# Could my hen be over heating her eggs



## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

interesting dilemma here, and I'll admit right now it could be that I have hens trying to sit when it's over 100° outside. But I know I have more then 1 issue going on, and the current temps may only be a part of that.

1 my rooster is under preforming. He's a 3 year old lavender orphington and was injured last year in a hawk attack, we never found damage other then missing tail feathers that have never grown back, but suspect we just couldn't find the actual injury. Key indications *early spring we incubated with less then 50% early viability totally 48 eggs 18 stayed in after a week only 9 made it to hatch. *mama leghorn hen 8 eggs only 2 made it to hatch, i think all be 3 where non starters *scrambled eggs counting 2-3 fertile of 12 eggs *july 6 eggs leghorn hen all failed *early mid August 8 eggs (4 each) leghorn hen and blue egg hen all failed

2 Temps ranging 95-110, but I've never had a 0 hatch rate even in the heart of summer, no I don't cool the coop, but I've never walked in and it be to warm it is under a big oak tree lots of shade and great big vents

3 got eggs from a neighbor on 8-14 blue egg hen, 8 eggs 3 viable 2 start and fail 5 non start.
Leghorn hen, 7 eggs same collection all failed. Only difference was the leghorns eggs where sat on more consistently, with sometime both hens trying to share the nest blue egg hens eggs where often unprotected at least 1/2 the afternoon till i moved the hen back in the evening. So Total 15 eggs, 3 viable, 2 start and fail, 10 non starters. I don't know the average success of these eggs.

What doesn't make sense, yes my rooster has a low success rate, yes its been hot, but how does 1 hen have 5 eggs start to develop and the other have no eggs even start when all eggs are random and from the same grouping. Even if most where non fertile the chance on only 1 getting all the fertile eggs would be unlikely. So it's something wrong with my hen? It's starting to look like my leg horn hen doesn't fully understand her job. She's a good mama, actually leghorn orphington mix, but usually only seems to hatch 1-2 chicks and tends to have a lot of bad nest. 

I don't want to keep wasting eggs, especially when I know my rooster isn't successful, but I hate breaking broodies and would rather they get 1 or 2 chicks. So now I have to hope the other mama can keep her 3 viable till the end of the month so I can give 1 to the other to hatch.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I wonder if they are starting before the hen ever sits on them. With my chickens when they hatch out eggs and leave them it’s totally normal in this heat (about the same as you) for chicks to still hatch the next day and day after that, especially with stupidly warm nights. So if it’s warm enough to keep mine alive to hatch I bet it’s warm enough to get yours started and then when the temps drop at night it’s killing them. I wouldn’t think the hen herself is over heating them, even in these temps, she should be a pretty consistent temp even with the added heat outside.


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Jessica84 said:


> I wonder if they are starting before the hen ever sits on them. With my chickens when they hatch out eggs and leave them it's totally normal in this heat (about the same as you) for chicks to still hatch the next day and day after that, especially with stupidly warm nights. So if it's warm enough to keep mine alive to hatch I bet it's warm enough to get yours started and then when the temps drop at night it's killing them. I wouldn't think the hen herself is over heating them, even in these temps, she should be a pretty consistent temp even with the added heat outside.


But she's not leaving the nest especially not at night.

The one that was leaving the nest and had some eggs start did leave her nest during the day multiple times but I always made sure she was on them at night and again the next morning. She has 3 current viable with his development.

The nest and hen that was 100% fail showed no signs of even starting and never had a hen off the nest more then the normal going out for food and water in the morning or afternoon. Honestly i hardly have even seen her leave her nest and the few times I have she's in a panicked rush to get back, she also won't change nesting spots even on her own.

I can understand prior fails, not enough eggs to low of a fertility rate, basically just bad luck not getting fertile eggs under hens. I would have to put out at least a dozen just to get 2 at this point.

But obviously a higher % of these ones where fertile yet the "nest nazi" had a 100% fail and the "i don't know what nest i want today" had over half start to develop and just under half still good


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Also I don't leave eggs out in the nest. We collect every day and wait 2-3 one before giving a new broody eggs. I always try to give them fresh eggs laid that same day, but occasionally add a few refrigerated eggs if i don't have at least 4-6 eggs. I have used refrigerated eggs in the incubator with 75% success rate when the rooster could do his job better. And I have hatched refrigerated eggs under my hens with 75% success or better. But none of these times other then the incubator have any eggs been refrigerated, or more then 1 afternoon old, they where all from what was laid and collected that day, counted marked and placed back under hens


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

CCCSAW said:


> Also I don't leave eggs out in the nest. We collect every day and wait 2-3 one before giving a new broody eggs. I always try to give them fresh eggs laid that same day, but occasionally add a few refrigerated eggs if i don't have at least 4-6 eggs. I have used refrigerated eggs in the incubator with 75% success rate when the rooster could do his job better. And I have hatched refrigerated eggs under my hens with 75% success or better. But none of these times other then the incubator have any eggs been refrigerated, or more then 1 afternoon old, they where all from what was laid and collected that day, counted marked and placed back under hens


