Broody behavior while chicks are hatching

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

The panting is thirst. You've fixed that now

Always look for the most obvious answer, not the obscure unlikely one.

Make sure she leaves the nest once a day to poop, drink and eat. If its hot, give her water while she sits on the nest either with a small bowl within reach (with big stones in) or I use a guinea pig gravity bottle sometimes and just hold it for her for a few mins.

I know you are right. I think I’m just panicking. Staying calm now...

 

[DobieLover]

You are a life saver! I cannot thank you enough for this information! It seems like that is such an important thing to know, especially for someone like me, who has experienced things go really poorly with a broody. My broody now looks sweet and beautiful and calm as she prepares for babies. I cannot hear any sounds from mama though because it’s raining and all of my other chickens have decided to go under her house/nest area to get out of the rain. And they talk and sing all day long! Can you take a pic of the underneath of your water bottle? That looks like a perfect set up for them. Mama is inside the cat house, so I’m not sure how to get her off the nest to make sure she poops. I’m pretty sure I would not be able to pull her out of there. Should I force the issue? Yesterday was the first day she didn’t get off the nest.

This is the bottle:

I got the bottle from a thrift store for 50 cents. I wanted one with a screw top, that loop handle and a flip top for an anti-vacuum vent. I got a pack of vertical poultry nipples from TSC, drilled a hole in the bottom of the bottle and installed the nipple. Make darn sure it isn't leaking before it is hung up. It's great to keep the brooder area clean and give a save drinking water source for the chicks that mom can use too.

How far along is she? I misread your original post and thought she was close to hatching at day 20.
I manually remove my broody first thing in the morning when I enter the pen to do chores and set her outside the coop then give her a poke to snap her out of her broody trance. She'll then run off to poop, eat, drink, dust bathe and preen for a bit before making her way back to the nest. I'll monitor her while I'm taking care of the flock to make sure she gets back to her nest okay and no one bothers the nest until she returns.
If it's a nice day, I may toss her off again in the afternoon.
I leave her put starting on day 19.
It's micromanaging for sure but at least I know she is taking proper care of herself and none of the hens are messing with her nest. She has full access to come and go from the flock without me tossing her though, and the hens and rooster can see and visit her during her incubation. That helps her maintain her flock position.

This is the day after this hens chicks hatched. That is one of the fathers with her in the maternity ward and one of the senior hens behind him. Her brood is under her.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

This is the bottle:
View attachment 2694587
I got the bottle from a thrift store for 50 cents. I wanted one with a screw top, that loop handle and a flip top for an anti-vacuum vent. I got a pack of vertical poultry nipples from TSC, drilled a hole in the bottom of the bottle and installed the nipple. Make darn sure it isn't leaking before it is hung up. It's great to keep the brooder area clean and give a save drinking water source for the chicks that mom can use too.

How far along is she? I misread your original post and thought she was close to hatching at day 20.
I manually remove my broody first thing in the morning when I enter the pen to do chores and set her outside the coop then give her a poke to snap her out of her broody trance. She'll then run off to poop, eat, drink, dust bathe and preen for a bit before making her way back to the nest. I'll monitor her while I'm taking care of the flock to make sure she gets back to her nest okay and no one bothers the nest until she returns.
If it's a nice day, I may toss her off again in the afternoon.
I leave her put starting on day 19.
It's micromanaging for sure but at least I know she is taking proper care of herself and none of the hens are messing with her nest. She has full access to come and go from the flock without me tossing her though, and the hens and rooster can see and visit her during her incubation. That helps her maintain her flock position.

This is the day after this hens chicks hatched. That is one of the fathers with her in the maternity ward and one of the senior hens behind him. Her brood is under her.
View attachment 2694603

I love your water bottle idea and will be incorporating it right away. Thank you for the pics!

I had to block my mama off from the rest of the flock starting 2 days ago because I have cats that would find those little babies far too tempting. There is another door in her area but you can’t see in the pic. That was open for her to free range as normal. It is a bummer because I don’t know how she will be able to introduce her babies to the flock. The cats might end up locked up for a couple of weeks!

The 4 eggs I bought locally were incubated until I got them on Wednesday when they went right under my mama. I’m trying to get a clearer answer as to what day, but maybe she doesn’t know the exact date? She doesn’t usually sell eggs. She had said she would have put them in lockdown on Friday (which I would think means that was day 18), but as I was leaving, she said they should start hatching on Friday. Based on that, they must be somewhere between Day 19 and 21 today. I am so hoping it is Day 19! The eggs from mama and her sisters (3 of them) are for sure on day 17 today. Since yesterday was the first day mama didn’t leave the nest, it makes me think yesterday was day 18 or 19. Do the mamas know about lockdown too? Do you think the mama would start panting around this time? Does mama move straw/bedding around the entire broody period, or is this just for the final days? The only other thing I worry about is if the eggs are ok... On Thursday, when she got off the nest, she was gone for about an hour and a half and it was only 75 degrees out. I had to get her back in by enticing her with scratch. She doesn’t let me pick her up, and if I do, boy does she scream! She loves treats from my hand though.

i LOVE your pics!!! Thank you for all of your help!

 

[Chicalina]

She will do fine. Mama broodies just KNOW!

It is us that stress out and worry. Hoping for some cute little chickies for you soon!

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I’m not sure if this link will work... this just happened!!
https://my.arlo.com/#/viewShared/94A996F4608F0CA6_202105

 

[yakitori]

I’m not sure if this link will work... this just happened!!
https://my.arlo.com/#/viewShared/94A996F4608F0CA6_202105

that's ADORABLE!

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

that's ADORABLE!

I hope that is normal mama behavior. Mama is way more rough than I thought she would be. It looks like she is pecking baby a lot, but then baby snuggles right into mama. Not sure at what point I will stop worrying that something bad is going to happen.

 

[Chicalina]

I’m not sure if this link will work... this just happened!!
https://my.arlo.com/#/viewShared/94A996F4608F0CA6_202105