Advice on letting broody hen hatch eggs

[rexannastar]

@Angiebubs , thanks! everyone is great! have not let her and the peeps in with the other 2 hens yet, but they're in a sectioned off corner of the run with their kitty carrier to sleep it. so far it seems to be good. mama is cool with those 2 hens on that side of her, but not crazy about the other 3 in the pen on the other side of her. when those 3 come over to see what's going on, mama goes mama bear on them, even through the wire. everyone's fine, but it's funny how she sees those 3 as a threat, but not the other 2. will get pics tomorrow I hope. they're over a week old already!


this is one of the peeps on day 1.... so flippin cute!

 

[flamie]

I have a very moody broody. She has been sitting on 6 fertile eggs and today is day 21.

How will i know if the chicks have hatched?? Do i need to remove egg shells??

I'd like to move them to a smaller pen just for mum and chicks.

Will i be able to hear them peeping straight away??

What if they don't hatch?? Will she coninue to sit on them or will it break her broody.

She is very crazy and doesn't like us near her but i don't know when i should pick her up and see of they have hatched. What is the max amount of days i should leave eggs there for??

 

[bobbi-j]

I would leave her alone until tomorrow, at least. You will know if they've hatched by then. If you just sit quietly and watch, you will see them poking their heads out from various parts of her body, you will hear peeping. You could lift her up or feel under her for unhatched eggs. But I would still leave her alone today to make sure they get hatched without interference.

 

[Angiebubs]

@Angiebubs , thanks! everyone is great! have not let her and the peeps in with the other 2 hens yet, but they're in a sectioned off corner of the run with their kitty carrier to sleep it. so far it seems to be good. mama is cool with those 2 hens on that side of her, but not crazy about the other 3 in the pen on the other side of her. when those 3 come over to see what's going on, mama goes mama bear on them, even through the wire. everyone's fine, but it's funny how she sees those 3 as a threat, but not the other 2. will get pics tomorrow I hope. they're over a week old already!


this is one of the peeps on day 1.... so flippin cute!

What a adorable picture and beautiful mom!!! What breed?

I have a very moody broody. She has been sitting on 6 fertile eggs and today is day 21.

How will i know if the chicks have hatched?? Do i need to remove egg shells??

Yes

What if they don't hatch?? Will she coninue to sit on them or will it break her broody.

She will probably sit on them for a few more days. I would candle them at say 23 if they haven't started hatching-and toss any that are clear or dead in shell. Leave the others another day.

She is very crazy and doesn't like us near her but i don't know when i should pick her up and see of they have hatched. What is the max amount of days i should leave eggs there for??

 

[Littlewolfchick]

I recently had my first hen go broody. It was very exciting and I gave her a few days before putting 10 marked eggs under her. She covered them well and stuck to the next like a pro. Then unexpectedly she left the nest after two weeks. I was away from home visiting grand children and didn't know what to tell my husband to do. He left the eggs there for two days but she didn't return. I didn't want to try to incubate since I'm uncertain how to raise and introduce them to the flock without a mama to protect them. Any suggestions for keeping her or one of the others on the nest if I am lucky enough to have another broody hen?

 

[rexannastar]

What a adorable picture and beautiful mom!!! What breed?

thanks! mama is a TSC Brahma, and the peeps are OE/EE shipped in from TN

 

[cbookout]

Hello, I am not sure if this question has already been answered but it is fairly cold where I am, in the 40s last night. I'd like to gather eggs from the past 2 days and put them under a broody hens. But they been sitting in the nesting box for the past 2 days and nights during the cold weather. They are all fertile. will they hatch if I set them under a hen today or has it been too cold (and the eggs have been uncovered) for them to hatch?

 

[lazy gardener]

If you have a hen who is truly broody: setting on the nest both day and night, and has been doing so for a few days now, you could easily set eggs under her. What you will need to do is gather up as many eggs as you'd like her to hatch, and give them all to her at the same time. Mark those eggs, so that if any hens sneak any new eggs into her nest, you'll know which ones are new, and remove them. Eggs should be viable as long as they haven't frozen. Your night time temps should not be a deterrent, as long as the nest is well lined so the eggs don't get chilled once the hen starts setting.

 

[cbookout]

I'm lucky in that the broody hen is already away from the other chickens. She is a silkie and was being attacked by my NH Reds so I brought her to my house instead of my land where my other chickens are. She lives in our backyard with my 2 dogs and we converted a nice wood doghouse into a henhouse for her. She is 10 months old and has only been laying for a month but about 5 days ago I could tell something was going on when she refused to leave her nesting box and would only get up once or twice a day to eat and drink. So I brought 3 easter egger eggs over for her to hatch. She's been sitting on them now for 3 days. I was not positive they were fertilized but my roo is very active with his 11 hens and I don't think I've ever cracked an egg open that wasn't fertilized so I'm hoping these all are.

My question is, say 25 or 30 days go by and these do not hatch. Is it dangerous to bring more fertile eggs over for her to try and hatch? Or is that too much time for her to spend sitting in the nest box? What do I do if none of these hatch and I can't put more eggs under her? Do I just have to make her get out of the box everyday and move on with no chicks?

I would not want to try sneaking chicks under her in case she rejected them. I've got chickens in 2 locations and a 4 year old and 2 year old, I would not be able to raise the chicks myself, no extra time. I plan on always letting nature do the work for me.

 

[cbookout]

I'm lucky in that the broody hen is already away from the other chickens. She is a silkie and was being attacked by my NH Reds so I brought her to my house instead of my land where my other chickens are. She lives in our backyard with my 2 dogs and we converted a nice wood doghouse into a henhouse for her. She is 10 months old and has only been laying for a month but about 5 days ago I could tell something was going on when she refused to leave her nesting box and would only get up once or twice a day to eat and drink. So I brought 3 easter egger eggs over for her to hatch. She's been sitting on them now for 3 days. I was not positive they were fertilized but my roo is very active with his 11 hens and I don't think I've ever cracked an egg open that wasn't fertilized so I'm hoping these all are.

My question is, say 25 or 30 days go by and these do not hatch. Is it dangerous to bring more fertile eggs over for her to try and hatch? Or is that too much time for her to spend sitting in the nest box? What do I do if none of these hatch and I can't put more eggs under her? Do I just have to make her get out of the box everyday and move on with no chicks?

I would not want to try sneaking chicks under her in case she rejected them. I've got chickens in 2 locations and a 4 year old and 2 year old, I would not be able to raise the chicks myself, no extra time. I plan on always letting nature do the work for me.

@lazy gardener I replied to your response (thank you) and have another issue with my broody Silkie that is hatching 3 easter egger/speckled sussex cross eggs for me. I checked this AM and they are all showing veins! My Silkie got out of her nest to stretch her legs today and eliminate a massive poop (bigger than an egg) and then after that a small amount of that super smelly reddish poop. Unfortunately the runny poop contained 2 whitish yellow worms that were alive! Is it okay to worm her while she is setting? With a 21 day incubation period I still have 2 weeks to go before hatch but I think I need to get rid of the worms before the chicks arrive correct? Yesterday I gave her a bunch of minced garlic, probiotic yogurt and water with a little apple cider vinegar to to boost her immune system while she is setting and I'm wondering if any of these things forced the little worms out?