Broody Hen Thread!

[gimmie birdies]

my last batch was staggered too. I had 4 under a hen she hatched out all 4. I switched out those eggs, (took hatched chicks to indoor brooder) and put 4 more eggs (due 5 days later) under her from the incubator, but when she got up to eat and drink, a zipped egg chick almost froze. I took the rest in to finish incubation in incubator, I gave her her first 4 babies back to a heated pen. 16/17 eggs hatched (hen/and incubator)Eggs survived 2 power outages, and 4 hrs of electric turned off so hubby could fix water heater. broody eggs survived freezing temps.

Currently I have these in incubator:

due right around new years eve.

 

[CharlotteRenee]

This is our first day having a broody hen. We have a jersey giant who started sitting on an egg today, I felt pretty bad taking it. We do have a black Orpington rooster so it is possible for her to hatch them. Is there anything I should know about having her broody?

 

[imad]

Hi there how do you hatch an egg that the hen has laid. The light sussex hen laid it and i have a brown legbar rooster.

 

[FarmerMac]

Hi there how do you hatch an egg that the hen has laid. The light sussex hen laid it and i have a brown legbar rooster.

Hello imad, you may want to check this BYC learning center, there is plenty of information regarding hatching eggs. Here is a link or you can click on the tabs on top of the page.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks

 

[Bejammie]

How are Dominiques as broodies? Often?

 

[lazy gardener]

The only 2 times I've had a broody this season, they've been Doms. My gals look so much the same that I can't tell if it was the same girl twice, or each one once! First one was a bust, but the second one did great.

 

[KeyFlock]

A friend of ours had a barred rock sitting on some eggs, but didn't think it was anything serious. Until the other day when he went out and saw some chicks popping out from around the hen! Turns out she had hatched 8 chicks all on her own. He didn't want any of them, so we brought home momma and chicks in a box. They are currently housed in our chick brooder, which we didn't think we were going to use again until spring...Oh surprises! They all seem to be doing well, and we figured we could return the hen in a couple weeks when the chicks are all feathered out. Is that a good idea? I'll see if I can post pics tomorrow

 

[fisherlady]

A friend of ours had a barred rock sitting on some eggs, but didn't think it was anything serious. Until the other day when he went out and saw some chicks popping out from around the hen! Turns out she had hatched 8 chicks all on her own. He didn't want any of them, so we brought home momma and chicks in a box. They are currently housed in our chick brooder, which we didn't think we were going to use again until spring...Oh surprises! They all seem to be doing well, and we figured we could return the hen in a couple weeks when the chicks are all feathered out. Is that a good idea? I'll see if I can post pics tomorrow

Your plan should work fine but your time frames may be off. Broody hens usually keep their littles for about 6 weeks, sometimes more, it depends on the hen. They may prefer a bit more room than the average brooder after they are a week or two old also. But there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to broodies, so play it by ear but be prepared to adjust if needed.

 

[KeyFlock]

Thanks for the advice fisherlady! We currently have a batch of chickens in our small coup that will probably be moving in with the big chickens in the next week or two. Figured we could put her and the babies in there after they move out. I guess our friend will just have to wait a little bit longer for his hen to come back!

Also, our brooder is made out of an old water trough. Do you think they will all fit for two weeks? The chicks are only 2 days old right now.

 

[fisherlady]

Thanks for the advice fisherlady! We currently have a batch of chickens in our small coup that will probably be moving in with the big chickens in the next week or two. Figured we could put her and the babies in there after they move out. I guess our friend will just have to wait a little bit longer for his hen to come back!

Also, our brooder is made out of an old water trough. Do you think they will all fit for two weeks? The chicks are only 2 days old right now.

Every hen is different, but I know my last broody had 3 chicks and was in an area of about 14 square feet and after about a week she was ready to move out to another area. They may fit, but they will probably be very restless after a week.