Broody Hen Thread!

[Lady of McCamley]

Thanks to that pencil and pad I remember to put in my pocket very morning----habit----I just write it down---to transfer to the calendar that night-----do not have to remember anything then-----LOL.

How does a rooster affect your memory??

Because my fertile eggs are now FREE, FREE FREE.

When you pay $35 to $50 for a batch of setting eggs...you tend to be very mindful of when they are set and how they are handled.

So glad those days are gone, gone, gone.

Got the right genetics to breed forward what I want to get now...so I've become a bit more cavalier in fertile eggs and projects....more of letting nature take its course as the eggs aren't costing me $3 to $6 each (plus shipping/handling).

Love the idea of pad and pencil in jacket pocket...will get one into my chicken coat today...now I just will have to remember WHAT the date IS so I can write it down...maybe I'll ask the rooster.

LofMc

 

[slordaz]

letting one broody hatch out caused me grief but got a much better hatch rate, it cause 9 outta 15 others to want to go broody

 

[dgibson0604]

That is a really good question. (I've stepped away and come back to my computer so hopefully I'm not at the end of a long line of answers for you here).

In my opinion, the answer will be different for each chicken owner and totally depends on your chicken philosophy, flock needs, and goals. How much property and your physical environment will also determine which is better as well as how long you actually want to keep chickens.

I have done it both ways and have transitioned over the years to using only broodies.

If you are in the chicken business for profit, your needs will be different than the average backyard owner.

If you want to sell chicks for profit, especially of expensive breeds, then you likely want the ability to brood whenever you want, no matter the season, and will want to be able to carefully control all aspects of hatching and grow out. You'll want a very good incubator and industrial quality process. (Although @PD-Riverman who has perfected the use of broodies for more of a business set up.)

If your focus is layers for an egg business (like my grandmother was), you'll likely just buy a new set of chicks each spring and brood in a separate building with heat lamps...no guesswork as to how many live chicks you get. Let the hatchery undertake the cost and effort of bad hatches.

If this is a hobby, or you are wanting to keep a sustainable flock on a bit of land, I can highly recommend hen brooding. Once you understand the mechanics and set up, hen brooding is very efficient.

I have read several studies (done in 3rd world Agricultural studies) that show broody hens can be 80 to 90% efficient in obtaining a clutch. Most inexpensive incubators are about 50%. Better quality incubators, with a knowledgeable handler, can come to almost 100%, but average around 80%. See our own BYC @PD-Riverman for his personal best (overall) percentage.

I personally am lousy at hatching with incubators (did a bit of that with a 4H project with my kids). Mostly because I never would dole out the dollars to get a good one. The cheap incubators are a lot of work and require a lot of fiddling to get good hatches. However, I was reluctant to get a good one because I discovered I really didn't like the mess and hassle of artificial brooding chicks with a heat lamp inside the garage. (Over time, the mess gets really, really old.)

While we were pondering that decision of how to best brood with our start up flock, a huge turning point came when we burned a coop down to the ground, to ash heap, by adding a flood lamp to keep the newly transitioned pullets (from the artificial brooder) warmer during a really big cold snap. Turns out most of our chicken friends had either had a fire or nearly had a fire from heat lamps. The fire was so intense that it scorched the nearest tree but thankfully missed our wood pile and the neighbors. I could have easily burned down a whole area on the map.

So that set a bad taste in my mouth for heat lamp brooding, especially in the garage. I decided to set up to brood the natural way and have never looked back.

During that transition year, I even had artificially brooding chicks along side naturally brooding chicks.

I can honestly tell you that the naturally brooded chicks grew faster, feathered quicker, were overall healthier, and had no transition issues or losses. No pasty butt, no coccidiosis, and absolutely no need for artificial heating even in the dead of winter. Momma literally does all the work, and you have healthy little babies running around with snow on the ground. Those winter hatches generally mature early (as they mature during lengthening day light) into pullets that lay early.

This is offset with less efficiency on hen brooding than at top rate artificial incubator/brooder. (I overall get maybe 66% to 70% hatch rates...but I am dealing with a couple of less than satisfactory bantams which has lowered my rates...my good broody hens are at about 90 to 100% hatch rate consistently....survival rate is nearly 100% though...lost one in winter who wandered out of the grow out pen.)

Broody hens will only brood when they want to, while an incubator is ready to fire up at will. You can increase your frequency by purchasing known broody hens or pullets from a really good brooding line and breed. My Silkies have gone broody at least 3 to 4 times a season. My bantam Cochins likewise...although somehow their fluff is not as effective as a Silkie. My breeder quality heritage Marans and Rhodebars are probably twice a year.

The hen brooded chicks are not as tame as artificially brooded chicks, if you were to handle them a lot, but they are wonderfully adapted to being chickens and living smartly on free range.

So there are pros and cons of each method. Choose the method that best fits your needs and goals.

LofMc

we have 11 hens of varying breeds
we have some young silkies and are gonna keep one hen
i am only 15 but know that when i get older i will let my hens go broody i personally think it is better
thank you for your input

 

[Lady of McCamley]

we have 11 hens of varying breeds
we have some young silkies and are gonna keep one hen
i am only 15 but know that when i get older i will let my hens go broody i personally think it is better
thank you for your input

If you can, plunk some eggs under that Silkie if (probably more like when) she goes broody. Even with a small hobby project, it is an absolute kick to watch.

