Broody Hen Thread!

[Alex1010]

I've got a broody on day 6 and there's 5 inches of snow outside. Hopefully she keeps them warm

 

[RachaelR32]

Sadly chick number 8 didn't make it. Don't know if it was because we put a tiny hole in it this morning to identify which of the renaining eggs were good or not as my candling was so bad we couldn't tell. I thought that one was tapping this morning but hubby couldn't hear anything. So we put a tiny hole in the top of the remaining three and found that 2 were no good (one stank really bad) and the third had a chick that was chirping. We made the hole into the top, so nowhere near the chick so we didn't damage it, only tiny about end of beak size. But when we got home this evening the egg had been crushed and was cold. The chick was still curled up in chick position. I peeled off the rest of the shell. Looks like it would have needed another day as it hadn't absorbed all the yolk yet. The others were really active this morning running round the coop, so I think she must have left it to look after the others. It was day 23 today and the first hatched at the end of day 20, so it would have been asking her a lot to sit that long.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Up to 7 hatched now. Mum is coming and going from the nest so don't know if the remaining 3 will make it. I'm out all day today so won't be around if she abandons them.

For "ME" my 63 broodies last year----not one left the nest till she was finished----but about all fertile eggs hatched. Also ALL the eggs were set at the same time/minute and any added eggs were removed daily till I moved the hens to a private place/hatching pens. Doing it this way----all eggs usually hatch within hours of each other.

 

[RachaelR32]

For "ME" my 63 broodies last year----not one left the nest till she was finished----but about all fertile eggs hatched. Also ALL the eggs were set at the same time/minute and any added eggs were removed daily till I moved the hens to a private place/hatching pens. Doing it this way----all eggs usually hatch within hours of each other.

They were all put under her the same time, but this one looked like it would have needed 3 days longer than the first to hatch. They were quite spread out even though all set at the same time. 1 wednesday-thursday night, 1 one thursday, 2 on Friday and 3 this morning.

 

[PD-Riverman]

They were all put under her the same time, but this one looked like it would have needed 3 days longer than the first to hatch. They were quite spread out even though all set at the same time. 1 wednesday-thursday night, 1 one thursday, 2 on Friday and 3 this morning.

Can I offer a few suggestions for Future broodies??

 

[RachaelR32]

Can I offer a few suggestions for Future broodies??

sure

 

[PD-Riverman]

sure

I hatch alot of Broodies and have great hatches. When I have a broody starting---I build her nest----if not already---into a bowl shape. I do this so I can add more eggs and to be asured the eggs can not roll out the nest*. I remove any fresh eggs and either replace a couple of fresh eggs every day or place fake eggs under her to make sure she is going to "stay" setting. I Always Move every broody to a hatching pen---some say this causes alot of problems with their broody, I move 60+ in a year and never had one to leave her new place---it has to be done right or it can go wrong. Moving them does not have to be done, but it keeps me from having to check under her daily and remove fresh added eggs also keeps the other hens from stealing her nest and getting into the nest with her and breaking eggs and gives me a better hatch. Thats Your call! I Never, never, never put food and water where she can reach it while on the nest. That ""can"" case alot of problems in "My" opinion. She has to get off the nest to get food/water/poop in my pens. Once she starts hatching---I never touch or look under her for no reason---well if fire ants tried to take over her nest but I got that under control so I do not have any reason to bother her at all. Once I see her off the nest with the chicks----I clean up her nest so her and the babies have a clean place to roost.

* Note a flat nest can cause the eggs to roll away from her and get cooled some before she puts them back under her and this can cause a delay in that/those eggs hatching or death if it happens often----Always a Bowl shaped bottom nest for my hens. Good Luck in your future hatchings!!

 

[RachaelR32]

A bowl shaped nest might have helped her. There were a few days that soon after she had got back on after feeding that I noticed that an egg had rolled away and gave it back to her. I was also concerned she might have too many eggs and maybe the outer ones might have got not as warm. I only asked the guy for 6 eggs but he gave me 10 as he wasn't sure about fertility. I guess that having 7 hatch when I only asked for 6 isn't too bad - but it's a shame about the 8th. Of the 6 eggs I picked, 4 hatched. Of the 4 he added, 3 hatched.

She was separate to the others, but came out each day to eat and poop with the others before I shut her back in her pen. The others are not laying so no risk of them adding to her eggs.

She was getting off to drink when they started hatching so I moved the food next to her then so she had to get off less.

 

[PD-Riverman]

A bowl shaped nest might have helped her. There were a few days that soon after she had got back on after feeding that I noticed that an egg had rolled away and gave it back to her. I was also concerned she might have too many eggs and maybe the outer ones might have got not as warm. I only asked the guy for 6 eggs but he gave me 10 as he wasn't sure about fertility. I guess that having 7 hatch when I only asked for 6 isn't too bad - but it's a shame about the 8th. Of the 6 eggs I picked, 4 hatched. Of the 4 he added, 3 hatched.

She was separate to the others, but came out each day to eat and poop with the others before I shut her back in her pen. The others are not laying so no risk of them adding to her eggs.

She was getting off to drink when they started hatching so I moved the food next to her then so she had to get off less.

Hens are different, out of 60+ hens in just a years time I set(I have hatched way over a 100 in the last few years)---not a one that I know of got off her nest after day 19---she would not eat or drink till she got off the nest with the chicks the first time.. Years back I did put food and water next to a hen----she pooped all over the nest, poop on the chicks. That ended that for me. I usually put 12 under my full size hens, 8 average under my game hens which will be hatching full size chicks. I was just sharing what works best for me---other people do good doing it their way which might be different than mine. Thats like hatching in a incubator----If a person opened mine during lock down----I would get upset and becase of past experience when I opened mine during that time---I had a real low hatch , alot of pipped/die in the eggs. I do not open mine during lockdown anymore and I have 95+% hatch rate. Some open theirs at will and have no problem. Again Good Luck!!

 

[RachaelR32]

Mine got herself of the nest every day even after day 18. Some days I thought maybe she'd been off a bit longer than I was happy with so I took her back to the nest. When I put her next to the nest and she saw the eggs she started clucking again and got back on the eggs, but I wondered if she was going to forget about them. She had been broody a couple of weeks before I gave her eggs so she had been sitting for about 5 weeks by the time they hatched.