Broodies on eggs? Broodies with babies? Post here.

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

That is so cute!!! OK, I'll try not to panic

Catalina, don't worry about the vaccine. I don't think it's very long-lasting and they'll be fine. I've visited some of the chicks I've hatched and they are big and healthy!

 

[Chicken Girl]

Hello every body! I am a newbe to all this stuff and i have a broody! And i need some ideas for a broody box thing cuz i have to make one to-morrow. I hope she is rilly broody. Cuz every body is helpen me out here and i dont want to get to happy about it and then her just get off of them! So

for me! The firs time she went broody she got off of them 4 days -2 weeks befor hatch! And i think it was my falt. i would candel every other day cuz i think its cool. But i will not do that agen! Thanks Much!


Chicken Girl AND GOOD LUCK!!

 

[ursusarctosana]

Hi,

I brought my hens into the back room of my house. One is in a dog crate with a clamp lamp. The other hen is in what I would call a broody box--it's a dresser with the legs cut off, turned into a brooder. It has a lid on hinges and wire over the top and front.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Chicken Girl, read through some of the other posts about caring for your broody hen. You don't have to put her in a separate box/pen, only if she's in an inconvenient spot. Where other hens are constantly interrupting her, or where predators will be sure to get her. Or you could make a protective barricade around her right where she is, using wire, wire panels, even the top half of a guinea pig cage. It's best to do your work at night to keep from throwing her off her groove.

Make sure she has food & water handy, and room to get up & poop. And leave her eggs alone! Keep us posted with her progress!

 

[Chicken Girl]

Will do! And i hope she rilly is broody! She has been on and of the eggs so i just take them. But to day she wanted to EAT ME!! lol Thanks a bunch!

Chicken Girl

 

[Sunny Side Up]

When I've bought chicks from the hatchery I have them vaccinated (who can beat that deal of just a few cents per chick?) but I don't vaccinate my home-made chicks. Although you can buy the vaccine and easily learn to innoculate your own chicks (it's not difficult, just a jab through their wing-webs) many folks say it's not necessary with a small home flock.

One thing I've noticed is that the chicks who are raised with a Mama hen, who are pecking around the dirt she scratches & poops in, do NOT show signs of coccidiosis. They seem to build up the immunity from being around her poop. But chicks raised without a Mama hen do need the Rx for cocci. I don't feed the medicated chick starter, just administer the Sulmet when I see the tell-tale signs in the poop.

 

[Donnadzitall]

Quote:
The one thing I can tell you is that my two cochin bantams (one red, one black birchen) have been excellent broody hens. Between them they hatched 11 Faverolles eggs ordered from eggbid and are now exceptional mothers. I've kept them in the back room of my house (one in a dog crate, the other in a broody pen made from an old dresser) and I let them come out (separately or they'll fight) with their chicks and spend time in a large plastic swimming pool that I sprinkle with crickets, broccoli, or other goodies. I'm lucky, too, that my hens were raised from chicks and they are extremely tame. The black one did bite me a few times when she first became broody, but it was easy to gain her trust.

To tell if the two eggs from my flock were fertile or not I placed them under the broody hen and candled them a few days later. I didn't purchase an egg candler, rather I have a little MagLight flashlight and I cup the egg in my left hand, large side down, and shine the flashlight up under the egg. By about the fifth day, at least, you should be able to see the veins and development of the embryo. It's good to turn off all the lights around you, though.

Ok, so I went and candled them tonight and there was movement inside! I WAS SO EXCITED!!! My hubby's mouth kinda dropped and was pleasantly surprised. (we are used to pheasants, this is a first for chickens!)
Anyhoo, I wanted to share my good news! Have a good night everyone!

 

[crzychicken]

That's great I can't wait to candle my eggs where on days 2 under my broody hen

 

[NapsWithChickens]

Hi all! I'm new to BYC (although I've had hens for going on 3 years) and I am SO glad that I found this thread! Thank you to all the posters for the excellent ideas and experiences you've shared. I'm taking lots of mental notes.

My cuckoo marans hen (purchased as a day old chick from McMurray last February) turned seriously broody in the last couple of weeks. It took me a while to figure out what was going on... and then a bit longer to realise the unique opportunity I would have if she would hatch eggs for me. (No roos here = no fertile eggs.) I bought some black copper marans eggs from a gal on Ebay and got them the next day. I don't think that they were exposed to serious cold and they were extremely well packed.

I goofed somewhat in setting up a space for Tango. I have two small coops - so I was able to close her into one after I cleaned it, eliminated some of the drafts, put down new litter, food and water. But I didn't know to transfer her out of her wall nesting box into a floor nesting box in the night time so as to disturb her less. She was very upset with me and wanted back into that raised box. I closed all 3 of the raised boxes off with cardboard and was worried that she wouldn't go back to her eggs. After several rounds of fussing, she settled back onto the eggs... and has stayed glued to them. Whew! The BC marans eggs came the next day ~ great timing! She accepted each egg and rolled it neatly underneath her. She made me so proud! She seems to be a natural mother hen!

BUT... no one told me that the shipped eggs should settle for 8 hours on the counter (or 24 hours?). I just hurried out and immediately swapped the 7 fertile eggs for the non fertile ones. Did I do something wrong?

I counted my first hatch date as the afternoon she first sat on the eggs... which makes our due date around the 19th of March. It is only day two for me now.

Stuff I'm thinking about... buying a strong mag lite flashlight... candling around day 8 (with fingers crossed - they are DARK marans eggs) ... marking the eggs as I candle them... supplimenting Tango's food ... moving her food and water closer...

I am debating getting additional eggs for her since my odds of getting a pullet out of this is slim - unless almost all of the 7 eggs hatch healthy chicks. How late can I add more eggs without screwing it up?

Thank you all again for sharing your experiences! I feel as though I've been peeking over your shoulders at your broody hens! Good luck to all!

 

[abbachick]

To those worried about vaccination: Mother Earth News has a lot of great online articles on the subject. You don't have to use shots; there are some you can add to feed and water. Personaly, I don't think a properly run coop with a yard will cause sickness in your birds. And diotomaceaus earth(did I spell that right?

) is great for treating worms/lice/etc. I buy 50Lbs. of the food grade stuff and mix some with sand for bathing and about 1/2 cup to the feeder every other day. It seems to help when they get colds, too. Eggs are stronger, chickens happy!

Anyway, everyones chicks look great! My incubater-to-hen chicks are due March 14, so wish me luck! Only four chicks hatched under thier mommas this year, so I'm helping these new mommas out.