Smart Feeder - Light sensor values

[AJuff]

My coumbine has been broody for two days. She is very fluffed up and all gentle. I've moved her into the eglu and she is sitting on two duff eggs!! Is there a window of opportunity to put fertile eggs under her? By the time I bought some fertile eggs it could be a few days?

[abwsco]

If she sits tight on the duff eggs you should be fine to try her on proper ones when you get them

[AJuff]

Thanks. If I buy eggs online and they come throught he post do i need to let them rest before putting them under her?

[teri]

my broody sat for a week on dud eggs, she then sat for nearly four weeks on eggs which just didn't hatch and then sat straight away on a dozen new eggs for a final three weeks until she was rewarded with seven chicks! thats some sitting I think if your girl is broody enough she will sit for as long as it takes!

I would let the eggs rest for the day and pop them under at night, this is less stressful for mom! good luck

[atsw]

Thanks. If I buy eggs online and they come throught he post do i need to let them rest before putting them under her?

Yes, let them rest, pointy end down, for 24hrs at room temperature. Hens can't count, once 'in the zone' she will continue to sit for as long as it takes to hatch the eggs she is sitting on. She won't notice if the ones that hatch aren't the ones she started on, or indeed, if more hatch than she started out with and don't actually look like her!

 

Andrew

[AJuff]

Oh and i forgot to ask . . how many eggs should I put under her?

[Phosphorus]

Thanks. If I buy eggs online and they come throught he post do i need to let them rest before putting them under her?

Yes, let them rest, pointy end down, for 24hrs at room temperature. Hens can't count, once 'in the zone' she will continue to sit for as long as it takes to hatch the eggs she is sitting on. She won't notice if the ones that hatch aren't the ones she started on, or indeed, if more hatch than she started out with and don't actually look like her!

 

Andrew

 

Or if suddenly duff eggs that were DIS are replaced by 2 day old chicks Poor broody hens the things we trick them with

[laurmurf]

I was offered 12 eggs off an ebay buy but only took 10 for my broody to sit on. I wanted to make sure she could cover them all and turn them without knocking against each other too much. Our first hatch had different size eggs, which isn't recommended, so i only put 8 under her to start with - 6 hatched. The next lot of 10 are all the same size eggs (fingers crossed for speckled sussex )

 

good luck and i'll look forward to hearing your news!

[AJuff]

Oh dear I've put 6 white silkie eggs and 6 cream legbar eggs and they are different sizes. Should I remove them and put them under the other broody I've got????????

[AJuff]

Well I've been out and removed the latger cream legbar eggs from under her and put them under the other broody who was very happy. I learn something new on this forum every week!!

[Lewis]

Well I've been out and removed the latger cream legbar eggs from under her and put them under the other broody who was very happy. I learn something new on this forum every week!!

They probably would have been ok, but at least they now both get chicks!

[laurmurf]

I did exactly that at the beginning - we had 12 eggs under 3 different broodies to start off with. As we candled them and removed the clears (12 to 10) we had the eggs under two broodies and then moved the final 8 apparently fertile eggs under the one broody about a week before hatch (so that any hatched chicks would grow up together). That's how we ended up with some different size eggs under the one in the end. Of the 8 eggs, 6 hatched under the one hen and were different sizes (still are different size chicks, but that doesn't seem to be a problem).

 

I've just read an article in an old Practical Poultry that recommends using several broodies (if you have them) to move eggs about as necessary. It worked a treat for me: as we still had a broody with nothing under her, we then got some more fertile eggs and put them under her too. We still have one broody who's not sitting on anything and it does seem such a waste... but even I can work out that we'd be overwhelmed with chooks if I carry on like this!