Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread - Page 1043

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbieschicks 


Probably she's done with it. If she moved away and it's not stinking hot there like its been here then I'd say yes she's done. But if your temps are high like ours have been I'd give her a little more time. If its day 25 I'd candle it and decide then whether to leave it. Otherwise leave it a little longer. Sometimes they will get off the eggs for a bit.

She sat on is 36 hours after the last successful hatch.  She was off it this morning as the other dead one was under it.  She sat back on it for about an hour and then moved off it again.  She was tearing the nest up and throwing pine chips EVERYWHERE!  Not sure if she was looking for the unsuccessful chick or the egg.  I tried to give it back and she rolled it under her and then out again.  It is very light, lighter than are regular eggs.

I have my first broody! We don't have a rooster so she was wasting her time until I captured her and hooked her up with some hatching eggs :) Her old nest was in a location that was completely inaccessible if you're much bigger than a hen (even to get the eggs out of there i had to reach really far and use tongs) so to give her fertile eggs, I definitely needed to move her. The only way I was able to get her to accept her new nest was to get a dog kennel (one for medium-large size dogs, so its not tiny like a cat one) and place it so that the door of it was facing the entrance into her old nest. So. in her kennel she remains. I've got some straw in there, and food and water. last night I dragged the crate up to the front yard in a relatively quiet area of the yard, next to the house. Anything I should/shouldn't do to keep her comfortable and not provoke her to feel like abandoning the eggs? Encouraging her to leave her crate daily to get a few minutes exercise/scratch around the yard? bring her treats once in awhile? as long as the weather is cool enough, drape a sheet over the door to help her feel more secure? I'm new at this, and don't really know what "good broody manners" are. 

Ooohh.. what about food? Should she have layer feed or chick starter? She's not going to be laying for a few weeks, and the chicks will need chick starter when they hatch. So do I start giving her the chick starter now, or at hatching time?

  broody #7 my RIR is sitting tight for 7 days. I finally gave in and gave her a dozen on Saturday. She proved herself. I had my doubts. 

  Broody #8 a really pretty dark blue Sumatra born last summer started sitting tonight. She is in the Sumatra broody shed. A favorite spot!

  In the nest next to the broody RIR a pile of eggs is accumulating. 5 eggs in 2 days. I'm an enabler, so I'm leaving them there to entice someone into sitting. It WILL work. Sumatra's are crazy . Yup, a few of the Sumatra's have taken to laying in the RIR coop! 

  And being the enabler I am, I'm trying a little experiment. I have 6 Sumatra hens that are 26 months old that I incubated. I have been collecting their eggs daily. Until yesterday. They live with 2 handsome roo's in their pen. 1 black, 1 blue. 1 blue hen in there likes to act a little broody. Going to see if she can resist the eggs. I'm guessing either her or 1 of her sisters won't be able to! 

   Iswear the runner ducklings wait for me to get home to play houdini . I get home this afternoon, collect eggs, grab a coffee and go to sit on the back deck before it starts raining....again. And 3 of the runner ducklings are out! I walk down the steps and they run into the Pekins run. A repeat of yesterday except with 3 escapee's. I grab 1, but it back, Penelope bites me. Grab the 2nd, the same. Grab the 3rd, the same. Penelope wasn't happy with me . She got over it and they all go for a swim.

  The run is secure now. I hope!

Quote:

Originally Posted by msmechanic58 

She sat on is 36 hours after the last successful hatch.  She was off it this morning as the other dead one was under it.  She sat back on it for about an hour and then moved off it again.  She was tearing the nest up and throwing pine chips EVERYWHERE!  Not sure if she was looking for the unsuccessful chick or the egg.  I tried to give it back and she rolled it under her and then out again.  It is very light, lighter than are regular eggs.

oh..........as far as candling, this is a very dark brown egg.  No luck there!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilstar 

I have my first broody! We don't have a rooster so she was wasting her time until I captured her and hooked her up with some hatching eggs :) Her old nest was in a location that was completely inaccessible if you're much bigger than a hen (even to get the eggs out of there i had to reach really far and use tongs) so to give her fertile eggs, I definitely needed to move her. The only way I was able to get her to accept her new nest was to get a dog kennel (one for medium-large size dogs, so its not tiny like a cat one) and place it so that the door of it was facing the entrance into her old nest. So. in her kennel she remains. I've got some straw in there, and food and water. last night I dragged the crate up to the front yard in a relatively quiet area of the yard, next to the house. Anything I should/shouldn't do to keep her comfortable and not provoke her to feel like abandoning the eggs? Encouraging her to leave her crate daily to get a few minutes exercise/scratch around the yard? bring her treats once in awhile? as long as the weather is cool enough, drape a sheet over the door to help her feel more secure? I'm new at this, and don't really know what "good broody manners" are. 

 

Ooohh.. what about food? Should she have layer feed or chick starter? She's not going to be laying for a few weeks, and the chicks will need chick starter when they hatch. So do I start giving her the chick starter now, or at hatching time?

congrats! 

   Broody's get up most days to eat, drink and poop. So she will need to be able to get out if she wants, or at least have an area to poop if need be. 

   I don't bring my broody's treats but I know many do.

   She doesn't need chick starter until the chicks hatch, so no need to buy special food until then.

   broody manners . They don't really have any. . They scream, yell, run around angry, and poop the biggest stinkiest poop you will ever smell . But we love them anyway!