Broody Hen hatches at least one egg on day 18

[Compost King]

Just wanted to share photos of my Japanese Bantams broody hatch. The first eggs hatched at 18 days, today is day 21 and she is still sitting on the eggs that were laid after she went broody. The white chicks are Red Pyle Old English Game Bantams, the black ones are Ayam Cemani x Red Ranger. They were the only eggs I had available to put under her. The rest will be Mixed Bantams with a Black Tail White Japanase Banta Roo.. Females laying were Millie Fleur D'Uccles, Golden Seabrites and Old English Game Bantam. And possibly even that Broody Grey Japanese Bantam could have laid eggs but I had collected all the eggs after she started going broody and replaced them with what I wanted Hatched. I doubt she laid any after that point but the others had. I couldn't move her because this Broody hen is my most skittish hen. I want to move her after all the eggs hatched because its the chickens can not get in and out of that nesting box since the opening is 8 inches off the floor of the nesting box and 18 inches off the ground of the dirty floor coop. The coop floods in heavy rain too. Its going to be fun to move her to the brooding coop.

 

[Compost King]

I moved her today (or yesterday now) and she went on the attack. That tiny little bantam drew blood. It was impossible to get the chicks first because she went hurting them trying to fight me so I just grabbed her and put her in a cage while I moved the chicks. They are in their new coop and run where they have privacy from the other chickens.

 

[L1sa]

Those broody bantams can be vicious little buggars!! Well done for getting the job done, hopefully they'll be happy in their new abode!

 

[Compost King]

She is one Skittish bird, before the eggs hatched when I would check on her she would run off in a panic, after they hatched she went into full attack mode on my hand... and my hand is much bigger than her!

 

[L1sa]

after they hatched she went into full attack mode on my hand... and my hand is much bigger than her!

You have to admire her bravery! Having a go at a huge giant!

 

[WVduckchick]

Being broody was actually how i won over one of my crazy little seramas. I tried checking her eggs after her first week and she attacked me. So I laid a rag over her head and checked her eggs. Each day I would just try to stroke her on the back a little. She finally stopped attacking me and learned to trust me. She eventually even let me help her get her chicks back up the ladder at night until they learned on their own.
She’s still a little bitty, and raising her fourth or fifth brood right now, and she is still very protective, but not quite as viscous.

 

[aart]

Being broody was actually how i won over one of my crazy little seramas. I tried checking her eggs after her first week and she attacked me. So I laid a rag over her head and checked her eggs. Each day I would just try to stroke her on the back a little. She finally stopped attacking me and learned to trust me. She eventually even let me help her get her chicks back up the ladder at night until they learned on their own.
She’s still a little bitty, and raising her fourth or fifth brood right now, and she is still very protective, but not quite as viscous.

Ditto Dat!!^^^
My first broody was totally un-handle-able, skittish bird I got as an adult. I used the method above, worked a charm, and good thing too as one of her chick got tangled around the neck in her breast feathers, woulda died if she hadn't let me cut it loose.

 

[WVduckchick]

Ditto Dat!!^^^
My first broody was totally un-handle-able, skittish bird I got as an adult. I used the method above, worked a charm, and good thing too as one of her chick got tangled around the neck in her breast feathers, woulda died if she hadn't let me cut it loose.

I had a chick last week get tangled in the leg/underbody feathers of broody bantam cochin. She was dragging it behind her. I thought it was dead. After cutting it loose, it was still alive and seemed ok, but it did die the next day. Freaky things happen!

 

[L1sa]

Once all the eggs have hatched, moving broody mumma is not difficult. As long as she has chicks she will happily move. I could never successfully move broodys while they were sitting on eggs, they just wouldn't play ball, but once they hatched it was easy.

 

[Compost King]

When the hen was broody if I tried touch her when she was on the eggs she would get off the eggs and run away. I stopped checking on the eggs unless she got off them to get water or feed. She always got off them when threw out scratch grains and thats when I would candle her eggs and remove the infertile ones.

Here are some pictures of the Broody mama after the move to their own tiny coop. I keep them in the tiny coop I built in the bin that Compost in. Plenty of bugs and seeds etc for them to learn to free range on. The Mama hen hasn't figured out how to teach them to use the ramp. She keeps hopping in the coop to bring them in and they can't follow her. I watched her hop in 10 times and call them only to hop back out and try again. So every night until they learn to use the ramp I have to go into the Compost bin and catch them all with mama bird frantically attacking my hands. Maybe she will learn to tolerate humans with all this interaction.
The Bin is the netting to a trampoline a friend had and gave to me in case I had a use for it. I use it to contain my large compost piles and when I need an emergency coop/Run I put it to use. It works great for Broody mamas but for large fowl it only holds 3 birds in the tiny coop. I have used it for meat birds I bred but most birds can fly out since the the walls are just 6 feet tall and I usually have about 3 feet of compost in it.