Broody Hen Thread!

[the poppster]

I'm figuring that she probably wouldn't have helped the chick out of the membrane....sad as it might seem, mother nature has a way of weeding out the weak or faulty....I may be wrong, but mom probably would have waited for a while and then taken her brood out to get started feeding and left the poor little guy to fate...seems harsh but she's got the others to take care of....I've seen it happen many times before....with the chick that has a difficult time hatching...most hens will abandon them if they can't get out on their own.

 

[Honora]

Hello all, I have a broody bantam Orpington, her name is Yeti. She is about 6 or 7 months old & it's our first time hatching chicks! I got her some eggs to sit on but I made the mistake of washing most of them. Does this mean they won't hatch? She is sitting on 8 large fowl orpington eggs. The seller sent a few extras so we will probably get an incubator for them.

 

[n3kms]

I'm figuring that she probably wouldn't have helped the chick out of the membrane....sad as it might seem, mother nature has a way of weeding out the weak or faulty....I may be wrong, but mom probably would have waited for a while and then taken her brood out to get started feeding and left the poor little guy to fate...seems harsh but she's got the others to take care of....I've seen it happen many times before....with the chick that has a difficult time hatching...most hens will abandon them if they can't get out on their own.

She is still sitting this afternoon as there are three more to hatch. Three hatched yesterday. Four hatched today. Two are pipped and one is chirping. I have another broody who has been sitting for about 2 weeks. I was going to give her some of Anastasia's eggs but when I moved her one night she sat all night but went back to another nest box the next day and then spent a lot of time off the nest. I had put the four eggs back under Anastasia. Thought she had given up. She is very young. Well she is back to sitting again. If any of Anastasia's eggs are not hatched in the morning I think I will put them under the other broody, Esmeralda. I just hate that I have to work tomorrow and won't get to see how she does.

 

[katatonic123]

We have 5 babies! 3 to go. Pics to come.

 

[katatonic123]

 

[Cory W]

Cant wait to get home to check and see how many babies there are pretty sure atleast 2 that I know of didnt want to bother momma to look under her

 

[bodiezm0m]

I have a 1 year old hen that is brooding in the favorite laying box. Since she has been laying there have been zero eggs. I check her threw out the day to see if the others are laying on top but she doesnt seem to have an abundance of eggs popping out from around her. Would the other hens stop laying because shes broody? We want to move her to another coop that is familiar to her to see if the other girls will lay again.Any advise

 

[mymilliefleur]

Hello all, I have a broody bantam Orpington, her name is Yeti. She is about 6 or 7 months old & it's our first time hatching chicks! I got her some eggs to sit on but I made the mistake of washing most of them. Does this mean they won't hatch? She is sitting on 8 large fowl orpington eggs. The seller sent a few extras so we will probably get an incubator for them.

Yes, washing may very well reduce the hatch rate, as now there is no pretective coating on them to keep bacteria out. However, I think at least some of them will hatch. Also, make sure the nest she is setting in is clean. Good luck with your hatch!

 

[MontanaMomma]

Exactly!!!

 

[MontanaMomma]

Exactly!!!