Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[countrygirl911]

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how do you know when they are ready i have one that sits for hours at a time and leaves the nest for 2 hrs and back on again the weather here has been in the high 8o's and inside the coop even hotter is just getting ready to go broody or is she teasing me

I waited until "Black Broody" nested on 2 golfballs all day. I then moved her to another nest, which she rejected. I put 5 eggs in the nest where she was nesting on golfballs, and she has been there since. They will tease you for a while. I have one doing that now. Someone put all the signs somewhere in this thread I think. But as they are warming up to going broody, they sit for 3 to 5 hours on a nest then leave. They puff all up like a turkey when they are broody and approached. And they are truely in a trance.

are the eggs still viable if she leaves the nest i took a few out and found that they started to develop will they still be ok once she decides to stay on it all day or do i need to take them out and throw them away she keeps going back and forth to the box but does not stay i also have a second hen showing the same signs

 

[mprivett]

I have a broody hen, Rosemary, who is probably sitting on about 18 eggs. This is my first time with a broody and we only have one other hen and one rooster (he is very sweet). I plan to let her hatch where she is in the coop, and then after the hatch move her into a dog crate connected onto our run. We are on Day 13. She won't EVER get up off her nest anymore to eat or drink or anything so I can't remove the recently laid eggs from our other hen that are under her. She fluffs up and growls at me whenever I get close. I'm afraid she isn't eating or drinking so I've been hand feeding her some treats and water when I can. She is very determined and sitting tight but I have no idea whether the eggs under her are developing or not. They seem to be spilling out from under her sides. Should I disturb her to check on eggs or just leave her be? Thanks!

 

[jennifersmith326]

The eggs I had under my broody are hatching right now. She came off the nest a week ago so we put them in the incubator.

 

[phasianidae]

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Is she a mutt? What breeds does she have in her?

 

[stonykill]

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I waited until "Black Broody" nested on 2 golfballs all day. I then moved her to another nest, which she rejected. I put 5 eggs in the nest where she was nesting on golfballs, and she has been there since. They will tease you for a while. I have one doing that now. Someone put all the signs somewhere in this thread I think. But as they are warming up to going broody, they sit for 3 to 5 hours on a nest then leave. They puff all up like a turkey when they are broody and approached. And they are truely in a trance.

are the eggs still viable if she leaves the nest i took a few out and found that they started to develop will they still be ok once she decides to stay on it all day or do i need to take them out and throw them away she keeps going back and forth to the box but does not stay i also have a second hen showing the same signs

I'm pretty new to broody's. Hopefully someone else will be able to answer this one for you.

 

[chickintexas]

I just wanted to add my current/ongoing broody experience.

I had purchased a dozen D'uccle eggs in an auction here recently and had intended on hatching them in my incubator. After my Silkie hen had a 3/3 hatch from her very own eggs (which I had started artificially incubating prior to her going broody) I removed the chicks because I was afraid the other girls would kill them. After a week in my incubator I candled the D'uccles and 2 were clear, 2 were quitters. 4 were placed under my broody and 4 remained in the incubator. Monday is lockdown day for the incubated eggs but instead of going into lockdown, I will be placing those remaining 4 eggs under Q-Tip. All 8 eggs look great!

I did have to change around the chicken house setup. The coop has a door that slides up and down to close out potential predators. It is now being utilized to keep the other girls from disturbing Q-Tip. And disturb they do! They borrow her eggs to help them/encourage themselves to lay and I was afraid that they would break the eggs .

And Q-Tip isn't the best when it comes to reclaiming the eggs after they've been borrowed. I only keep them locked out during the day and open the coop door back up in the evening so they can go in to roost. She has plenty of food and water available to her but I occasionally offer her cooked scrambled eggs. I know she's eating because I'll feel her crop and it's been nice and full.
This time I am planning on keeping the chicks with her after they hatch and leave the door to the coop open after the chicks are a couple of days old. I will probably be spending quite a bit of time out in the coop and watching everyone like a hawk!
Oh, and my coop set-up is built in such a way that I won't actually be in the coop-in case anyone was wondering.

It's a shed/coop combo that has large double doors on one side for viewing or gathering eggs and the chicken door is on the other side of the coop.

Here is Q-Tip with her first hatched. I will be adding pics of her with the D'uccles when they hatch at the end of next week.

 

[Fuffy]

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Is she a mutt? What breeds does she have in her?

How lovely Terri O!

Congrats!

I was going to ak if your mamma is a Barnevelder?

 

[Fuffy]

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How Sweet!!! Gotta love a silkie mamma!

Good luck!!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

ChickinTexas, I also have a little hen named Q-Tip, she's just a little mixed-breed banty but a great little broody Mama. Here's a thread about her recent hatch https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=451982

 

[Pharm Girl]

All these cute Mama's and their babies. Am I the only one with a broody hen that turned and killed her babies? *sigh* I don't understand it. I managed to rescue two by the time I figured out the SLW broody was responsible for the deaths. I got another two from the feed store so now I have four.
Olive - Easter egger (feed store)
Arnelle - Lavender Americauna/leghorn cross (saved chick)
Hattie - Speckled Sussex (feed store)
Nan - RBLW (saved!)

My girls:

I guess I'll hop off the broody thread as we're done with that for now and I have to hand raise them. Congrats to all who managed good hatches with good Mama hens. I love looking at Mama/baby pictures.