3 days left in the incubator and got a hen that decided that she wants to be a momma

[Hensofthehill]

Hello friends, I’m hoping to find a little bit of guidance from all of the experts and not so experts here.

18 days ago I loaded the incubator with 48 fertile eggs bit today I discovered that I have a hen that wants to be a momma and is sitting on about dozen eggs for about a day. Would that be a good idea to swap the eggs she is sitting on with eggs that have 3 days left in the incubator?

She is such a good hen, my favorite one and I sure would love her to “finish” the chicks if possible? Did anyone do this before or ran into no broody hen to a great broody hen?

Thank you all in advance.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

It’s really hard to know what kind of broody she’s going to be. Has she ever gone broody before? You could certain give her some eggs to hatch. However, if she rejects the eggs or chicks, potentially even causing their death, you’ll need to intervene. Or you can hatch as planned and slip day old chicks under her at night. I’ve done that a few times. Its always worked out well for me.

 

[Hensofthehill]

Thank you so much for those ideas @UThobbyfarmer. I have no history of my flock past last October The only thing I know is that she is roughly 3 years old. The flock came with the house and all were in a very poor condition, hopefully as you can see she looks beautiful and her feathers are so shiny now. Took me awhile to figure my ladies, but I am so happy to see them shine!

How many chicks do you think I can let her coach? Can only day old chicks be given or elder ones could be too? Thank you so much in advance.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Thank you so much for those ideas @UThobbyfarmer. I have no history of my flock past last October The only thing I know is that she is roughly 3 years old. The flock came with the house and all were in a very poor condition, hopefully as you can see she looks beautiful and her feathers are so shiny now. Took me awhile to figure my ladies, but I am so happy to see them shine!

How many chicks do you think I can let her coach? Can only day old chicks be given or elder ones could be too? Thank you so much in advance.

It depends completely on the broody. Good ones will take as many chicks, assorted ages, as you care to give them. I’ve added chicks daily, as they hatched, for up to 7 days. Since she doesn’t have a solid history it would probably be best to give her 3-4 day old chicks the first night after they hatch. Reach under her, remove all eggs, replace with chicks. Some broody hens just like to sit on eggs. They’ll ignore or harm chicks. Even ones they’ve hatched themselves. In favor of sitting on eggs.

Ideally you’d have a couple more weeks to see if she means business. But if the chicks are hatching now I’d give it a shot.

I don’t remember if you mentioned where she is located in the coop. You might consider separating from the rest of the birds. As they’ll try to lay in the same box or can harass/kill the chicks. Although plenty of people do let them brood with the flock. Shifting her to another area could be enough to stop her broodiness. If she stays broody then will likely accept the chicks. My favorite phrase, from someone on here, is “you can’t shake a good one loose”. Basically you can put them through almost anything and they’ll continue to go back to their eggs. Those are the ones I look for in my flock. Those are the hens I let hatch chicks.

 

[Hensofthehill]

Thank you so much @UThobbyfarmer , I have a fairly small coop 8x8feet and have 15 birds there with a rooster. He loves to check the eggs out not sure if its normal, but at times he gets into the nest and chills with my hens while they lay eggs. Have you ever experienced that?

My lady is the most dominant hen and is even higher than the rooster in their pecking order. I placed her in the large box in a quiet area in my garage. Its dark, warm and quiet there. I placed water and food close by to her and sprinkled shavings on the bottom of that box. I will post a pic a bit later with the setup if you or anyone else has any suggestions, comments I very much would appreciate them.

I used to hate that she was even picking on my rooster durig boring long winter days, but now I am seeing that she was just a dominant momma that was trying to keep her plumage for this occasion. This evening I will have 2 days left till day 21. Would you put freshly hatched chicks or wait till they dry out?

I've never experienced that and I am very excited, but at the same time a bit terrified Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[SueT]

I think you have a good chance of success with either switching out the eggs with eggs about to hatch, or with newly hatched chicks. The younger the chicks the better, I’d vote against older chicks. But they also say the longer a hen has been broody, the better, so you’ll have to see how it works out with her being newly broody.
Let us know how it goes, this should be interesting!
Good luck!

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Hmmm. Rereading what I read let me clarify. I meant give her 3 or 4 chicks that are newly hatched “one day olds”. Not chicks that are 3-4 days old.

 

[Hensofthehill]

ly hatched “one day olds”

Thank you so much, that for sure makes sense, the younger, the better as @SueT mentioned also. Would you give her chicks fresh out of the egg or let chicks dry first? Attached is my “setup”

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Thank you so much @UThobbyfarmer , I have a fairly small coop 8x8feet and have 15 birds there with a rooster. He loves to check the eggs out not sure if its normal, but at times he gets into the nest and chills with my hens while they lay eggs. Have you ever experienced that?

My lady is the most dominant hen and is even higher than the rooster in their pecking order. I placed her in the large box in a quiet area in my garage. Its dark, warm and quiet there. I placed water and food close by to her and sprinkled shavings on the bottom of that box. I will post a pic a bit later with the setup if you or anyone else has any suggestions, comments I very much would appreciate them.

I used to hate that she was even picking on my rooster durig boring long winter days, but now I am seeing that she was just a dominant momma that was trying to keep her plumage for this occasion. This evening I will have 2 days left till day 21. Would you put freshly hatched chicks or wait till they dry out?

I've never experienced that and I am very excited, but at the same time a bit terrified Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

That’s a good set up. It’s wonderful she’s top dog. It’s shake things up a bit removing her then adding back with chicks. However she’s well equipped to protect her chicks and make sure they aren’t bullied.

I can’t recall a rooster ever joining hens in a nesting box. That sounds unique to him.

Is that the actual coop (inside space)or does that include the run too? Could be a bit tight for 15 birds. Might be time to expand the run or consider downsizing numbers. Especially with chicks hatching.

 

[Hensofthehill]

I think you have a good chance of success with either switching out the eggs with eggs about to hatch, or with newly hatched chicks. The younger the chicks the better, I’d vote against older chicks. But they also say the longer a hen has been broody, the better, so you’ll have to see how it works out with her being newly broody.
Let us know how it goes, this should be interesting!
Good luck!

Thank you so much @SueT , I think I will take some eggs out of the incubator as I have exact 3 days left and stick them under her. How many eggs is it safe to put under her? She is a decent size black australorp.