Broody Hen Thread!

[PD-Riverman]

Hi all, thought I would join the party

. I have a broody sitting on eggs due to hatch June 17th! Okay dumb question but its both of our first time hatching eggs lol---so for lockdown should I just stop taking the broody off the nest the 15th (3 days before hatch) or wait it'll I see an egg pip? Thanks

Let me ask you a Dumb Question----why are You taking the broody off the nest???? Does she Not have a place big enough to get off the nest """"IF"" she wants to?? 72 Broodies in the last year alone and ""I"" have never taken one of the nest---never seen a reason to----she WILL get off the nest when she gets ready and FOR sure do not take her off while she is starting to hatch. Good Luck with her hatch-----make sure no food or water is close to her nest---if she can eat and drink while on the nest she is going to do one of 2 things----she will have to get off the nest to poop while her eggs are hatching(Not a Good Thing) OR she will poop in the nest and for sure that is Not a good thing---a lot of loose, stinky poop!!!

 

[thebulg]

updaaaaate, even though there are 4 pages since the last time i posted! mama is doing better since being brought inside. a lot better actually. yesterday she looked very panicked and i thought that was because the last day or two of setting must be really difficult. that was kind of what i assumed with her comb and stance and behavior. but now she is calm, sleeping in what i know is a very relaxed chicken state and waking up with there are peeps or movement under her, she has fluffed all the way back up and is a nice fluffy pancake again. no more panting at all, her eye area is no longer gray. my concern at this point is one that i can do nothing about, and that is if there are still enough mites to get into the chicks and kill them on the spot. but like i said, nothing i can do about it but wait until everyone has hatched and it's safe to handle.

currently at least one is pipped because there is chirping! but i think there is more than one. today is day 21 so here's to hoping at least a handful hatch for us!

 

[Mezzer]

How are you staying away with both pics you posted appears to be taken where you are tilting her for the camera shot. I am just a Lucky Person I guess----where 150 times in the last 3 years, 72 in the last year I have set broody hens and I have Never had to take the chicks. Should I feel deprived because of ALL those sets I have Never seen the eggs pipping, or the chicks breaking out the shell Under the Broody----cause I do not have X-ray Vision. """"I"""" Would NEVER tilt one of my hen while she is hatching to see whats happening under her---matter of Fact ""I"" might peek from a distance of several feet to see if I see or hear a chick but I do not even get close to her nest during her last 3 days until she comes off the nest with the babies. Broodies usually get upset if you get close, puff up, even move at times---which could cause her to stomp some chicks and make crazy noises and even Peck.  I am just Totally hands Off and so far I have Great hatches and NO problems with EVERY broody I have set. Good Luck

It was really warm out and as they were hatching she was not so much on the eggs, rather she was above the eggs with her body completely off them. I was worried that she was too warm because she was panting so I was keeping a close eye on her. I just happen to be out there at the right moment but my timing was perfect, I got to see her first egg hatch. Good thing I was right there as she started to peck it as soon as it hatched. :/

 

[Mezzer]

See her standing? She would not sit on the eggs as they were hatching. I was not tilting her, she was upset with all the movement from the hatching egg. Her panting was concerning.

 

[mossyroo]

My 2 new mommas are doing fine. Last one moved off the nest yesterday leaving 2 eggs behind. One had nothing in it and the other had a mostly formed chick but very nasty yolk. 6 eggs under each and one ended up with 5, the other 4. Had to separate the 2 families as one of the hens was being VERY aggressive to the other. None of the other 10 hens seem to have any problem with the new arrivals.

 

[thebulg]

i'm getting to the point of being really over chickens. i don't really mean that. my broody was moving around as i was checking on her and there was a brown smear on the towel. she moved enough that i could see bits of shell. it's very bloody. the chick is somewhere under her rump (yes, i lifted her a little. if she is about to kill 15 chicks or there are dead chicks under her, i would like to know that now). i didn't touch the chick, i didn't move the eggs, but i did grab the shell. i am assuming that chick is dead behind her just based on the blood. if it isn't, half of the things you learn while incubating are wrong haha

 

[Mezzer]

2 more eggs to go. I peeked in the door and she's sitting on the eggs nicely again and I don't hear any peeping. I assume either they have not hatched yet or she's calmed down and will not reject the last 2 chicks. It's set to be cooler today, maybe the heat yesterday was upsetting her? She seems calmer anyways.

