Pros and Cons of letting hen hatch own chicks? - Page 3

If you have semi-broody hens that have never set on eggs before, I have found that putting them in a brooder box that they can't get out of and that is away from the other hens will sometimes encourage them to go full on broody.  Once they are in the mood, it takes fuzzy butts or an act of God to get them off the eggs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephensc7146 

Great advice!

 

What are some ways to tell if your hen is going broody?

She'll start refusing to leave her chosen nesting spot for long periods.  If you approach she'll give a warning growl or trill to make you go away (channeling her inner t-rex).  She may also 'flatten' herself over the nest box until she resembles a feathery pancake that growls.  If you actually reach in to touch her, she might peck your hand.  All in all.. she'll turn moody and anti-social.

My dad warned me that if I messed with my hens too much, they're abandon their nests.  However, I was very hands on in raising my hens, so they were somewhat used to me picking them up and moving them, checking for mites, hand feeding treats etc.. He grew up on a farm where the chickens were tossed some scratch but otherwise left alone to wander.

So my broodies are very tolerant of me reaching under them to check the eggs, poking them, cleaning the dog kennels I have them in, etc..

Pro - you don't have to turn the eggs yourself. you don't need to have bought an egg turner either.

Pro- you don't have to sprinkle eggs with water every 2-3 days or worry about adequate humidity, having to add water to a dish in the incubator.

Pro- higher hatching rate

There's no cons. Maybe if you didn't want baby chickens that would be a con.

And if you want to eat eggs and she makes noise and pecks at you to stop you that could be a con, especially if you didn't have another nest to get an egg from...

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephensc7146 

How long after the chicks hatch do they return to being happy non protective hens?

Honestly.. I didn't keep track after I let my broody hen hatch hers last time.. she decided to molt right afterwards too, so that took awhile for her to grow all her feathers back and lay again.

a hen can really squish the eggs? I had one broody hen lay on them all the way.. it's not like we should prevent her from having a "stretch-leggy" i let mine do that and she comes back and warms them up... if she didn't come back in half hour to an hour i'd go out and see what happened to her.

Wait, how are incubator chicks happier? I would think a chick is happy when they can peak out of their momma's wing. with incubation they don't have their real momma around, it's sad.

True that with natural way, there's less eggs she can handle to hatch than an incubator. But with an incubator, esp a turner machine, you need many eggs to hatch to get this benefit.. then you get so many birds to feed at a time.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinahmoe 

pros-
its natural
built in heater with correct thermostat and humidity
happier chicks
no brooder to clean
brooded chicks rarely get cocci
cons-
less eggs a broody can hatch
she may decide at any moment to leave the eggs
she may squish the eggs
less social chicks
keeping the broody safe(snakes love broody eggs)
keeping the broody in a separate place
when i have a broody,i ban their legs if they are good or not.just because they go broody doesn't mean they will be a good mother.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinahmoe 

pros-
its natural
built in heater with correct thermostat and humidity
happier chicks
no brooder to clean
brooded chicks rarely get cocci
cons-
less eggs a broody can hatch
she may decide at any moment to leave the eggs
she may squish the eggs
less social chicks
keeping the broody safe(snakes love broody eggs)
keeping the broody in a separate place
when i have a broody,i ban their legs if they are good or not.just because they go broody doesn't mean they will be a good mother.

alot of those cons can be avoided with good flock management..

Egg abandonment -- don't immediately give a broody eggs, especially if she's a first timer or has a history of being flakey about it.  My frizzled cochin would be "broody" for 2 days and then give up for a week, then go again for 2 days.. I waited until she stayed on the nest for over a week before considering giving her eggs.

Squashed eggs-- be sure to give a thick bedding layer for larger breeds and possibly a smaller number of eggs.

Staying safe/seperated-- Dog kennels can be found for cheap (or "free" if you already have/had a dog) and work well for a broody and her eggs, since they aren't very interested in getting up and running around much.  Or if your coop is well built, you can leave them in there and just make sure you check for any eggs your other hens decide to 'donate'.

I had two ducks that thought they were silkies thanks to a broody hen funny to watch her look at them like "WHAT!" but they were her 's no matter what.