Broody Hen!

I have a VERY broody Blue Cochin hen, Cosette, who insists on staying on her nest. So, I thought I would try a little experiment with her (animals were not harmed during this experiment :). A few weeks ago I asked a lady I know, who has sold me a few of her chickens in the past (Cosette one of them) if I could have a few of her fertile eggs (She's got roosters, hens, ducks of all kinds). So I picked them up (the eggs can last about 10 days in the nest before they get rotten. A hen will lay a clutch-usually 10 eggs-one egg a day, so the embryos inside are basically frozen in time until the 10th day, then the hen will sit on them until they hatch! Which is around 21 days) and when she was out getting her food and water for the day, I snuck them in (I only put 3 in). The hen is okay with this, more the merrier! (Actually my RIR hen will sneak in while Cosette is out, and lay her egg! So then Cosette will come back and sit on the eggs and hide them from me! Who says chickens aren't smart?

So, HOPEFULLY the eggs will hatch, for a little over two weeks. So if this experiment works, in another week we will have little fuzz balls running around the coop! So exciting!

Here are some things to know if you want to try this too:

-your hen is broody if she will raise her hackle (neck) feathers, and literally make a screaming sound, or even peck you depending how tame she is (don't be offended, she is trying to protect her eggs)

-let the broody hen sit on one of her eggs for a few days to see how determined she is

-if so, you can find someone who has a rooster and hens and some of those eggs are bound to be fertile (but there is a 50/50 chance they will even hatch, and some may not be fertile)

-it is fine if your hen comes out for a couple minutes a few times during the day, or in the morning for no more than 20 minutes. she will need to eat, drink, and poop (she will hold it in the whole day! now thats commitment!)

-also, give her some corn feed, so she wont get underweight, or you can give her the laying pellets a couple times a day

-make sure the coop is insulated, and not too cold, make sure the nesting box is full of shavings, so the moister, heat, etc will stay in. and it is a good idea to put her nesting box further away if she is getting bugged by the other chickens, or all together separate

-you can check on the eggs by putting some treats in the corner, and (with gloves, just in case) stick your hand under and very carefully and slowly lift her up (sometimes she will put the eggs under her feathers-armpit area) just enough to make sure all is well

-once they hatch, instincts will kick in and the hen should be able to care for her chicks all by herself, if she rejects them go to: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html

-but you do need to have the chicks to be able to access their own chick starter crumble, and to be extra safe, you can keep the mother hen and chicks separate from the others for the first few months, unless she has hatched them in the coop and the others aren't hurting the chicks, and seem to be fine with it...

-here are other sources that you can read about:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html *****(must read!)

http://www.lifestyleblock.co.nz/lifestyle-file/article/259-hatching-using-broody-hens.html

http://poultrykeeper.com/chickens/incubation-and-hatching/incubation-using-a-broody-hen.html
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html