 

[the poppster]

2 more eggs to go. I peeked in the door and she's sitting on the eggs nicely again and I don't hear any peeping. I assume either they have not hatched yet or she's calmed down and will not reject the last 2 chicks. It's set to be cooler today, maybe the heat yesterday was upsetting her? She seems calmer anyways.

It may have been the chicks hatching and you near by that started to freak her out...in he fury to protect her nest and the little strangers appearing, add to that, the heat....she's new to brooding...? First hatch?...she may have been just striking out at whatever and whoever was within reach...if she accepts the other chicks...and they are the same color as the ones you removed...you might try tucking the "rejected" chicks under Mom at night...in the complete darkness...keep her and the chicks confined...in the dark, for the rest of the night....don't check on them....leave her to to get acquainted with the chicks....the hen and Chicks will communicate with each other in the dark....chances are that they will be accepted....and yes the color can be a problem with some hens....strange as it seems. If she has accepted the dark chicks and you try to add a few light colored chicks....she might attack the "strange" colored chicks....that's why you slip them under her in the dark. Good luck. It's worked for me....oh and stuff them deep under the hen...from the rear if possible. If not just be sure they are well under her.

 

[PD-Riverman]

It was really warm out and as they were hatching she was not so much on the eggs, rather she was above the eggs with her body completely off them. I was worried that she was too warm because she was panting so I was keeping a close eye on her. I just happen to be out there at the right moment but my timing was perfect, I got to see her first egg hatch. Good thing I was right there as she started to peck it as soon as it hatched.

Listen, She is Your Hen and You can do any way you want--I am Fine with that because she is yours, you can take all the pics and stay right next to her if you want. Its OK. If you were to come visit my chicken yard, my broodies---things would be alot different than what you are use to-----I allow No One near my broodies. My broodies are treated different than some----I am going to allow mine to hatch out as close as possible to natural as they can in a confined space.

You were posting problems, pecking the chicks, etc, etc, etc. So to reply with some Info I was saying---Either the way I do it or I must be Lucky because I Never have that problem and to keep from having problems---this is what ""I"" do or not do. I never have to take chicks away from my broodies, I never take pics, I Never Be near or get Close to them---for sure not during the hatch. I allow the Broody to do Just The Way she would Do if she was in Nature hatching her chicks. She would be doing it without Me bothering her or getting close to her. I am Just saying What I Do and sharing that info with you----if you wanted you might try it the same way----sure It might Not change a thing with the way things are with your broody, but with mine---I have No Problems, just good broodies hatching their eggs/chicks. Good Luck

 

[Toosocs4]

Let me ask you a Dumb Question----why are You taking the broody off the nest???? Does she Not have a place big enough to get off the nest """"IF"" she wants to?? 72 Broodies in the last year alone and ""I"" have never taken one of the nest---never seen a reason to----she WILL get off the nest when she gets ready and FOR sure do not take her off while she is starting to hatch. Good Luck with her hatch-----make sure no food or water is close to her nest---if she can eat and drink while on the nest she is going to do one of 2 things----she will have to get off the nest to poop while her eggs are hatching(Not a Good Thing) OR she will poop in the nest and for sure that is Not a good thing---a lot of loose, stinky poop!!!

She had plenty of room to get up and poop, eat and drink an even take a dust bath but if left alone this broody will not get off her nest! I didn't bother her for 5 days and no poo or food and water touched the entire time so I figured I would just remove her every evening. Maybe she would of gotten off on her own but I didn't want to risk it. Thank you for the insight though, I realize that ideally the broody does everything on her own