Broody Hen Thread!

[chickbrad24]

I went to the local feed store this morning to buy food for my chickens I came home. Checked my 1 broody hen and I heard peeping under her. I am so excited !!!! I'll try to get pic's when I get home from work.

 

[chicksurreal]

I went to the local feed store this morning to buy food for my chickens I came home. Checked my 1 broody hen and I heard peeping under her. I am so excited !!!! I'll try to get pic's when I get home from work.

Awesome!!

 

[ChickInDelight]

Dovey, my year old Auracauna, has decided to brood. I am letting her do everything, with the flock.

My flock free-ranges, and the feeding station and auto-waterer is a long way from the coop. I plan to put hamster water bottles inside the coop, and also chick starter. Since I sell eggs, should I use non-medicated?

I have a two-room coop, so the chickens roost in one room, and the other room is the nesting area with boxes and this shelf (and straw on the floor). I have leaned plywood against this nesting shelf so that when the chicks arrive, they can run and hide behind the plywood, but not get trapped because I don't have it set against the wall.

All suggestions welcome! I plan to let Dovey do everything because many times, it has been proven, I am NOT smarter than a chicken.

 

[chicksurreal]

Dovey, my year old Auracauna, has decided to brood. I am letting her do everything, with the flock.

My flock free-ranges, and the feeding station and auto-waterer is a long way from the coop. I plan to put hamster water bottles inside the coop, and also chick starter. Since I sell eggs, should I use non-medicated?

I have a two-room coop, so the chickens roost in one room, and the other room is the nesting area with boxes and this shelf (and straw on the floor). I have leaned plywood against this nesting shelf so that when the chicks arrive, they can run and hide behind the plywood, but not get trapped because I don't have it set against the wall.

All suggestions welcome! I plan to let Dovey do everything because many times, it has been proven, I am NOT smarter than a chicken.

Beautiful girl!

We let Nessie do it all too, but we did move her to another pen. She took over the favorite nesting box and the other girls were not willing to leave her to it.

 

[AlpineSpringsRanch]

I had a broody hen and THOUGHT I caught her on the day she went broody. I slipped a couple extra eggs under her. She shouldn't have started hatching till tomorrow but last night there was definitely a chick. Now I'm wondering if I should move the rest of the eggs into the hatcher JIC. Her nest box is elevated so if she gets up before all of the other eggs hatch and baby follows her out / falls I am afraid she will either return to the eggs leaving the chick cold or stay with the chick leaving the eggs to die.

I also have a second broody sitting on eggs only about four days in. I could put her eggs in the incubator and give her the remaining eggs from Broody 1 to hatch out but will her brain click over to baby mode when they start hatching?

This is why I normally just put everything in the bator. So many things to worry about!!

 

[ChickInDelight]

I had a broody hen and THOUGHT I caught her on the day she went broody. I slipped a couple extra eggs under her. She shouldn't have started hatching till tomorrow but last night there was definitely a chick. Now I'm wondering if I should move the rest of the eggs into the hatcher JIC. Her nest box is elevated so if she gets up before all of the other eggs hatch and baby follows her out / falls I am afraid she will either return to the eggs leaving the chick cold or stay with the chick leaving the eggs to die.

I also have a second broody sitting on eggs only about four days in. I could put her eggs in the incubator and give her the remaining eggs from Broody 1 to hatch out but will her brain click over to baby mode when they start hatching?

This is why I normally just put everything in the bator. So many things to worry about!!

I also have my brooder on a high shelf - not my choice. I plan to fluff up lots of straw beneath the shelf when hatching time comes.

 

[scflock]

I had a broody hen and THOUGHT I caught her on the day she went broody. I slipped a couple extra eggs under her. She shouldn't have started hatching till tomorrow but last night there was definitely a chick. Now I'm wondering if I should move the rest of the eggs into the hatcher JIC. Her nest box is elevated so if she gets up before all of the other eggs hatch and baby follows her out / falls I am afraid she will either return to the eggs leaving the chick cold or stay with the chick leaving the eggs to die.

I also have a second broody sitting on eggs only about four days in. I could put her eggs in the incubator and give her the remaining eggs from Broody 1 to hatch out but will her brain click over to baby mode when they start hatching?

This is why I normally just put everything in the bator. So many things to worry about!!

That's a tough call. I have two d'uccles who are bad to hop off with the first chicks, but I have a couple of silkies who will stay on the nest until day 23 or so, trying to hach every last egg

 

[ChickInDelight]

That's a tough call. I have two d'uccles who are bad to hop off with the first chicks, but I have a couple of silkies who will stay on the nest until day 23 or so, trying to hach every last egg

Hmmm. I hope I did this right. On about day 3 of Dovey's brood, I removed all her eggs and put in the eggs I wanted her to hatch. Since then, I have left her completely alone. I did see her off the nest once, socializing, so it is possible some other girls have slipped in a few eggs. Anything NOT blue or white has been added late. I won't let her wait for those to hatch.

 

[scflock]

Hmmm. I hope I did this right. On about day 3 of Dovey's brood, I removed all her eggs and put in the eggs I wanted her to hatch. Since then, I have left her completely alone. I did see her off the nest once, socializing, so it is possible some other girls have slipped in a few eggs. Anything NOT blue or white has been added late. I won't let her wait for those to hatch.

My silkies will lay in a broodie's nest. I just end up losing those eggs because I don't know which is which. I would be careful with that Araucana hatching with the flock. My bantams never have any issues, but the one time I let a cuckoo marans brood with the flock they had killed 4 of them by the time I discovered they had hatched

 

[Sambi89]

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Thank you I am just nervous for her. I've got a few duck eggs under her that I started a week before she went broody on some OEGB eggs. They are scheduled to hatch the same day but I've never done duck eggs before so I'm just worried. Thanks again