brooding hens

[gabreal16]

I want to get into hatching chicks the way nature intended. I have a flock of mainly bared rocks. I need to know everything about brooding. I need to know how long they set, when to get rid of un-hatched egg, if some of the chicks require help to get out of shell and how to help them, how long do I have to wait before they can brood a second time, how long will after the chicks hatch will she stay broody, etc. Basically tell me everything you know about brooding hens.

 

[sumi]

Broodiness is a hormonal thing, you can try to encourage hens to go broody by leaving decoy or fake eggs in the nest boxes for them, but it really depends on the breed and the individual hen. Some hens and breeds are more prone to broodiness than others. Once you have a broody, or suspect you do, make sure she is committed, before giving her any eggs to hatch. A good way to determine this is by watching her, if she stays in the box for 2-3 days and sleeps in the box for 2 nights in a row, chances are she is committed and then you can give her some eggs.
Select clean, even shaped, even sized and undamaged eggs for hatching. Give them to her all at the same time to ensure they will hatch more or less at the same time too. When giving her the eggs slip them in under her chest, one by one and let her arrange them herself. The eggs should take roughly 21 days to hatch, though sometimes you may get early hatches and some late, even under broodies. In general, if you give a hen eggs on a Monday they should hatch on a Monday, 3 weeks later. During the setting period the hen may get up once a day to eat, drink water, have a quick dust bath and chase her flock mates around a bit. This cool off period will not harm the eggs. While she is up and about the hen will also relief herself often of an abnormally large, smelly load. This is perfectly normal, don't worry!
When the chicks start hatching leave the hen in peace and resist the urge to lift her up for a look. She will take care of the chicks and the shells. During the hatch, which could take up to 3 days, she will not get up, so she will appreciate a drink of water and a little bit of food. She will get up roughly 3 days after the first chick hatched to take care of her chicks and if there are any unhatched eggs you can candle them to check if they are viable. Unless they are completely dark, except for a clear area in the fat end of the egg where the air cell is, discard them. If they are viable you can leave them in the nest for when the broody comes back for the night with her chicks and give them a bit longer to hatch, or try to hatch them by assisting. Here's a how-to:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

Once mom and the chicks are up and about you can decide if you want to separate them, or let her raise them with the flock. Sometimes the other flock members may harm the chicks, so keep an eye on them for the first day or two. A good broody should protect her chicks though. If you do decide to separate them, reunite them with the flock when the chicks are no more than 4 weeks old, to give them time to be accepted by the flock while still under the broody's protection, before she weans them, at around 6 weeks.
Feed the broody and chicks chick crumbs, but do not under any circumstances feed the chicks layer feed. The high calcium content of layer feed harms chicks' and young chickens' kidneys. Give them water in shallow waterers, to prevent accidental drownings. The hen will wean the chicks when they are around 7 weeks old, though some will wait longer. After weaning them she will resume laying soon. Sometimes you may get a super broody who will start sitting on her next clutch of eggs within a month of weaning her chicks, again, it's hormonal and down to the individual hen.
If, for some reason, the eggs do not hatch it's better not to give the hen a fresh clutch to sit on, as the inactivity and little food she consumes during the 3-week period takes quite a toll on a hen. In this case it's better to either break her broodiness by placing her in a wire bottom cage for a few days, or to get some day-old chicks for her to raise.

That is the basics. If you'd like to know more about broody hatches or have any questions, here is a loooong and very informative thread on the topic:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ody-hen-hatch-a-long-and-informational-thread

 

[CAjerseychick]

Broodiness is a hormonal thing, you can try to encourage hens to go broody by leaving decoy or fake eggs in the nest boxes for them, but it really depends on the breed and the individual hen. Some hens and breeds are more prone to broodiness than others. Once you have a broody, or suspect you do, make sure she is committed, before giving her any eggs to hatch. A good way to determine this is by watching her, if she stays in the box for 2-3 days and sleeps in the box for 2 nights in a row, chances are she is committed and then you can give her some eggs.
Select clean, even shaped, even sized and undamaged eggs for hatching. Give them to her all at the same time to ensure they will hatch more or less at the same time too. When giving her the eggs slip them in under her chest, one by one and let her arrange them herself. The eggs should take roughly 21 days to hatch, though sometimes you may get early hatches and some late, even under broodies. In general, if you give a hen eggs on a Monday they should hatch on a Monday, 3 weeks later. During the setting period the hen may get up once a day to eat, drink water, have a quick dust bath and chase her flock mates around a bit. This cool off period will not harm the eggs. While she is up and about the hen will also relief herself often of an abnormally large, smelly load. This is perfectly normal, don't worry!
When the chicks start hatching leave the hen in peace and resist the urge to lift her up for a look. She will take care of the chicks and the shells. During the hatch, which could take up to 3 days, she will not get up, so she will appreciate a drink of water and a little bit of food. She will get up roughly 3 days after the first chick hatched to take care of her chicks and if there are any unhatched eggs you can candle them to check if they are viable. Unless they are completely dark, except for a clear area in the fat end of the egg where the air cell is, discard them. If they are viable you can leave them in the nest for when the broody comes back for the night with her chicks and give them a bit longer to hatch, or try to hatch them by assisting. Here's a how-to:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

Once mom and the chicks are up and about you can decide if you want to separate them, or let her raise them with the flock. Sometimes the other flock members may harm the chicks, so keep an eye on them for the first day or two. A good broody should protect her chicks though. If you do decide to separate them, reunite them with the flock when the chicks are no more than 4 weeks old, to give them time to be accepted by the flock while still under the broody's protection, before she weans them, at around 6 weeks.
Feed the broody and chicks chick crumbs, but do not under any circumstances feed the chicks layer feed. The high calcium content of layer feed harms chicks' and young chickens' kidneys. Give them water in shallow waterers, to prevent accidental drownings. The hen will wean the chicks when they are around 7 weeks old, though some will wait longer. After weaning them she will resume laying soon. Sometimes you may get a super broody who will start sitting on her next clutch of eggs within a month of weaning her chicks, again, it's hormonal and down to the individual hen.
If, for some reason, the eggs do not hatch it's better not to give the hen a fresh clutch to sit on, as the inactivity and little food she consumes during the 3-week period takes quite a toll on a hen. In this case it's better to either break her broodiness by placing her in a wire bottom cage for a few days, or to get some day-old chicks for her to raise.

That is the basics. If you'd like to know more about broody hatches or have any questions, here is a loooong and very informative thread on the topic:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ody-hen-hatch-a-long-and-informational-thread

Wow amazing post, thanx Sumi!
Ours hatched out 4 and this helps (daughter seperated them out while I was gone but we are leaving town when they will be about 10 days old, so will give it a shot at reintergrating mom and chicks before then ?...)....

 

[sumi]

I usually reintroduce moms and chicks to the rest of the flock once the chicks are around 4 weeks old. But at 10 days they should be fine and mom will be comfortable in her role and very protective of the chicks. But keep an eye on them for awhile after introducing them just in case. You may occasionally have a flock member or two attack new chicks and kill them, but it's not too common a problem and like I said, mom will protect them as best she can. I unfortunately had this happen in one of my flocks, so I'm super cautious now.