot for an Orpington to cope with. :)
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Hi
Thanks to you all, she is doing really well and seems to be coping ok, I make her come off the nest for about 10 mins or so twice a day to make sure she eats and drinks. So now its just a waiting game untill they hatch. I also read that you are not supposed to touch the eggs at all is this true??
thanks
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You can touch them to candle them if you like. Do it while your hen is off the nest.
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Hi, thanks, can i trouble you with one more question?
When she is off the nest and in the garden with my other 3 girls (a Brahma, Cochin and a Kraienkoppe) the others chase her away, is this because she ruffles her feathers and charges up the garden, or is it because she has spent the last few weeks away from the flock?
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its because they think she should be sat on the eggs hatching the next generation :)
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LoL :D
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Hi
I have now purchased a secondary coop for Mrs Orpington and her babies, when is the best time to introduce her to this new home, now a week and a half before the eggs hatch or wait until the eggs have hatched and move both her and the chicks to their new temporary home?
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I would move her late in the afternoon in the next day or so and shut her in with her eggs (just done it with one of mine on Sunday). In the morning make sure she comes out to stretch etc and check that she knows where to go back (easier if the broody coop has its own run).
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Hi, my Orpington is broody too (and is set on 5 eggs) and your posts' replies have answered some of my Q.s too so thanks for posting and replies :nowink:
The first day my girl wasn't sitting on one of the eggs so I moved it back under her no problem. I have been lifting her off twice a day to eat, drink stretch etc and she's not best pleased with me for it lol!! And when I lifted her off this morning she had all 5 eggs under her but all were spread out and not touching, I marked them out of interest to see where they moved to (I'm a first timer lol!!). When I returned her 1/2 hour later to the other end of the run near to her nesting box she eagerly went in and immediately settled onto them. The box entrances are 2/3rd covered at the moment with double layer of towel and so I watched her and she swapped the eggs about rolling them with her beak then popping them back under her. I was totally amazed and in awe. Mother nature is amazing and I feel sad and it's a great shame we as humans have lost so uch or our innate behaviours.
Best of luck with your when are they expected? :)
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The chicks are due to hatch next weekend so fingers crossed all will be fine, if they all hatch I am expecting 2 black cochin, 2 silver laced wyandotte and 2 Vorwerk.
Thanks to all, I so appreciate these forums and the advice and help given
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:D very exciting. I am tragically more excited than my 3 young children :blush: that said I am pretty damn sure when the cute little budles arrive I wont get a look in! Thank goodness it's a 3 week turnaround could you imagine waiting a whole 9 months again?!
I eagerly await your post with news :)
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Quick update,
It was 21 days yesterday and no chicks yet, I can hear cheeps but not from all of them. I assume that they will not all hatch at the same time but should they all hatch in the same day?
how long should I leave eggs that have not hatched before I remove them?
Any guidance would be appreciated
thanks in advance
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the 21 day rule is just a generalisation - they can be several days apart so please be patient, have chick crumb and chick drinker there ready and sit on your hands to prevent going and looking :D
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What Joyfull says :)
I had one chick hatch out on Easter Monday, which was day 22 and the other didn't hatch until the Thursday after that (day 26).
Good luck and keep us posted...oh and don't forget the pics when they hatch :D
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Well, the saga continues
Only one egg hatched in the end, we took the eggs back to the farm and it turned out that 3 were unfertilized, 1 never developed and the other was a fully formed chick but didnt make it out of the egg
So yesterday evening we picked up two 2 day old chicks to replace the eggs. We introduced the chicks and all seemed to go well but today Mrs O does not seem too pleased with the new additions, she pecks at them quite harshly and does not seem to care if they are left outside alone in the run. If we pick up the chicks and put them under her she seems ok. I am not sure if I should remove the chicks and rear them indoors or persevere. Last thing I want to do is find them harmed in any way
Pleas help! :(
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I am not an expert; however my instinct would be to protect the chicks. If she's not really accepting them I would put them under a heat lamp and rear them yourself. You might want to put the chicks together when Mrs O lets you know that she has had enough of her chick and is ready to join the other hens.
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Hello, I'm a totally new member here, my coop arrived this morning and I get my hens at start of Sept (Buff Orpington, Rhodie,White Sussex and 2 Speckledy's) I love this thread and cant wait to hear how your little chicks-to-be are doing :)
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I have checked twice this evening and all three chicks are under mum, so i will leave them where they are for tonight. I will check tomorrow and if she still seems not too keen then I will rear them indoors. So fingers crossed
At the moment I dont have a heat lamp so need to go shopping tomorrow if its looking a bit iffy
As allways thanks for your advice
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If you can't get a heat lamp tomorrow, then a 60watt fireglow bulb will be good for a few days.
To save on electric, a ceramic dull emitter for a vivarium (these should be readiy available in a large pet shop) would be a good choice :)
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In the morning all chicks were still under mum, so I left them where they were. At lunchtime I checked on them again and Mrs O had pecked one of the chicks, it had a bald patch and a little scab on its back. So I removed them, popped them in a container under a heat lamp in the utility room.
The little injured chick is looking a bit sorry for itself, could kick myself now. Anyway will have to wait and see how she goes.
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Good luck with them and keep us posted :)