Broody Hen - New To This!

[Sussex19]

If you have rooster, then all your eggs *should* be fertile, but the only way to know for certain is to set some, and then candle on day 7.

 

[akf93]

Aww I love this! I’m all for nature taking its course. I don’t, however, have a separate space for them. Do I need one if I proceed with her broodiness? If so, I will continue to try breaking.

I love a broody hen. I have had success with fertile eggs and with sneaking day old chicks into the nest. One of my Lavender Orpingtons went broody/crazy mid June. I ordered fertile eggs from mypetchickens.com. She kept sitting on the eggs with a daily break. Then I messed up. I moved her to the new “nursery” and she got confused. She didn’t go into the new nest. It took me too long to realize that I had to move her back into her original nest. After 21 days nothing hatched
I ordered one day old chicks from the same site, paid $ 55 for express shipping and received 8 beautiful chicks the next day. I snuck the chicks under my broody and she took to them immediately. We quickly moved them into the nursery adjacent to the adult pen. Mother hens are the best, they take perfect care of the chicks. They are now almost two months old and free ranging with momma. The adults tolerate them and soon they will all share a coop.

 

[WIchickMama]

Aww I love this! I’m all for nature taking its course. I don’t, however, have a separate space for them. Do I need one if I proceed with her broodiness? If so, I will continue to try breaking.

Nope you don't need a separate space. It is nice to have the spot she picks to be closed off for lockdown and first couple days but not necessary. My hen had her babies out on day 5, I had her separated from day 19 to hatch and first days just til they could move and get under mom without falling over

 

[akf93]

Nope you don't need a separate space. It is nice to have the spot she picks to be closed off for lockdown and first couple days but not necessary. My hen had her babies out on day 5, I had her separated from day 19 to hatch and first days just til they could move and get under mom without falling over

Is it a responsible thing to proceed with it? Our current lows have been in the 40s and highs in the 60s. We usually get our first frost mid October. I wouldn’t mind going through with it if she takes care of them. How reliable is a first timer? And are these temps still comfortably doable? Our coop is not heated. We do plan to put up some foam board just for a little extra insulation.

And if you say go for it… do I just put a few eggs under her that im fairly certain should be fertilized? (I know my Roos favorite girls.) Or use a fake egg and purchase some day old chicks? Do I wait the 3 weeks or just put them under her whenever?

 

[aart]

It's much easier, IMO, to separate a broody by wire wall in the coop.
But I have a section designed into my coop and built a floor nest.
Then I don't have to worry about other eggs being laid in nest, her getting back on the wrong nest after daily constitutional, can also keep an eye on her feed/water levels and poops.

If you leave her with the flock, mark the eggs you give her and remove any new ones daily.
Tho the temps probably won't be a problem, it could complicate things.
I'd break her. If she's young, tossing her out multiple times a day might work.
Or get a crate and get 'er done, crates are very handy for a chicken keeper to have.
My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire(1x2) on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

After 48 hours I let her out of crate very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate for another 48 hours.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor, gives the feet a break from the wire floor and encourages roosting.

 

[akf93]

- Can I add just 2-3 fertilized eggs or does she need a whole clutch?
- Can I add 2-3 day old chicks? At what point? Anytime or after 21 days?
- My nesting boxes are about a foot off the coop floor. Does food and water need to be at the same level for new babies?
- I don’t have an easy way to section off an area in the coop. Is this okay to just not do?
- My coop is probably 2ish feet off the ground with a ramp. Can babies do that okay with a mama showing them the ropes?

I’m okay with a natural replacement of chicks. We free range full time and have accepted that predators are an unfortunate part of life. If they can be replacing the ones that get picked off without me being terribly involved, I’m here for that!!!

 

[akf93]

Also!!

My rooster is a lavender Orpington. My hens are RIR, Ameraucana, EE, OE, and BCM. Who should I attempt to hatch? I know nothing about chicken breeding and genetics. It’s on my list of things to learn. Just wasn’t planning on it happening this soon!

 

[aart]

- Can I add just 2-3 fertilized eggs or does she need a whole clutch?

I'd give her at least 6.

- Can I add 2-3 day old chicks? At what point? Anytime or after 21 days?

When grafting chicks onto a broody it's best that the chicks be a day old and the broody have sat for at least 2 weeks. If it doesn't work you have to be ready to brood the chicks yourself.

- My nesting boxes are about a foot off the coop floor. Does food and water need to be at the same level for new babies?

