Broody Hen Thread!

[fisherlady]

Our due date is Friday!! Can absolutely NOT wait! I've give my broody cochin bantam 6 buff orp eggs, keep fingers crossed!!

hoping to see pics soon!

 

[TinaM13]

that is just adorable!

 

[chickencrazy999]

Hello Guys,
I have posted before in this thread when I had two broody hens a bit earlier in the year and decided to break them now a bit later more of Spring time I have another broody silkie bantam she has been sitting since yesterday morning and I ordered 6 silkie bantam eggs last night from ebay for her to have a little go at. My question is do you think she will be ok waiting a couple of days until the eggs come they are due to come this Tuesday and I am very excited
Thanks in advance
Ella

 

[foreverlearning]

Hello Guys,
I have posted before in this thread when I had two broody hens a bit earlier in the year and decided to break them now a bit later more of Spring time I have another broody silkie bantam she has been sitting since yesterday morning and I ordered 6 silkie bantam eggs last night from ebay for her to have a little go at. My question is do you think she will be ok waiting a couple of days until the eggs come they are due to come this Tuesday and I am very excited
Thanks in advance
Ella

If she is truly broody then yes she will wait. Make sure she has something to sit on even if it is a golf ball. Let the eggs become room temp before giving them to her and put them under her at night for the best results. If she is in with other hens I suggest you separate her so the others do not kick her off the nest. Good luck!

 

[chickencrazy999]

If she is truly broody then yes she will wait. Make sure she has something to sit on even if it is a golf ball. Let the eggs become room temp before giving them to her and put them under her at night for the best results. If she is in with other hens I suggest you separate her so the others do not kick her off the nest. Good luck!

Hello Yes I have given her some fake eggs to sit on. I have decided to leave her with the others as I only have 8 hens and they don't lay in the nesting box she is broody in as she is in her own chicken hutch but still has access to come in and out with the rest of the hens. as for the others they are out most of the day free ranging and do not seem to bother her also I will not have any problems with others laying in her nest as I have no cockerels and as said they lay in a different nesting area to the silkies and the bantams but thanks for your advice much appreciated I will keep you posted
Ella

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I got chicks from TSC and I have a broody. Should I put them in during the day or overnight.

You want to add them at night but keep in mind that not all broodies take fosters. I would suggest to add a heat lamp area near mom just in case she doesn't keep them and tosses them out. If they can still get to a heat source then they have a better chance and you can bring them inside to brood yourself.

I agree it may be a good idea to put in a heat lamp with the broody when you attempt to foster, if that is a safe thing to do in your coop. (I've burned a coop to the ground when birds knocked a flood lamp into the straw).

I personally have experienced fostering can be trickier, especially in the cooler months, as feed store/heat lamp brooded chicks often need a transition time into broody care. They are literally "hot house" chicks and may need some time to acclimate to a new environment that fluctuates much more than a feed store or garage heat lamp situation.

Whether to place immediately or at night depends on how old and how much transition the chicks have had within the last day or two, and how deep a brood your hen is in.

I have lost foster chicks from too many transitions over a short period...they arrived the day before from the farm, put under heat lamps at the feed store, then they made the transit home with me. I kept them warm until night time to place them, the hen was very accepting, the temps were cold (low to upper 30's)...and lost several due to too many transitions for them to handle. Young chicks can expire from too many environmental stresses. They were dead underneath the hen where she had been trying to keep them warm.

The feed store replaced them, and from the feed store's advice, I put those siblings under immediately with success....however, I learned I still would have other issues to deal with.

I discovered that while my broody was very willing and able, some foster babies are often afraid. Some run right into her feathers, others hang back...and that is when they get cold if it is cold weather, and I've lost several that way since I don't put heat lamps in my coops anymore. You'll need to watch closely or put up a heat lamp (if safe) so if they don't transition to the hen, they won't expire from the stress of getting cold. I have had better success with foster transition in warm weather. But I watch very closely (and have observed the above chick behaviors).

It sounds like you would be putting the chicks of the same ages at the same time for fostering, which is very good. The last lesson I learned was that naturally brooded hatchlings are vigorous, no matter what the weather conditions, and will zip in and out trouncing any shy fosters in the process making the transition for the fosters even harder. I don't mix hatchlings with fosters anymore...at least not without some very careful watching and warm weather on my side.

And finally, it also depends on how long your broody has been brooding. Even with my very faithful Silkie, I've noticed a more successful attachment to fosters when she had been in a good brood for a week or more than when I place fosters if she only has just started brooding or contemplating it. While she still mothers them, not rejecting any, she defends the chicks better from some of my bothersome hens if she is in a deeper brood to begin with.

My experiences. Good luck with your situation. Let us know how things go.

Lady of McCamley

 

[chickencrazy999]

Also One more question Sorry,
Do you think I should put 4 eggs under her and two eggs in the incubator just encase she cant keep them all warm (She is a first time broody) or should I just give her all six I have an R-com mini automatic incubator which holds 3 eggs I thought when they hatch just slip them under her with the others what is your experienced peoples advice?
Thanks Ella

 

[jammyjammy2112]

Only reason I can think someone would consider them 'better' is maybe if they are larger than a regular silkie they could cover and raise a few more chicks per clutch.... and may be better able to defend them from other flock members if needed.
I don't know that they would be any better in the actual 'mothering' part of it though...

well what i mean is that would there broodiness me more/less/the same or would it depend thanks

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Also One more question Sorry,
Do you think I should put 4 eggs under her and two eggs in the incubator just encase she cant keep them all warm (She is a first time broody) or should I just give her all six I have an R-com mini automatic incubator which holds 3 eggs I thought when they hatch just slip them under her with the others what is your experienced peoples advice?
Thanks Ella

My Silkie banty can handle 6 standard large eggs easily, so your should have no problem with 6 bantam size eggs.

I've also heard it is important to put eggs that have been shipped point down for 24 hours at room temperature to help reattach the air cells, then place in incubator or broody.

Good Luck.
Lady of McCamley

 

[fisherlady]

Also One more question Sorry,
Do you think I should put 4 eggs under her and two eggs in the incubator just encase she cant keep them all warm (She is a first time broody) or should I just give her all six I have an R-com mini automatic incubator which holds 3 eggs I thought when they hatch just slip them under her with the others what is your experienced peoples advice?
Thanks Ella

If you want to split them you can... you can wait till day 10 or so, candle them... pull any that aren't developing and then just give all of the rest of them to her for finish. I did have a silkie cover 8 without problem though... so you don't have to split them. Just make sure she has plenty of bedding and a draft free area and she should be fine.