Broody Cochin

[stanhol]

One of my girls has been sitting on an egg since yesterday. If you go anywhere near her she makes a dreadful noise, fluffs up her feathers and pecks!!!!!!
Do i leave her to get fed up with it or should i encourage her to get off! She was doing this last week but only for about 1/2 a day or so then obviously either got bored or forgot why she was sitting in the nest box!
I read yesteday on the net that domestic chickens dont hatch their own eggs, and that brooding is not good! BUT i dont want to upset her too much!!!!!!

Many thanks in advance, Sandra

[Glutton4...]

A couple of my ex-batts get like this occasionally. I just remove the eggs and they get fed up with the idea soon enough!

Good luck

[stanhol]

Thanks for the reply. Just reading some more on net. Apparently cochin are well known for this and are good mothers!
The egg is likely to be fertile as i have one cockeral, who has been a very busy chap!!!!
IF there is a chance that she will hatch it i am happy to leave her.
Should i pop some water and food in the nest box for her????????

Many thanks Sandra

[Birdie Wife]

Cochins are the large version of Pekins, which are also renowned for being brilliant broodies

If you're happy to let her get on with it, put food and water close to the coop, she should get off the nest for a short time each day to do a Really Big Poo, stretch her legs and have a beaful of food and water.

If you can, it would be better to separate her from the other hens so that they don't continue to lay in the nestbox, if that's where she's brooding. If they lay in her nest and she continues to brood then some eggs will hatch sooner than others and when the first chicks are ready to be active, she will have to get off the nest to look after them and there's likely to be half-developed chicks in other eggs

Try and get hold of a copy of Katie Thears' Guide to Incubation and Rearing, it's really good.

Good luck! And we'll expect pictures of the chicks in about three weeks

[Nicos]

Go for it!!! I did - and now I have 3 babies -7 and 5 weeks running around!

Why not pop a couple of other fertile eggs under her at the same time???Might as well

If you can keep her away from the other gals you'll avoid the probs I had with the other gals interfering ...and then deciding they'll do it too!( = no eggs for 8 weeks!)

If you don't want to then take the eggs and keep putting her outside.

...bet you let her do it !!!!!

[Hilary B]

It seems a pity to only have one chick to hatch, but if you are going to add more, it should be done straight away to avoid too big a difference in dates. DEFINITELY keep her isolated from any other layers, to avoid the 'hatching a bit later' problem.

Cochins are WONDERFUL mothers, although if it is her first attempt she MAY get it wrong.

[elizajay]

I have pekin bantams, just hens. Two years ago 2 0ut of 3 went broody and I bought in some fertile eggs, marked them in pencil and put them under the most determined broody. The next morning both hens were squashed into the broody nest. I left them to get on with it and they hatched 9 out of 9 eggs. All went well until the fox ripped a plank off the henhouse one night and ate one mother and 2 babies. The second mother is sitting on a mixture of eggs and chicks - this time I bought maran bantam eggs. Chick one hatched yesterday morning and 3 more have hatched. There are 5 more eggs, but so far no signs of hatching. The chicks are georgous, but I wish they hadn't hatched to such foul weather. While she was sitting on eggs I tossed her off the nest 2-3 times a day. Now that the chicks have hatched, she won't leave them. Last time the mothers took breaks separately so there was always one to brood. This time I was always able to tell if one of the others sneaked an egg into the nest because the maran eggs are brown. I can't imagine how they do it, but they always seemed to manage to get their egg in the middle of the bunch.

[stanhol]

It does seem a shame only to have 1 when it takes 21 days!!!
My other 2 girls have decided not to lay today, just typical. I will keep an eye on them tomorrow and whip the eggs under blondie avoiding the pecking!

A BIG thankyou to everyone who has replied. Fingers crossed she doesnt get bored or forgets what shes doing, blonde by name blonde by nature! ha ha ha

Sandra

[MaureenHall]

Oh good luck with them Little chicks for Easter