Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[bobbieschicks]

Yeah! Broody's can be real interesting that way!

Well this morning was interesting!

I went in the coop and Momma hen (Henrietta, I seem to call the hens momma when they go broody.

) was on the nest well during feeding time she decided it was time for her to get up and relieve herself. Which was perfectly fine, except the fact that it was the middle of egg laying time and my little RIR looves Henriettas nest so before I could get back Lil Red was on her nest...

While Henrietta was out in the run all fluffed up and drinking a ton of water. Well I was on a time limit, so I figured they will work it out. I was afraid Henrietta would go back up to her nest and sit on the one with golf balls. But nope when I got home Henrietta was on the right nest and lil Red was perfectly content.

I was so glad they worked it out! It really made me nervous....

 

[bobbieschicks]

Psst - I know the secret to making a hen go broody...

1. You have to have a breed that is prone to broodiness - like EE, Cochin and Silkies - to name a few. Order some and then wait.
2. Make sure you have an inviting nest with fake eggs (golf ball, ping pong ball, ceramic egg, plastic egg or something else that looks egg shaped). Put the fake eggs in the nest box and then wait.
3. Watch her carefully and the 1st time you notice her staying on the nest all day long - give her a special treat to eat, like mealyworms or such, and then wait.
4. Watch her each night to see if she spends the night on the fake eggs or returns to the roost, and then wait.
5. Watch to see if she's stopped laying her own eggs, and then wait.
6. Once she stays on the nest all night long for 3 nights in a row - call her a broody - your wait is over! Celebrate, you have a broody!

Then decide whether to leave her where she is or move her to another location. If you are going to move her - do yourself a favor and do it at night under cloak of darkness. Trust me on this one. Put a small towel over her head so she can't see anything and move her along with some of her bedding to the new nest. Put the fake eggs under her and watch to see if she stays there the next morning. You can test her resolve for a couple of days - or if you already have a bator as backup go ahead and move forward with your plan to get eggs under her. Order your eggs and let them sit for 24 hours before placing them either in the nest when she's out eating/pooping or in front of her to let her scoop them under herself. Once the eggs are under her begin the 21 day count down and wait for the chicks to hatch!

The actual time between wanting a broody and having a broody may vary - the waiting time of somewhere between "now" and "never" are normal. However, do not give up hope. Trust in the process and wait patiently grasshopper - all things come to those who wait...

I haven't read through this thread(sorry), It's really long(if you haven't noticed,lol). But was just wondering if someone could help me with some questions I have. I haven't had good success with hatching in an incubator, so I wanted to try putting some eggs under a hen, but how do I go about it? I would be getting the the eggs from online, and would also have to buy a hen. Could I start her on some dummy eggs? That way she is already broody when the eggs arrive. Or could I just set the eggs in the nest when they arrive? Also, I would probably need to get her conditioned to her new home before putting eggs under her?
thanks for any help.

 

[fowlsessed]

Psst - I know the secret to making a hen go broody...

1. You have to have a breed that is prone to broodiness - like EE, Cochin and Silkies - to name a few. Order some and then wait.
2. Make sure you have an inviting nest with fake eggs (golf ball, ping pong ball, ceramic egg, plastic egg or something else that looks egg shaped). Put the fake eggs in the nest box and then wait.
3. Watch her carefully and the 1st time you notice her staying on the nest all day long - give her a special treat to eat, like mealyworms or such, and then wait.
4. Watch her each night to see if she spends the night on the fake eggs or returns to the roost, and then wait.
5. Watch to see if she's stopped laying her own eggs, and then wait.
6. Once she stays on the nest all night long for 3 nights in a row - call her a broody - your wait is over! Celebrate, you have a broody!

Then decide whether to leave her where she is or move her to another location. If you are going to move her - do yourself a favor and do it at night under cloak of darkness. Trust me on this one. Put a small towel over her head so she can't see anything and move her along with some of her bedding to the new nest. Put the fake eggs under her and watch to see if she stays there the next morning. You can test her resolve for a couple of days - or if you already have a bator as backup go ahead and move forward with your plan to get eggs under her. Order your eggs and let them sit for 24 hours before placing them either in the nest when she's out eating/pooping or in front of her to let her scoop them under herself. Once the eggs are under her begin the 21 day count down and wait for the chicks to hatch!

