Annoyed: Want to have hen raised chicks!

[jersy87]

Well I want to have hen raised chicks. I dont want to incubate them, but I dont know if that is ever going to happen. I am taking the eggs away sunday they have been in the house (sunday) will be 2wks. The hen was acting broody but stopped when I took a few eggs away.
All my hens are just turning 1yr this year.. So dnt know if that has anything to do with it or not.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

What kind of chickens are they? Some of the production (egg laying) breeds just don't have the instinct to go broody and raise chicks.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Some breeds are easy broodies and some breeds never or rarely have a broody.

What type of hens do you have? To try and encourage them, mark a couple/three eggs with a pen - so you know not to gather them - and place them, the marked eggs, together in a nest box. (Do you have a roo - not needed for a broody, but needed for fertile eggs?)

 

[jersy87]

My one hen was acting broody till I messed with the eggs and took a few away.


My hens are
2 wynodotte/australorp/buff orpington mix
3 rhode island red
4 golden comets

 

[jersy87]

There is 15 eggs in the nest. I've had them marked. Then hen was acting broody till I took some away. They were layed between 4/11 and 4/17. Thats why I was going to just take them away sunday and start over

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
You need to locate a couple of standard Cochins. They are the queens of broody.
I do not know anything about comets, but the rest of your hens are not going to likely be broody for any length of time, if at all.

 

[jersy87]

okay ill look em up. I have barred rocks on order right now. Are ameracuna;s broody?

 

[Kittymomma]

The only likely broody girls that you have are your Wyandotte/Australorp/Orpington mixes. I have 2/3 Australorps and my only buff broody now and one of my slw's is thinking about it. One Australorp hid a nest so she could collect eggs, the other one and the BO are sitting in empty nest boxes and having major attitude even though they've never had eggs to sit on. I'm either going to have to break those two or find something besides the barnyard mix I have around here for them to incubate.

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
Do you have an Ameracuna or an Easter Egger (hatchery stock)? One of my EE's just hatche out 8 chicks Tuesday and is being a great mom.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
The true purebreds might be,(though they tend to be crazy and flighty more then anything) but if you ordering from a hatchery, those will actually be Easter eggers. They are mislabled on purpose