A few questions:

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Hi, up until the last week I've not read up on broodies/hatching/and everything that comes with it, 3 of my 4 girls are ex barn/batt hens( got them from a farm where mum referred to them as barns and daughter referred to them as batts :? ), and the other which I got from elsewhere is looking a little old so I never thought any of them would be broody. Well my old looking girl went broody, I've read a little and decided to let her sit, she is currently sat on 6 light sussex eggs. We are on day 5 now. I've read lots on candling eggs, shifting mum to eat, drink and poop etc.

So Q1: Do I HAVE to candle the eggs? I'm not sure I'm going to be able to determine much and don't have any high tech equipment but if it is something that is absolutely necessary then I will give it a go obviously.

Q2: I try and shift mum off the nest once a day to eat, drink, poop and stretch her legs but she is very reluctant and often pecks me. Is once a day enough or too much?

Q3: Is there anything specific I should be feeding mum? She has mixed corn atm but I've not been able to leave the village this week (damn car!) but will get someone to fetch me something if I need to

Q4: Anything else I need to do in preparation for any impending arrivals?

Thanks for reading x
 
Hello, no, you dont have to candle eggs- you can just take the chance that some are fertile-the only problem is if none are fertile and you let her sit for 21 days to find you have no chicks-most people candle eggs at 7-10 days and remove the infertile ones- if you dont or cant candle them them you are just trusting to luck if you will have chicks- it's not a major problem as the chances are at least some of the eggs will be fertile.
Once a day is fine for most broodies- they will always be reluctant to be removed but you need to get them off once a day at least- try to keep to the same sort of time -as they get into a routine.
Mixed corn is fine for a broodie- it takes longer to digest so will keep her in better condition than pellets while broody. Once she has chicks remove the corn and only feed mum and chicks with chick crumbs- so you need to get these before hatch day.
Have you got her in a separate run/coop? the hen and chicks will need to be on their own somewhere dry and warm- especially at this time of year.
regards, David :)
 
Thanks David.

Yes she is in an adapted rabbit hutch, she tends to stay in the 'bed' area, it's where she set herself up after I moved her away from the other hens.

Chick crumbs are on my list for when I get out, also I've read about different drinkers to stop the chicks drowning...where might I find these? We have mole valley farmers and countrywide stores here, are they any good? Or are there alternative things to use?

I will have a go at candling but don't promise much lol.

I try and shift her at 8am everyday, regardless of warmth/light she always 'sleeps in' til 8am, bless her!

Thanks again
 
If you have a good torch it'll do the trick for candling. Just ensure you look at the eggs in total darkness and hold the torch to one side, the far side from you and then look at the near side and you'll soon be able to see if anything is happening in the eggs.
 
Hi, you should be able to get chick drinkers at either of those stores- the plastic ones are cheap but the eltex galvanised ones are more expensive but will last a lifetime.
regards, David :)
 
Hi
I made a candler out of a shoe box. I cut a small, circular hole in the side of the box, big enough to sit the rounded end of the egg on. I then put a torch inside the box pointing towards the hole, the stronger the light the better. Once the light was on and in position I closed the box then I put a piece of kitchen towel over the hole and sat the egg onto it. It worked really well. Got the idea from You Tube!
Good luck
Moira
 
Good luck on your first hatch......We made a similar candler on with our first hatch which was very succesful.

Gill :)
 
Thanks everyone.

This morning though, I'm not holding out much hope. When I uncovered her hutch this morning (rained last night so covered it over) she was still sitting, but next to the nest of eggs, the eggs were cool, not stone cold but definately not as warm as they were. As soon as I had moved on to sort the other hens though she was back on the nest and is there now like nothing was wrong lol, but I don't know if the damage has already been done because I don't know how long she was off of the nest. Any ideas on whether they might survive or not?
 
Just to try and put your mind at rest I had a Light Sussex hen get of 10 eggs part way through incubation. The eggs went cool (almost cold) to the touch. She got back on later in the day and at day 21 10 chicks hatched. Best of luck with the eggs. At times when I havn't enough chick drinkers I put clean stones in the drinking area of a larger one so the chicks can jump on and drink but will not drown.
 
Hi clucky

My advice is to leave her to it. Only recently i had an incubator failure at day 18, the eggs were quite cool when i realised. Luckily i had a broody hen, who i let sit on two eggs as she just wouldn't give up, outside in a rabbit hutch. I ran out and rather unceremoniously stuffed the other 12 eggs under her.
Three days later i heard cheeping and she had 6 chicks under her wings by the evening. There were four unfertile eggs, one unhatched chick and one that had made it out but remained wet and died in the nest. I did find one of the week old chicks dead in the shavings yesterday, it was fine in the morning, no obvious reason why perhaps it got squashed.
The main point is i didn't give up and at least i have five chicks who are eating and drinking and appear well.

Good luck
Jojo
 
Hi Clucky ---there is a reason for candeling your eggs even if you can't see a thing--it really is one of those things you only learn by doing it yourself ! Ros
 
Hi Ros, thanks. I did attempt to candle the eggs on day 7, I only managed a couple before she looked very uncomfortable and agitated but both seemed to have some spidery veiny bits and a small mass in the middle. No idea what it means but at least I saw something lol
 
Clucky--what it means is that you have an embryonic chick in there!! Ros :)
 
Hahaha, I'd took a stab in the dark and guessed that that is what it was but wasn't sure on what I'd see at that stage. We are on day 10 now.
 
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