The actual time between wanting a broody and having a broody may vary - the waiting time of somewhere between "now" and "never" are normal. However, do not give up hope. Trust in the process and wait patiently grasshopper - all things come to those who wait...

OK, thanks.

 

[Farmin Momma]

Psst - I know the secret to making a hen go broody...

1. You have to have a breed that is prone to broodiness - like EE, Cochin and Silkies - to name a few. Order some and then wait.
2. Make sure you have an inviting nest with fake eggs (golf ball, ping pong ball, ceramic egg, plastic egg or something else that looks egg shaped). Put the fake eggs in the nest box and then wait.
3. Watch her carefully and the 1st time you notice her staying on the nest all day long - give her a special treat to eat, like mealyworms or such, and then wait.
4. Watch her each night to see if she spends the night on the fake eggs or returns to the roost, and then wait.
5. Watch to see if she's stopped laying her own eggs, and then wait.
6. Once she stays on the nest all night long for 3 nights in a row - call her a broody - your wait is over! Celebrate, you have a broody!

Then decide whether to leave her where she is or move her to another location. If you are going to move her - do yourself a favor and do it at night under cloak of darkness. Trust me on this one. Put a small towel over her head so she can't see anything and move her along with some of her bedding to the new nest. Put the fake eggs under her and watch to see if she stays there the next morning. You can test her resolve for a couple of days - or if you already have a bator as backup go ahead and move forward with your plan to get eggs under her. Order your eggs and let them sit for 24 hours before placing them either in the nest when she's out eating/pooping or in front of her to let her scoop them under herself. Once the eggs are under her begin the 21 day count down and wait for the chicks to hatch!

The actual time between wanting a broody and having a broody may vary - the waiting time of somewhere between "now" and "never" are normal. However, do not give up hope. Trust in the process and wait patiently grasshopper - all things come to those who wait...

This was way to funny for words!

 

[Noymira]

Everything I've read said that DE was preventative, but didn't help once the lice were there. I wouldn't bother with DE at this point as you have an infestation. I'd try something more substantial to treat since you aren't preventing but eradicating the lice. Could you treat her with something like Ivomec pour on for cattle? You could get that at TSC. Since she isn't laying right now it won't affect egg production and she won't transfer it to the hatching eggs. I believe you can put a dose on bread and she eats it. You may want to search on BYC for treating under the emergencies thread. Is she in with the general population or separated into a broody area? You will still want to dust everyone else or treat them with the same product. But for anyone laying you won't be able to eat the eggs for about 2 weeks. You will need to discard them instead.

That's what I had heard as well, which is why I thought I'd go straight to the permithren dust. Though I would invest in some DE for future use and make them a dust bath area with that, some sand and some ashes from our woodstove.

I was hoping to use the permithren so we could still eat the eggs, since it seems that is a safe course. The down side being that I'd have to do it all again 10 days later. Do you need a second treatment in 10 days for the Ivomec? I might be willing to go that route and toss the eggs for two weeks if one application would do the trick.

The broody is currently still with the flock, camped out in a nesting box. I have not given her eggs yet because I was waiting to make sure she was really broody. Now I'm waiting to get my broody coop finished, hopefully this weekend. I was hoping to treat her when I move her, and treat the rest at the same time.

 

[fowlsessed]

There really is no way to "make" a hen go broody so I'd get the hen first and wait until she's broody before buying any hatching eggs...You'll be wasting your money otherwise.

