Can I just let a hen hatch the eggs?

LindsayRae said:

Isnt it possible to let a hen hatch a few eggs this spring? What are the downsides? I have 4 hens and one rooster. I somehow got 5 eggs today. . and was thinking it would be fun to let a few hatch. I live alone and have been getting a ton of eggs. If I mark them, and just keep pulling the eggs that are fresh. . . Wouldnt that work? I guess all these incubators and stuff make me think chickens dont hatch eggs any more! Let me know! !Thanks

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That works....but is easier said than done. Depending upon your broody, you risk life and limb reaching in that nest to pull out fresh eggs. You pretty much have to evict the broody...that too is easier said than done with some birds, and you can also get some damage to the eggs while trying to accomplish this.

Best if you move your broody to a dedicated broody pen or nest that the other birds cannot lay in and let her brood in peace.

Oh..and no matter what you read, you do NOT need to make a broody get off the nest to eat and drink on a daily basis. Or ever. She'll do that when she's ready and only she knows when it's best. Just leave feed and water available and let her do what she does best.

You also need to decide if you have room for more chickens, what you will do with any males that hatch, etc., prior to allowing nature to happen.

bbecca said:

Can I ask how this turned out? Did you hatch some and how was the process? I'm thinking of doing the same this spring with my buff orp roo and barred rock.
@AmyLynn2374 so did you just let the chicks stay in the coop with the rest of older flock from a day or two old? No need to protect them from the other hens?

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I have a little bantam hen, aptly named Little, who is broody very often. I got fertilized eggs last spring to let her hatch. She is a great mother, and isn't aggressive to me when I need to check her eggs. But, she is the bottom of the pecking order (well, used to be the bottom, now she has a few younger underlings) so she would get kicked off her nest she was brooding in. So now I have a separate brooding pen that I let her hatch and raise her chicks in.

Her first hatching last spring, I left her and her chicks in the brooder pen til she "weaned" them (at 10 1/2 weeks old!) then I let her out and integrated the grown chicks. This fall she hatched another group, but as I set her a little late, she still hadn't weaned the chicks and it was going to get very cold at night so I wanted to have everyone in the coop at night. The chicks were 10 weeks or so at that point. Little was still their mama though, and tried fighting everyone to keep them away from her babies, LF or otherwise. It worked out, but the integration wasn't as smooth as the one in spring, where she just went back to being the bottom hen, and was fine with that.

By the way, the chicks are over 14 wks old now, and she just started weaning them a couple days ago, haha!

bbecca said:

Can I ask how this turned out? Did you hatch some and how was the process? I'm thinking of doing the same this spring with my buff orp roo and barred rock.
@AmyLynn2374 so did you just let the chicks stay in the coop with the rest of older flock from a day or two old? No need to protect them from the other hens?

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My first broody, my jap bantam, was a great momma. During the incubation process the other hens would push her off to lay their eggs, cause heaven help them if they find their own nest to lay in, but once they vacated she would go right back to her egg. Of course I had them marked so I checked twice a day and took out new eggs. I candled so I knew when they internally pipped, so I slipped her in a cage, right there in the coop, where she was sitting and closed her in so the other girls couldn't mess with her or chase them off while they were hatching. After they hatched a kept the cage closed for the first couple of days then opened it so they could go in and out into the coop at will. She did take them back into the cage every night. She did an excellent job keeping them protected and had no issues whatsoever ever.

My second broody, my Spitzhaubens, hatched her two out about a week later. I could not cage her even at hatch because she would leave the nest and pace the kennel letting the eggs go cold. This was mid October in Northern NY, so it was quite chilly. Within the first 24-48 hours she was out in the run scratching, one baby missing, the other trying to get underneath her for warmth and she kept kicking him away in her attempt to scratch the ground. I ended up taking him away from her and bringing him in to brood him myself. I never found the other chick, not even a body. She did become an awesome "Aunt" to the Banty' three and stayed pretty much with the Banty and the older chicks.

The three that hatched by the Banty grew up in the coop.

How well they do differs from one momma to the other and the overall personalities of the flock. I have 2 8 month old silkies that are broody right now. Against my better judgment I decided to let them be, one has 4 eggs I let her have Thursday night, the other went broody Friday night, and this morning she had one egg under her so I left it with her. We'll see what happens. Worst case sceneries I bring the large dog crate in and they go in that.