Hen Sitting

[TailFeathers]

Hello,

I'd like to know when the hen will not sleep on her babies. I walked in today on my birds after hours and with my phone light, noticed a hen sleeping on a perch and not warming the babies. The babies all have long yellow pin feathers right now.

Thanks

[kristofer]

An exact date can never be given sort of, but usually when the nest is starting to get crowded due to the baby birds growing and pin feathers showing. The babies will keep each other warm enough in the small nest the mother builds

[TailFeathers]

An exact date can never be given sort of, but usually when the nest is starting to get crowded due to the baby birds growing and pin feathers showing. The babies will keep each other warm enough in the small nest the mother builds

Ok thanks. I kinda figured that this morning. The reason I was asking is because I have two sets of clucthes and one set of the babies are always slept on. However, they are lacking the same amount of pin feathers as the other clutch. I suspect it's for dietary reasons.. (One set on insect food the other on egg food).

[Atbird]

Yes, usually the hen stps sitting on them when they get pin feathers. To me, they don't look like they have enough cover to keep them warm, but I guess their body heat is enough.