Yea, I realize that. I guess what I wanted to say was to try n' "induce" her to go broody. So, do I need to wait till she's laying again before I put the fake eggs in the nest box? Because usually when you get a new hen (like I'll be doing) they quit laying for a bit while they're settling down. And another question, the few extra days for the eggs to hatch wont mess up her internal hatch clock? because with using the dummy eggs first she'll be on the eggs for a bit before I switch her to the real eggs, so to her It'll be as if she was sitting on the eggs for a longer period. I think they ship eggs overnight, so as soon as I'm sure that she's broody I just buy the eggs let them sit and then put them under her?
sorry for all the inquires, and thanks

 

[Glasshen]

Hens don't get broody because of anything we do, it is all them. Perhaps it is hormonal, but nothing we can induce. As far as the fake eggs, I just leave some in the nest boxes all the time. Hens like to lay where there are already eggs, it kind of shows them that this is a good place for eggs. If you want chicks, you could just get young chicks and raise them, there are lots of great instructions for doing so on this site.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Sorry, I don't mean to make light of your situation - I KNOW what is it like to want a broody - my poor little Topsy is too tiny for more then 4 eggs and its so hard to find less then 6 shipped at a time. I've had two of my pullets go broody this year - one an EE and the other a Silkie - so it does help to start with breeds who love brooding. But my Lavender Orpingtons (whom I really want to go broody) aren't going broody yet. I guess they may some day - but the wait is FOREVER! Hang in there - when she does go broody let us know so we can help cheer you on!

OK, thanks.

 

[bobbieschicks]

You can put the fake eggs under her anytime - it won't hurt. If she is broody - you will know because she will stop pooping except maybe 1 time a day and it will stink like you can't believe. She will also stop laying until she gets chicks or hatches eggs. If she isn't laying now because of the move and she isn't broody then she will probably start back up within a week or so, but if she is broody then she won't start back up. Ask the people you get her from if she's broody - they should know if they've been getting eggs from her or not. Also - don't worry about her internal clock - she will sit on eggs until they either hatch or you replace them with day old chicks. Smokey sat on eggs for 28 days - the 1st clutch she sat on weren't fertile so I had ordered shipped eggs that I put in the bator until a week before hatching. Then I gave her some of the eggs to hatch out for us. And yes - that's how you can do the shipped eggs. Let them rest the 24 hours and then I moved Smokey off the nest so she could TCB and then I switched the eggs so that when she got back on the nest she had the new eggs under her. But for Topsy I put the eggs in front of her and let her roll them under herself. Either way is fine. I hope you get a broody soon - they are so much fun to watch with the chicks and so much easier.

Yea, I realize that. I guess what I wanted to say was to try n' "induce" her to go broody. So, do I need to wait till she's laying again before I put the fake eggs in the nest box? Because usually when you get a new hen (like I'll be doing) they quit laying for a bit while they're settling down. And another question, the few extra days for the eggs to hatch wont mess up her internal hatch clock? because with using the dummy eggs first she'll be on the eggs for a bit before I switch her to the real eggs, so to her It'll be as if she was sitting on the eggs for a longer period. I think they ship eggs overnight, so as soon as I'm sure that she's broody I just buy the eggs let them sit and then put them under her?
sorry for all the inquires, and thanks

 

[suebee]

There really is no way to "make" a hen go broody so I'd get the hen first and wait until she's broody before buying any hatching eggs...You'll be wasting your money otherwise.

Yea, I realize that. I guess what I wanted to say was to try n' "induce" her to go broody. So, do I need to wait till she's laying again before I put the fake eggs in the nest box? Because usually when you get a new hen (like I'll be doing) they quit laying for a bit while they're settling down. And another question, the few extra days for the eggs to hatch wont mess up her internal hatch clock? because with using the dummy eggs first she'll be on the eggs for a bit before I switch her to the real eggs, so to her It'll be as if she was sitting on the eggs for a longer period. I think they ship eggs overnight, so as soon as I'm sure that she's broody I just buy the eggs let them sit and then put them under her?
sorry for all the inquires, and thanks 

Your new hen may not stop laying just because it's a new place, but being broody quickly in a new place is doubtful. Never say never though!

If she goes broody with fake eggs she'll be fine sitting an extra week or two with the real ones. My favorite hen was broody 3 weeks before I decided to let her hatch, so that's a total of 6 weeks!