BATOR vs. Broody on shipped eggs. Candling thru Hatch Pics!

[ADozenGirlz]

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Thank you! Do you have Silkies? She's a year old and has never laid an egg! Have you used Silkies as surrogates before?

 

[harleyjo]

Yeah, I think they sneak the new chicks in under the mama's after they go to bed at night and in the morning mama wakes up to the new babies. Post and ask about it!

 

[suebee]

Yes, I have put day old chicks under a broody at night, but the broody needs to be sitting for a couple of weeks so she's true. An egg shell placed under her with the chicks help too.

My chicks hatched 2 days early!!!!!!!!!!! My favorite broody is such a good mommy. I only intervene when a storm comes up and I have to get them in the coop so they don't get soaked. She NEVER poops in the brooder and NEVER scratches either!! No nasty waterer's or turned up brooder area! So great! She took them out to the chick pen, AKA...Fort Knox, at day 2 and they are so healthy and happy. They were born Mon. and Tues.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

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Congrats on your premies!
My eggs are three days from lockdown. I put one egg from the bator under my Silkie yesterday b/c I candled the broody's eggs, one looked great and one looked like a quitter, but left it under her.
Should I take the quitter out? Am I supposed to move the broody out of the coop's nest box before they hatch? After they hatch? Not at all???
If I move them, what kind of set up do they need? The chix need medicated starter but mama doesn't...how does THAT work??!!
Help!!I feel like a dad in the maternity waiting room!!!

 

[suebee]

Well I wouldn't remove the quitter. When I candle I never see any movement, yet they all hatch. If mom is on eggs in a nest, screen mom and eggs in until after eggs hatch, then move her to the new place. I just use a corner of the coop with window screens or some sort of barrier. I have a coop door leading into her own "brooder run" outside. She usually takes them out after 3 or 4 days. Also, mom can have the chick starter since she won't be laying eggs for at least 6 weeks. I use non-medicated starter but you'll be fine with medicated.

How big is your coop? Do you have room for a small place in the corner for her and chicks?

 

[ADozenGirlz]

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Great info, thanks! I did leave the quitter under her, but just added a second "good" egg, so there will be at least two hatchlings. The one I think is a quitter was not darkened like the rest are, which is why I think it's a goner. How long will she wait for it to hatch, or does she know when they're quitters?

OK, I'll build mama a screen to put in front of her while she's in the nesting box (there are six, hers is the second one in on the right). Does she go into "lockdown" on day 3, so she won't even try or need to get out until the babies hatch??

My coop is 4x6, so there isn't any room in it for a small place in the corner for just her. These are views from the people door, looking in right and left. There's some space under the droppings board, but I don't think that would be super comfortable.
The third pic is a shot of the inside of the coop pre-droppings board, when we had a droppings pit. That floor space is now open.

This is a picture of the "Maternity ward" my husband built for her that she wouldn't have anything to do with. Can you envision some sort of arrangement post-hatch for her in our run, using this Maternity ward? I imagine he'd have to put a door on it so mama can get out of it, maybe into a separate little run area? What would we do at night, bring them in the garage maybe (predators are abundant here even with our current biosecurity, I don't trust that it'd be safe to leave them in the run).

Here's a photo of the right side of the run. It extends behind the coop as well.

Here's a gratuitous photo of mama, who has been doing a thankless job in unreasonably high temperatures for nearly 3 weeks! Go Freida!

 

[suebee]

OK, first of all get rid of the quitter since you know its bad. Reason is it could explode and believe me it's a nasty mess. The hen won't miss it as long as she has another egg.
I would screen her in 1 or 2 days before they're due. Your "Maternity ward" is great. After they hatch I'd just put them in the "ward" under the boards on the left in your coop. 2 days after they hatch, Mama will get ansy and want to get out with her chicks. If you could maybe screen or fence off about 3 feet in that corner she'll be OK. After a week or two you could let them roam the coop. She will know when to take them outside and fiercely defend her chicks. I'm lucky to have to runs going out both ways so I use the fort knox one for the babies and mom.

Lastly, You have one of the nicest coops I've ever seen. If you get time submit to coop contest if you haven't yet.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

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Wow, that's SO helpful! Thanks! And thanks for the coop compliments! We did not build it, however, we bought it. We have made lots of revisions to it though. We put in the droppings boards and raised the roosts higher. I implored my husband to go out in 94 degree heat and 70% humidity recently to cut two additional windows in the coop so that we could get even more air flow into the coop for mama broody. We added the automatic pop door opener (and I would sell a kidney if I had to to do it all over again...LOVE THAT contraption!!!) I will take credit for the interior decorating, however.

Ok, gotta show off the new windows...I still need to paint them, but I think it's made all of the girls more comfortable in these insane temperatures.

 

[suebee]

Those are great pics! My dh is a carpenter so he built our coop. Seems I always have a "honey do" list for him. He also put in a new window a month ago so I have windows on 3 sides, 2 with fans..one blowing in, one blowing out, and the human door on the other. I've had my coop for over 7 years so its got lots of cobwebs and dust. Your coop just sparkles! And LOVE your interior decorating!! I especially like your window treatments.

Very nice!!! How are Mom and eggs doing???

 

[ADozenGirlz]

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Thanks suebee! I'm a little Type A about my coop.

I made the nest box curtains for the girls' privacy and had some leftover fabric, so...why not dress the window, right?

Freida is doing brilliantly. I have really only spotted her getting out of the nest box on four occasions in the past 18/19 days, which is just so impressive given the oppressive heat and humidity here ALL THREE WEEKS. No leisurely strolls around the property, no gossip at the water-cooler, no Facebooking, no idle chit-chat on her cell phone. Just eat, poop and back to the coal mines. She's a superstar!

I ended up taking one of the bator eggs out of the bator and putting it under her. I left the one I thought might be a quitter under Freida b/c I'm not 100% certain it's a dud. So, she has three under there. We'll see what happens any day now!

I asked my husband to make Freida a little security gate at her nest box so the other hens stop laying their eggs in there while we're in lockdown.

Here's how it came out and there's Freida, gettin' down to business!

I decided that since I'm keeping the broody babies (versus hatching the bator eggs for my neighbor) that I would transfer Freida to a little area under the droppings board as soon as her babies hatch. Here's what my husband put together for me to keep the other girls out. I put pine shavings and hay inside the kitty carrier, which is where I'll put the chicks and mama when they're ready.