Give newly broody hen ready to hatch eggs from incubator, or freshly hatched chicks?

[PhoenixManz]

Hi all!

I have a some eggs in an incubator that are due to hatch starting Monday, 4th March. Goldilocks:

has been broody since two days now and she should get the babies in the incubator. I've read that that should be possible.

My question: would it be best to give the eggs to her before they hatch? If I give the eggs to her now, will she be turning the eggs that should now be in lockdown, and would that pose a problem?

Or should I wait for them to hatch, before putting them under her at night? Does anyone have any experience with such a situation?

Love,
Phoenix

 

[TesoroSena]

Give her a fake egg. Whether it’s just infertile or ceramic doesn’t matter, if she immediately scoops it under her and snuggles down on it give her the eggs before they hatch. If she just stares at it, or waits several minutes before scooping it, wait until they are hatched. If she hesitates and scoops it within a minute or so still give her the eggs as eggs.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

For bonding, I would put the eggs under her instead of chicks. Because they're going into lockdown, I wouldn't risk her turning them and try her with the chicks instead.

Has she ever been broody before? For her only sitting for a couple of days, I wouldn't give her the eggs or the chicks. At this stage, she could still abandon the nest or kill the chicks for them coming so soon. I would allow her to sit at least 21 days before trying chicks with her, though at that age, she may or may not accept them.

Do you have a brooder pen set-up for your chicks? I would put them in there for their safety. If you want to try your hen out with hatching, I would allow her to get some experience first, even if it's just allowing her to sit for a week or two to see if she's serious.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know how many eggs you have or if you have candled to see if they are developing. Some of that is curiosity but it might help me be more specific in my response.

Each hen is an individual. Some broody hens will accept practically any chick regardless of age or how long she has been broody. Others won't. You don't get any guarantees with this no matter what you do. I had a hen that had just gone broody fight another broody hen for control of her eggs as they started to hatch. They destroyed half of the eggs. No three weeks there. I had a hen that had been broody about a week reject newly hatched chicks I put under her.

Chicks do not always hatch at exactly 21 days. Some can hatch a full 2 days early or late. There are different reasons for that. One is average incubation temperature, heredity or just differences in the eggs can have an effect. Smaller eggs may hatch a bit earlier. It is something to be aware of.

The way I'd approach this would be to give the hen some of the eggs for her to hatch. Keep some in the incubator so you are not risking all of them but give her enough that some are likely to hatch. See if she is going to accept them or not. If she does not, try to move them to the brooder or incubator. If she does accept them, move the other chicks from the incubator to her nest at night in the dark. Check the next morning to see how it is going.

Are there risks in doing this? of course, you never know how it will go, even if she had been broody for 3 weeks. You don't have the option of waiting until she has been broody three weeks. Either you brood them yourself or try to give them to her. I would try to give them to her and this is the way I'd try. Another possibility which isn't bad would be to wait until they all hatch in the incubator and try giving them all to her at one time after dark. That could easily work.

 

[PhoenixManz]

Give her a fake egg. Whether it’s just infertile or ceramic doesn’t matter, if she immediately scoops it under her and snuggles down on it give her the eggs before they hatch. If she just stares at it, or waits several minutes before scooping it, wait until they are hatched. If she hesitates and scoops it within a minute or so still give her the eggs as eggs.

Interesting! Thanks, I'll try that tomorrow

 

[PhoenixManz]

For bonding, I would put the eggs under her instead of chicks. Because they're going into lockdown, I wouldn't risk her turning them and try her with the chicks instead.

Has she ever been broody before? For her only sitting for a couple of days, I wouldn't give her the eggs or the chicks. At this stage, she could still abandon the nest or kill the chicks for them coming so soon. I would allow her to sit at least 21 days before trying chicks with her, though at that age, she may or may not accept them.

Do you have a brooder pen set-up for your chicks? I would put them in there for their safety. If you want to try your hen out with hatching, I would allow her to get some experience first, even if it's just allowing her to sit for a week or two to see if she's serious.

This is her first time being broody, she hatched in August last year I have another broody who's eggs should also hatch starting Monday. If Goldilocks won't take them, the other broody will get them with a heater in the brooder-coop, since 18 chicks might be too many for her to keep warm, even being as large as she is so I have a backup plan already

 

[PhoenixManz]

I don't know how many eggs you have or if you have candled to see if they are developing. Some of that is curiosity but it might help me be more specific in my response.

Each hen is an individual. Some broody hens will accept practically any chick regardless of age or how long she has been broody. Others won't. You don't get any guarantees with this no matter what you do. I had a hen that had just gone broody fight another broody hen for control of her eggs as they started to hatch. They destroyed half of the eggs. No three weeks there. I had a hen that had been broody about a week reject newly hatched chicks I put under her.

Chicks do not always hatch at exactly 21 days. Some can hatch a full 2 days early or late. There are different reasons for that. One is average incubation temperature, heredity or just differences in the eggs can have an effect. Smaller eggs may hatch a bit earlier. It is something to be aware of.

The way I'd approach this would be to give the hen some of the eggs for her to hatch. Keep some in the incubator so you are not risking all of them but give her enough that some are likely to hatch. See if she is going to accept them or not. If she does not, try to move them to the brooder or incubator. If she does accept them, move the other chicks from the incubator to her nest at night in the dark. Check the next morning to see how it is going.

Are there risks in doing this? of course, you never know how it will go, even if she had been broody for 3 weeks. You don't have the option of waiting until she has been broody three weeks. Either you brood them yourself or try to give them to her. I would try to give them to her and this is the way I'd try. Another possibility which isn't bad would be to wait until they all hatch in the incubator and try giving them all to her at one time after dark. That could easily work.

Thanks for your extensive answer!

I'll try out your suggestions and keep an eye on her!

 

[halefamily_flock]

I typically incubate the majority of eggs that I want broody hens to raise. The hatch/survival rate is much higher. I have had success with putting 1-2 live eggs under the hen at lockdown, and adding the rest as newly hatched chicks. (I always put fake eggs under her until I swap them out)

 

[PhoenixManz]

I typically incubate the majority of eggs that I want broody hens to raise. The hatch/survival rate is much higher. I have had success with putting 1-2 live eggs under the hen at lockdown, and adding the rest as newly hatched chicks. (I always put fake eggs under her until I swap them out)

That's so interesting! Have you ever had any problems with chick acceptance?

Fortunately we've had excellent success rates with our broodies since we started with natural brooding last year, and haven't yet had the need to incubate since then. I did turn on the incubator for a chick last year that hadn't hatched until the 4th day and that I opened up a little to see if it was alive. Thankfully it survived with a little assistance and it's a big proud Marans/Orpington mix rooster now

 

[halefamily_flock]

That's so interesting! Have you ever had any problems with chick acceptance?

Fortunately we've had excellent success rates with our broodies since we started with natural brooding last year, and haven't yet had the need to incubate since then. I did turn on the incubator for a chick last year that hadn't hatched until the 4th day and that I opened up a little to see if it was alive. Thankfully it survived with a little assistance and it's a big proud Marans/Orpington mix rooster now

No problem with acceptance so far. I started off trying to be sneaky getting them under the hen, but realized the hens aren't keeping track. I have 2 good broodies in the flock who are good at raising chicks, but none of them does well with the incubation for 3 weeks because there are so many other hens trying to lay in their nest box and interrupting the process.