Once the chicks are hatched they'll all jump down with mama and settle on the floor somewhere.

- I don’t have an easy way to section off an area in the coop. Is this okay to just not do?

As long as you remove any new eggs each day and make sure she stays on the right nest.

- My coop is probably 2ish feet off the ground with a ramp. Can babies do that okay with a mama showing them the ropes?

Maybe, maybe not.

I’m okay with a natural replacement of chicks. We free range full time and have accepted that predators are an unfortunate part of life. If they can be replacing the ones that get picked off without me being terribly involved, I’m here for that!!!

IMO, having a successful broody does take some involvement on the keepers part.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll link to a thread of a well-respected member of this forum that let a broody hatch in Michigan in the dead of winter. They can hatch and raise chicks in colder weather than you will be facing but the risks are higher. What could be an inconvenience in warmer weather could be fatal in truly cold weather.

Broody in Michigan Winter? | BackYard Chickens - Learn How to Raise Chickens

- Can I add just 2-3 fertilized eggs or does she need a whole clutch?

I think 6 is a good number. You never know how many will actually hatch. You don't want too many because the hen needs to be able to cover all of them in cold weather and they grow really fast. In warm weather that's not nearly as important. After the broody hen weans them they will have to make their way with the flock on their own until they mature. They are social animals and want to be with other chickens. That can make it hard on a single chick. They need companions. I'd want at least three chicks for that. You don't know how many will hatch.

- Can I add 2-3 day old chicks? At what point? Anytime or after 21 days?

The younger the chicks the more likely she will accept them and they will accept her. There are different opinions on how much how long the hen has been broody affects her accepting them. It won't hurt to wait a couple of weeks. But in any case she might not accept them so you need to be ready to raise them yourself. This may be reason to not try it.

- My nesting boxes are about a foot off the coop floor. Does food and water need to be at the same level for new babies?

No, not at all. My nests are 2' or 4' off of the coop floor. When the broody is ready she gets them to jump to the coop floor. She takes them to sleep on the coop floor, never goes back to those nests since the chicks can't get up there. I keep food and water on the coop floor for them. After a couple of days she takes them outside.

- I don’t have an easy way to section off an area in the coop. Is this okay to just not do?

Some people isolate the hen when she is incubating and some of us don't. If you do not isolate her you need to collect all the eggs you want her to hatch, mark them, and start them at the same time. Then every day after the others have laid check under her and remove any that don't belong. It is important to start them all at the same time.

- My coop is probably 2ish feet off the ground with a ramp. Can babies do that okay with a mama showing them the ropes?

This is another reason you might want to wait for better weather. What often happens is the hen goes up to the top and calls her chicks but they do not know to go to the foot of the ramp and walk up. The hen usually doesn't know to go to the foot of the ramp and show them. The chicks gather under the ramp at the pop door and can't jump up. You need to be out there as it is getting dark every night until they learn to see if they need help. If the coop were at ground level you would still need to be out there since most pop doors are raised a bit but it is less of a risk.

Since it is your first broody and because of the time of the year I think it would be best for you to break her and wait until next year. There is an excellent chance she will go broody next year in better weather. I also use the elevated cage method.

 

[Vickischics]

- Can I add just 2-3 fertilized eggs or does she need a whole clutch?
- Can I add 2-3 day old chicks? At what point? Anytime or after 21 days?
- My nesting boxes are about a foot off the coop floor. Does food and water need to be at the same level for new babies?
- I don’t have an easy way to section off an area in the coop. Is this okay to just not do?
- My coop is probably 2ish feet off the ground with a ramp. Can babies do that okay with a mama showing them the ropes?

I’m okay with a natural replacement of chicks. We free range full time and have accepted that predators are an unfortunate part of life. If they can be replacing the ones that get picked off without me being terribly involved, I’m here for that!!!

Since winter is coming and she's a first time broody, IMO...BREAK HER.
If things go wrong, you will have to bring them inside and raise them yourself until spring, them integrate them.
Are you prepared to do that? If your answer is "not really" I don't have the experience doing all that during the winter and the Holidays than you need to Break her.
Winters can be hard enough on grown chickens let alone a Broody trying to raise chicks.
It's not the right timing in my opinion but, good luck if you move forward with allowing her to hatch and raise chicks during the winter.
You'll have plenty of time hatching chicks in the spring. She'll go broody again or you'll have another Broody.