Using Broody Hens to Hatch Eggs?

[Biddieacres]

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How high up is 'high up'? I don't think it would be a problem unless there is no way of stopping the eggs from rolling out of the nest and falling. After they hatch, though...it would probably be a problem.

I have a lip as well so I am not worried about the eggs falling out. Just worried about the chicks after they hatch. The nest is about 3 feet up. Jenny, you have good questions. You are better with your words than me. Hopefully someone here can help out.

 

[dancingbear]

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I'd be sure and mark the eggs, in case other hens crowd in and lay more eggs in her nest. that way, you know which ones to remove. The reason for separating a broody from the rest of the flock is to keep other hens from laying eggs in her nest, and to reduce chances of eggs being broken with a lot of heavy "nest traffic".

Aggression in a broody hen means she'll protect the eggs, and usually it means she'll be a protective mother. Why do you want to take the chicks away from her? She's quite capable of raising them, and if you let her, you won't have to provide a heated brooder, and she'll teach them how to be chickens. Hens that were raised by a good mother hen, make good mother hens.

If you feel you just have to take her chicks away, I don't think there is any way to do it without totally freaking her out. I've had hens nearly beat themselves to death trying to get through wire to reach the chicks, and that was just a momentary separation while moving them to a different pen. So she'll probably squawk, pace, attack whatever barrier is in the way, fret and carry on if you do that. Some give up after a few hours, some keep at it for days.

Some hens want to mother the chicks for a long time, some are done about the time they feather out. So she may only mother them 3 or 4 weeks. I've had some go a shorter time, but the chicks were all fine on their own, by the time they quit. She may want to mother them longer. It varies from one hen to another, even within a breed.

 

[aberfitch]

aggressive is good but too aggressive is bad. I had one kill another hens chick, then when her chicks were old enough, she almost killed one of her own. No more chicks for her!

 

[Blue_Myst]

Why do you want to take the chicks away from her?

I'm just examining all my options. This hen, I'm sure she'd make a good broody for the incubation period, but she is so aggressive, I'm afraid she may hurt the chicks. If that happens, I need to get them away fast and with the least amount of stress possible. I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I'm very unsure at this point.

Thanks everyone! This was just the info I needed.

 

[PhlyinPheBee]

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My frizzle hen just hatched out 3 RIR eggs 1 week ago. She was NEVER mean to me at all. I had to hand feed her to get her to eat. Now she even lets me pet her!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dancingbear]

I've heard of instances where a mother hen attacked her own chicks, but this is very unusual. I've been raising chickens for a long, long time. I've had lots of moms hatch eggs. I've seen a new mom attack chicks that belong to other hens, but not the ones she hatched herself. I've had hens raise guinea keets. I'm planning to have a hen raise a clutch of turkeys. The hen attacking anything that gets near her eggs, or near her chicks, is not an indication she'll hurt the chicks. It is an indication she'll try to protect them.

A mom will occasionally deliver a light peck to a chick. I think this is the chicken version of a smack on the butt to get the chick's attention. Or she may be momentarily confused about which ones are "hers". The eggs don't need to genetically belong to her. A hen will hatch anything, hers or not.

If you have an area where she and the babies go live undisturbed by other chickens for the first few days, there's less chance of any problems. Mom will square off with other hens when she and the new babies integrate back into the flock. These scuffles are generally noisy and brief, full of sound and fury, with little or no damage inflicted. It's mostly just, "I have new babies, stay away from them you hussy!" "Get out of my face, hag, this is my spot" etc. It usually only lasts a few minutes, then everybody settles down. Mom hen may continue to bristle and growl, and charge around with her feathers all puffed out. This is normal, psycho mom hen behavior. She's just letting everybody know that these are her babies, and they are not to be trifled with.

One more thing, when mom is teaching them to scratch for goodies, sometimes a chick will get behind her and go flying with whatever she's scratching in, straw, or whatever. The chicks bounce right back up from this, and quickly learn to get out of the way. I've never seen one injured by this, though I suppose it's possible.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Blue_Mist,

Why do you want to separate the chicks from the hen? She will do a better job of bringing them up than you can & it will be much easier later to intergrate them into the rest of your flock as the mom will protect them from the other birds. Let her do her proper job she has much, much more to offer than just being an incubator.

Good Luck.

Hattie

 

[Ridgerunner]

You are getting excellent advice here. I especially like Dancingbear's response. Experience is always great.

- How many eggs is reasonable to put under her? I have about 18, which is way more chicks than I want. But, not wanting to count them before they're hatched, I'd like to put an optimal number for a good hatch rate.

It depends on the size of the hen and the size of the eggs. For a full-sized hen with regular eggs, 12 or even 15 may be a reasonable number. For a bantam, 3 full-sized eggs may be plenty. You want her to be able to comfortably cover all of them and keep them warm. If she has too many one can cool off and die, then get shuffled back under her while another can cool off and die. As long as she can keep them all warm, she'll do fine.

- My nest box is 12" square, with a 4" lip to keep the straw inside. It's set up off the ground by about a foot. Should I put it directly on the ground before I put the eggs in? I don't want the chicks falling out and hurting themselves!

I would not worry in the least of chicks falling 1 foot and hurting themselves. It's probably less traumatic than the accidental kicking Dancingbear mentioned. My concern is that a chick could fall out of the nest before mama is ready to leave and not be able to get back in. The chick could die of exposure and stress mama out. The probablilty of this happening depends on how much lip the nest has above the bedding and how crowded it is. This does not happen a lot, but it does happen. You could lower the nest or provide a ramp at hatch time so the chick can get back in. A pile of litter, perhaps.

- Where are the chicks going to sleep? Do they get under the mom again? I've done my other chick-raising in a rabbit cage.

The chicks will sleep under mama. She does not have to have a prepared place to take them, although that would not be a bad thing. If she has to, she will do a good job snuggling them under her on the floor.

I think there are a lot of good reasons to let mama raise the babies if she can. Her heat lamp never blows a bulb or loses electricity. Chicks raised with the flock normally develop better immunity. Mama will do an excellent job of protecting her babies and teaching them to be chickens, but she needs some room to work with, as Dancingbear said.

Good Luck!!!

 

[alagary]

I will be watching this thread for sure . Just had one go broody today .
Can I just pick any egg from another hen and she will accept it then ?
I wasn't planning on hatching my own but this comes at a great time . I was going to put in an order with Mac Murray thursday . Now more money to spend on feed

 

[Ridgerunner]

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A hen does not know who laid the egg. Most hens will try to hatch golf balls, wooden or plastic eggs, egg shaped rocks, the list goes on. A chicken will hatch quail eggs, turkey eggs, etc. If you have fertile eggs, a good broody will hatch them.