Good luck with your future endeavors, and your current flock.

If you are of the mind, 4H is an excellent way to get some livestock experience, and they have some really good hatching units and aids.

LofMc

 

[RachaelR32]

I'm hoping my girl who has been thinking of going broody for the past 4-5 weeks might finally be get sorted to brood properly. She had been getting of the nest for 4-5 hours in the afternoons after sitting all morning and night, but she's been off less this week. She also didn't lay today. She's been screaming at me more as well.

The other hen that was sleeping in with her seems to have decided she's no fun and is now hanging about with the young ones and has taken herself off to roost in their coop a couple of days this week so I'll just have to encourage her to sleep in there with them all the time. I want to see this one sitting well for a few days before I get her some eggs as I tried giving her eggs before and she didn't sit well.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm hoping my girl who has been thinking of going broody for the past 4-5 weeks might finally be get sorted to brood properly. She had been getting of the nest for 4-5 hours in the afternoons after sitting all morning and night, but she's been off less this week. She also didn't lay today. She's been screaming at me more as well.

The other hen that was sleeping in with her seems to have decided she's no fun and is now hanging about with the young ones and has taken herself off to roost in their coop a couple of days this week so I'll just have to encourage her to sleep in there with them all the time. I want to see this one sitting well for a few days before I get her some eggs as I tried giving her eggs before and she didn't sit well.

Try giving her a bit of yogurt or something with calcium...while we think of it for laying, I've read that the broody is more prone to brood if her calcium levels are up.

I tried that on my Silkie, and it worked to get her out of a not quite but almost mood...put her back on some layer feed actually. She was in full brood within a couple of days.

LofMc

 

[dgibson0604]

If you can, plunk some eggs under that Silkie if (probably more like when) she goes broody. Even with a small hobby project, it is an absolute kick to watch.

Good luck with your future endeavors, and your current flock.

If you are of the mind, 4H is an excellent way to get some livestock experience, and they have some really good hatching units and aids.

LofMc

i am wanting to join the FFA
but did want to join the 4-H but my parents have family and family friends that i learn a lot from and my dad said that 4-H was for kids that haven't done some of the stuff i have
i have hatched chickens since i was 9 years old but i just moved out to the country this past winter and we never had room in the small town i lived in
so far this year we have hatched over 20 barnyard mixes and have one zipping and one pipped in the bators right now

 

[RachaelR32]

I

Try giving her a bit of yogurt or something with calcium...while we think of it for laying, I've read that the broody is more prone to brood if her calcium levels are up.

I tried that on my Silkie, and it worked to get her out of a not quite but almost mood...put her back on some layer feed actually. She was in full brood within a couple of days.

LofMc

I'll give that a try.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

i am wanting to join the FFA
but did want to join the 4-H but my parents have family and family friends that i learn a lot from and my dad said that 4-H was for kids that haven't done some of the stuff i have
i have hatched chickens since i was 9 years old but i just moved out to the country this past winter and we never had room in the small town i lived in
so far this year we have hatched over 20 barnyard mixes and have one zipping and one pipped in the bators right now

FFA is a fine program too.

In my area, 4H has a lot of different levels and projects. My daughter even did a vet science unit taught by a veterinarian that was most excellent.

4H, and the FFA, depends a lot on the depth of support by the Ag Extension and availability of good quality leaders in the area.

Good luck finding a good group to learn and grow. Sounds like you've got some good family support. Nothing, of course, beats reading and personal experience.

LofMc

 

[PD-Riverman]

for everybody on this thread do you prefer letting your broodies hatch or hatching in an incubator
my dad didnt want to hatch with broodies this year just to make sure we got chicks

We all have different goals and I have hatched a lot of broodies in the last year or so----over 70 and all of them had Great Hatches, But even if I could average 10 eggs per hen----that's only 700 chicks. 700 chicks would be way more than Most would ever want. I sold mine but 700 would not be enough to get me going good so I home-built a incubator and a hatcher and bought a few more cabinets I hatched over 5700 more---that kept me some busier----LOL but my plan was shorten because of the "bird flu" scare.

I Like the broodies and if I only wanted to replace my chicks every year---I would use the broody hens only. You will have good luck using Broodies if you will spend a little time setting them up so they can hatch without problems. I don't know if I am as good at it as "some" say---but the way I am is different than a lot. I do not want my broody to set for 21 days for Nothing---I want her to hatch a nest of babies so I set mine up as close to Natural as I can----if there is a problem---I remove that problem so the next broody does not have the same problem. My goal is to be as close to 100% hatch, every hatch----as I can get.

Some have that attitude---well if she hatches----good---if not--its ok---I will try again some time-----they say. Thats not good and gives me no desire to help them.


In my 150 +/- broodies in the last 3 years ALL 150 of them hatched and they all had great hatches.

If you """Really. Really""" Want to get set-up to have good hatches with broodies----get up with me or any of these Great hatchers and we will help you---when you get ready. Great hatches with a Incubator----""is a piece of cake""---LOL----problem is so many will not follow instructions or argue that the way they want to do it is just as good??? Then why do they not have great hatches???