[tesni]

I think my incubated eggs are a bust - one last desperate candling later on and into the bin I think 
However one of my hens is looking broody - she is a big ungainly thing tho' and I'm not sure she will be up to the task of actually hatching eggs. I don't think she has actually broken any eggs but she is a lump of a thing (beautiful partridge laced cochin) and yesterday when I took the eggs from beneath her one or two were well away from her and cold..... how do I test whether or not she is careful and dedicated enough before I risk some fertilised eggs under her?    or should I just give her a few and trust to instinct? 

[Tattyanne456]

you can buy rubber eggs, but I was told  that a broody would even sit on golf balls!

[joyfull]

Just try her and keep an eye on her - one of my broodies kept forgetting which coop she was supposed to be in and kept leaving her eggs and sitting in a nest box on nothing  . After a few days it was like watching a light go on when she went to the empty nest box - remembered her eggs then ran squarking back to them, no problems after that 

[tesni]

thanks - will pop some under her and see how she does then *fingers crossed*  :blink:  
can but try, as I'm here all day most days at the moment I suppose it is the best time to give it a go - I shall be popping in & out of the back door like one of those weather thingies     If the weather is ok I can stake the run out and stare at them all day!
Is it best to seperate her into the 'sick bay coop' ('run in run' sort of affair) in sight of the others? or leave them all in together do you think?

[joyfull]

This is what I do.
Make sure she sits tight on the eggs for a week or so (remember to take her off them twice a day to eat, drink and poop if she doesn't take herself off them). Then I get my broody coop ready and in the afternnon I hold mum under one arm and then move the eggs a couple at a time into the broody coop with mum watching what I am doing. When all the eggs are moved I place mum on the eggs and shut her in until the following morning so she can settle. Good luck 

[Foghorn-Leghorn]

I followed joyfull's advice to the letter when I had a broody hen (and Imelda is a big, somewhat clumsy girl).  Admittedly we did have a few mishaps - a few broken eggs - but we did end up with two lovely chicks and Imelda has been a fantastic mum throughout.  Like joyfull said, there can be a few hiccups for the first day or so and then the realisation seems to dawn and they just seem to know what to do.  If you do go for it, just remember to check for eggs tucked up in their armpits (wingpits?!) when you lift them off the eggs!

[tesni]

taking notes!  does yr broody coop have a seperate run or do they range together (if she gets off the eggs) during the day?  will the other girls bother her if they can get in to her or do they just ignore?  whenever mine have shown signs of going broody I have always discouraged them in the past -  sorry to keep harrassing but I want to give myself/the chicks the best chance etc  :blink: 

[Foghorn-Leghorn]

I have a separate broody coop and run but when I lifted the broody off for food and water I used to put her down with the other girls in the main run to feed.  I did try feeding her in her own run but she didn't ever get into the idea of it.  As my run is standing height, it was fairly easy to extract the broody and then shut the door behind to keep the others from investigating the broody coop, because we all know how nosey chickens are!

She never got off the eggs unless I lifted her and some days she didn't eat or drink very much at all.  Don't panic about this as I think they know when they really do need to take fluids, etc.  I used to get her out on an evening when I gave the other girls their corn and/or treats and at least then I knew she was getting some food.  It also galvanised her into moving a bit better as sometimes she'd just try to sit on the floor in the same position as how she sat on the eggs.  I even had to give her a little shake as I put her down to get her to "snap out of it" briefly.  It's really odd, like someone flicking a switch.

At first I had to catch her and put her back in the coop when her 10 mins were up but after a while she knew when she was ready to go back and I just used to open the run door and off she'd pop.

Sorry if this is a long winded reply and I do hope it makes some sense for you!

[tesni]

not long winded - I'm hanging on every word 
So grateful that you are willing to share & help, thanks to everyone who has taken the time & effort to answer my queries and I'm sure some have been queerer than many!!   

[Foghorn-Leghorn]

I'm happy to help - I owe an awful lot of my experience and information gleaned to the incredibly helpful people on this forum.  They have helped me with with lots of varied questions and I think it's only fair I share my own experiences in return 

[Tattyanne456]

Your not being a pain at all,  the members here are so helpful, friendly and knowledgeable, thats what makes this such a fantastic site. This is my first attempt at hatching eggs. I have a hen that regularly goes broody, at first I used to try to snap her out of it, but I always felt really mean, because shes only doing what comes naturally. So this year, I happend to mention to a chap that I had a broody and he gave me 8 bantam eggs to pop under her. Boy this has been a learning curve for her and me!! This is what I did with the expertise gleened from this site. I have separated her, check under her wings before I lift her twice daily and move her away from the house so that she has to get up to walk back in I also chuck a little corn and or mealworms to encourage her to eat. She instinctively goes back in. At first, she wasn't getting up off the eggs at all, and after a couple of days I lifted her and she had started to leak faeces into the nest! So now I make sure to lift her twice daily. We now have five of the original 8 left, with only 5 days till they hatch! Now thats what you call a long winded reply! lol Good luck.

[tesni]

good luck with yr chicks TA, fingers crossed and let me know how it goes.... five days and counting    thanks for all the advice - as the saying goes .... I'll be back 

[Tattyanne456]

I'm sad to say that I've just been out to lift Betty for her evening stretch, and found another broken egg!! I took it out  and  the tiny chick was still alive and lived for a couple of minutes! it wasnt hatching, I dont think, because it was still in its sac with a lot of yolk.  I feel so upset that it got this far. I'm hoping she doesnt break any more.