Charleesie
In the Brooder
- Jul 4, 2018
- 1
- 0
- 17
Hello! I’m new to this forum but hope this is the right place to post this question.
My broody hen (frizzle Pekin bantam) went broody over a week ago. This is her first time going broody so I let her sit on unfertile eggs for a week just to be sure she’d commit.
On Saturday afternoon I gave her 6 fertile L/F eggs to sit on, and all was going well.
This morning I checked on her and found one of her eggs had rolled out of her nest, it was cold so must have been there through the night. so I popped it back in front of her and she tucked it under, but pulled out another broken egg. I picked her up to check the others and one was missing entirely!
I’m assuming it broke at some point and she ate it. I removed the broken egg too. So she’s down to 4 eggs, one of which was left to go cold for a night.
So I guess what I’m asking is should I let her continue with the 4 eggs she has (including the cold one) or shall I get 6 fresh fertile eggs under her from now? What are the chances of the cold egg still hatching? She’s got it back under her now. I’d rather have 6 chicks than 3! Is it okay to add 2 more eggs now? Or is the time difference between them (2.5/3 days) too long?
Another thing to add, she shares her coop with my other frizzle bantam who has 3 4week old chicks. They all share a run and garden with a mixed flock of 6 other hens who live in a larger coop next to theirs. The frizzles both chose to live separately when broody but still run with the rest of the flock. I leave the doors open during the days so they can all get in and out and visit each other. Both coops have food and water.
Really hoping somebody will have the answer to my ramblings! Thanks so much in advance.
My broody hen (frizzle Pekin bantam) went broody over a week ago. This is her first time going broody so I let her sit on unfertile eggs for a week just to be sure she’d commit.
On Saturday afternoon I gave her 6 fertile L/F eggs to sit on, and all was going well.
This morning I checked on her and found one of her eggs had rolled out of her nest, it was cold so must have been there through the night. so I popped it back in front of her and she tucked it under, but pulled out another broken egg. I picked her up to check the others and one was missing entirely!
I’m assuming it broke at some point and she ate it. I removed the broken egg too. So she’s down to 4 eggs, one of which was left to go cold for a night.
So I guess what I’m asking is should I let her continue with the 4 eggs she has (including the cold one) or shall I get 6 fresh fertile eggs under her from now? What are the chances of the cold egg still hatching? She’s got it back under her now. I’d rather have 6 chicks than 3! Is it okay to add 2 more eggs now? Or is the time difference between them (2.5/3 days) too long?
Another thing to add, she shares her coop with my other frizzle bantam who has 3 4week old chicks. They all share a run and garden with a mixed flock of 6 other hens who live in a larger coop next to theirs. The frizzles both chose to live separately when broody but still run with the rest of the flock. I leave the doors open during the days so they can all get in and out and visit each other. Both coops have food and water.
Really hoping somebody will have the answer to my ramblings! Thanks so much in advance.
