Broody Hen Thread!

[emilee427]

My sweet broody girl

 

[fisherlady]

Ok thanks! What other solids can I give her? There is always food and water available.

Along with the meat and vegetables as JHarper suggested you can also provide cut up fish, scrambled eggs, peanuts and hulled sunflower seeds and meal worms. Basically anything with a decent protein content that is tempting if you are worried about her weight/health.
We just put a small amount of 2 or 3 items in a dish and set it close by each day. They pick at what they want. It usually isn't needed if they aren't broody for more than 3 or 4 wks but some hens just don't keep weight on as well as others.
They do get up to eat and drink through the day, we just rarely see them do it. I lifted our broody today to check the nest for broody poop and found the nest was clean, so she is obviously getting up when we aren't around to see it. They are pretty sneaky when on their eggs!

 

[Chookin gooood]

YAY! One of the eggs have pipped! we are on day 25 now so it was about time. It is the one hybrid (araucana x) i put under her but none of the pures are showing any sign so i hope they show shortly!
Just 2 questions!
-I dont know if they have chicks in them as they were too thick to candle- is this a problem for hatching chicks?
-How long will she sit on the nest after one has hatched?
-and will the chick be healthy after being in so long?

Thanks!!!

 

[melina90]

The first chicken is finished hatching now! Unfortunately it has a bit of his yolk sack hanging on the outside. I put him in the incubator to see if it dries out. The next egg was chirping heavily as I went to get the hatched chick, so probably during the next 24 hours there'll be a healthy chick in the nest!

 

[Amandalea]

We have 5 hatched! another has piped, but the mother and the others have left the nest, could some still hatch?

 

[Amandalea]

She is sitting on them again, hopefully we get more!

 

[Bush Chickens]

How hatchable is an egg that's been in the fridge?

 

[melina90]

How hatchable is an egg that's been in the fridge?

It could work but of course chances are lower that it'll develop. I've heard about people hatching from eggs that had almost been frozen though, so it's worth a try!

 

[melina90]

My sweet broody girl

Aww, that's sweet! Mine peck at me whenever I get to close, haha.

 

[Bush Chickens]

What about an egg that's been in the fridge for like,a week?the hen I really want to hatch eggs from went really wants to be a mommy,but she won't lay eggs,so the only eggs from her I have,have been in the fridge