Get you a few bcm hens. Those wenches are crazy broodies and they always give me the best hatch rates here. Had i known how broody those were i probably would have not gotten 6 of them. Omg they drive me INSANE! I put them in jail cell b, they stop with their mad clucking, lay one egg and go broody again. Then my brain said oh gather up the dark dark bcm eggs and hatch then for ee..... yea.. those kids are broody too.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I have no idea then. Someone on another post said something about letting eggs settle when buying hatching eggs maybe they need to sit for a day before the hen sits on them. I have no idea really I’m just throwing ideas at you.
Sfwife what is a BCM? Whatever they are I need them! I was just going to buy a bunch of silkies because I’m going a little nuts in the different poultry I’m wanting to raise and sell. I have my turkeys, my Millie fluers, and then I picked up a showgirl, and now I just got 6 Ayam Cemani cross. So I either need some seriously broody hens or a commercial grade incubator :hide:


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

Jessica84 said:


> I have no idea then. Someone on another post said something about letting eggs settle when buying hatching eggs maybe they need to sit for a day before the hen sits on them. I have no idea really I'm just throwing ideas at you.
> Sfwife what is a BCM? Whatever they are I need them! I was just going to buy a bunch of silkies because I'm going a little nuts in the different poultry I'm wanting to raise and sell. I have my turkeys, my Millie fluers, and then I picked up a showgirl, and now I just got 6 Ayam Cemani cross. So I either need some seriously broody hens or a commercial grade incubator :hide:


Black copper marans. . I have seen where quite a few people make their own cabinet incs.


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Jessica84 said:


> I have no idea then. Someone on another post said something about letting eggs settle when buying hatching eggs maybe they need to sit for a day before the hen sits on them. I have no idea really I'm just throwing ideas at you.
> Sfwife what is a BCM? Whatever they are I need them! I was just going to buy a bunch of silkies because I'm going a little nuts in the different poultry I'm wanting to raise and sell. I have my turkeys, my Millie fluers, and then I picked up a showgirl, and now I just got 6 Ayam Cemani cross. So I either need some seriously broody hens or a commercial grade incubator :hide:


Yeah that's the past I don't get. I can understand i high fail rate with the ones I got from the nieghbor but they werent shipped or even tansported that far and that doesn't explain why all failed under 1 hen but not the other


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Ok I see. I didn’t read your post correctly. So it’s just one hen your having issues with. I wonder if she is just being rough with them. I have been reading up on turkey hens and hatching their own eggs and they are known to be very rough with the eggs. Not that they break them just that they kinda rattle them to death. Whatever it is though she is defiantly doing something wrong. I still don’t think she is baking them though. I think that if she was that hot that you would have a very sick bird on your hands and when she does hatch eggs they would be crippled and deformed which is usually what happens if they run high. But again totally just throwing guess out to you. 
Thank you Sfwife, I’m not sure I’m talented enough to make a incubator :hide: ive looked at ones that people have made and said nope that is above my paid grade lol


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## CCCSAW (Jul 11, 2019)

Jessica84 said:


> Ok I see. I didn't read your post correctly. So it's just one hen your having issues with. I wonder if she is just being rough with them. I have been reading up on turkey hens and hatching their own eggs and they are known to be very rough with the eggs. Not that they break them just that they kinda rattle them to death. Whatever it is though she is defiantly doing something wrong. I still don't think she is baking them though. I think that if she was that hot that you would have a very sick bird on your hands and when she does hatch eggs they would be crippled and deformed which is usually what happens if they run high. But again totally just throwing guess out to you.
> Thank you Sfwife, I'm not sure I'm talented enough to make a incubator :hide: ive looked at ones that people have made and said nope that is above my paid grade lol


Yeah I don't know what her issue is, I left the 3 good eggs with the other hen and I'm just going to plan to move one before hatch over to her to try to get both hens off the nests.

I might already have an issue with the new cockeral, but I'll make another post for my rooster/cockeral issues. I'm just hoping this cockeral will have a better temperament once he matures, he's already doing things that worry me.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Ok I see. I didn’t read your post correctly. So it’s just one hen your having issues with. I wonder if she is just being rough with them. I have been reading up on turkey hens and hatching their own eggs and they are known to be very rough with the eggs. Not that they break them just that they kinda rattle them to death. Whatever it is though she is defiantly doing something wrong. I still don’t think she is baking them though. I think that if she was that hot that you would have a very sick bird on your hands and when she does hatch eggs they would be crippled and deformed which is usually what happens if they run high. But again totally just throwing guess out to you. 
Thank you Sfwife, I’m not sure I’m talented enough to make a incubator :hide: ive looked at ones that people have made and said nope that is above my paid grade lol


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