Mezzer
Are you going to be up all night waiting for something to unfold?
Who needs sleep when we have this much fun.
Broody Hen Thread!
- Thread starter FarmerBoy24
- Start date
Are you going to be up all night waiting for something to unfold?
Who needs sleep when we have this much fun.
Mezzer
Songster
- Jan 14, 2016
- 281
- 61
- 106
thread/12630#post_17138879"]Mezzer
Are you going to be up all night waiting for something to unfold?
Who needs sleep when we have this much fun.
[/quote]
Oh...if it weren't for my sleeping pills I just might. Lol. But last time I stayed up AND took a bedtime med, I painted the hall, and the stove, and the pipes under the sink (hey, it stopped that old leak!) and trimmed a few trees. So no, I will NOT be staying up all night to broody watch. Lol.
Are you going to be up all night waiting for something to unfold?
Who needs sleep when we have this much fun.
[/quote]
Oh...if it weren't for my sleeping pills I just might. Lol. But last time I stayed up AND took a bedtime med, I painted the hall, and the stove, and the pipes under the sink (hey, it stopped that old leak!) and trimmed a few trees. So no, I will NOT be staying up all night to broody watch. Lol.
thread/12630#post_17138879"]Mezzer
Are you going to be up all night waiting for something to unfold?
Who needs sleep when we have this much fun.
Oh...if it weren't for my sleeping pills I just might. Lol. But last time I stayed up AND took a bedtime med, I painted the hall, and the stove, and the pipes under the sink (hey, it stopped that old leak!) and trimmed a few trees. So no, I will NOT be staying up all night to broody watch. Lol.[/QUOTE]
Wow, thats more than I get done in a week!
Mezzer
Songster
- Jan 14, 2016
- 281
- 61
- 106
lol
Spring hatch conclusion:
Okay, the spring brooding experiments/hatches are concluded:
In the broody hutch (hands down the winner for hatchability)
Queen Mum Silkie
set 2, hatched 2 (lost one through a stupid chick escape out of the run at 2 weeks)...have a lovely backyard black sexlink to start laying hopefully next month
set 2 (a rescue re-set after nest abandoned by Olive), hatched 1 (one had succumbed to cold from abandonment), CL mix rooster rehomed at 5 weeks
I give the Queen Mum a 100% hatch rate and awesome mother (still was pampering them at 5 to 6 weeks old)
Bantan Cochin sisters (the mop heads)
set 4, 1 hatched (2 quit around day 15, got cold, 1 fully developed didn't hatch)...silly birds co-brooded (my first) and kept losing eggs in a no fluff zone between them.. 1 red pullet from that
set 2, 2 hatched (yipee...another co-brood...fewer eggs and less tussling I guess)....one girl and one boy (CL/Barnevelder)....re-homed roo at 1 week of age (sex linking working!!!!). Have a lovely CL/Barnie olive egger girl running around at 2 weeks of age looking fat and sassy.
So, 50% overall hatch rate. Will need to separate or work small batches if co-brooding.
Now in this corner, the main coop experiment (had to try it folks)
Splash Marans (Miss Bianca) and Isbar/Marans (Olive)
Set 3...Splash and Olive keep stealing and pushing each other off getting eggs cold....got them settled in separate boxes. Tossed non-fertile no go.
1 egg to Splash and put her in large end box (blocked at locked down)
1 live chick that was a CL/Barnevelder roo. Fostered after week 1 by Olive, grew up in flock within main coop (awesome to watch) and fledged at 5 weeks. Rehomed at 6 weeks.
Splash 100% hatch but poor at mothering this time.
Olive....Isbar/Marans
1st round. 1 egg split off 2 set (Splash took other).
100% hatch (1 live chick), but chick crushed in that popular small side box on chick's day 1.
Reset Olive with 2 more eggs. She abandoned these 2 eggs to take care of Splash's abandoned chick.
(See Queen Mum for rescue of that abandoned 2 eggs).
So what 100% hatch???? But lost baby. so 0%??? But great at fostering and kept that baby alive in cold weather.
Rhodebar (with later interference from re-brooding Splash)
4 set, 2 eggs crushed with tussle from re-brooding Splash during first week, 1 egg a quitter, 1 hatched (and chick crushed on day 1, sadly a lovely little girl CL/Barn).
25% hatch rate....0% live chick
This popular small side coop is not working.
So.....my brooding within the main coop experiments....not so good a result...as I honestly expected but had to try. They all want to lay in the small end box, and brood there, but I have had two very fierce brooding hens squat there, hatch eggs (of those that don't get stolen, crushed, or kicked out). But then chicks get crushed with the tussle for that box. I will never use that box again for brooding.
If I try the main coop again, as the integration into the flock was a thing of beauty with the pappa rooster watching over, I will move the hen to the large end box and block off that box so that the hen can have peace and quiet while the baby hatches and becomes mobile. Possibly at 1 week of age again, maybe sooner. We'll see.
But, as to be expected, if I am serious about brooding, and really want good hatch and survival rates, I will continue to set with the bantams in my faithful designated broody hutch with segregated nests.
If I allow the two mop heads to co-brood again, I will keep the clutches smaller as they seemed to understand 2 eggs but kept losing 4 eggs in no fluff zones (seriously they should be able to each set 6). No fighting over chicks, but the constant shifting of eggs is problematic (I think they can't sense the larger clutch isn't under somebody????)
Good thing I only need small batches this year as I am testing genetics.
Final end result.....3 lovely pullets and 3 roos (rehomed)
I will await to see the egg color of these pullets to determine where my breeding plans go next. Keeping my fingers crossed that Barney (the Barnevelder roo) has good genetics for rich egg color.
My brooding girls should take a break, and then probably late summer my bantams will go broody again. I plan to set the Splash eggs to get blue laced birds that hopefully lay dark egg color (Splash's color is becoming more even and lovely terra cotta). I may also see what the Rhodebar mix produces as well as that would be a sex linked pairing and should be fine utility.
Bottomline....as PD-Riverman advises, the best method is to separate and isolate the hen if you want high hatch rates, and move early on to avoid nest tussles and crushed eggs or chicks. If you have a very, very, laid back flock with large nest boxes, you can flock brood, but be prepared for losses unless you can subdivide or set up barriers.
But it was fun to foray into main coop brooding again to see what could happen with my big girls (Main coop brooding was a disaster with bantams...hence the broody hutch). I really, really, like the seamless integration of the chicks into the main flock....but the hatch day is the big problem...you have got to isolate even if you have a very, nasty, testy broody (Olive and Rhodebar have drawn blood twice...mine... upon any type of movement)...she can't protect the chick from her own weight as the others hoard into the nest.
LofMc
Okay, the spring brooding experiments/hatches are concluded:
In the broody hutch (hands down the winner for hatchability)
Queen Mum Silkie
set 2, hatched 2 (lost one through a stupid chick escape out of the run at 2 weeks)...have a lovely backyard black sexlink to start laying hopefully next month
set 2 (a rescue re-set after nest abandoned by Olive), hatched 1 (one had succumbed to cold from abandonment), CL mix rooster rehomed at 5 weeks
I give the Queen Mum a 100% hatch rate and awesome mother (still was pampering them at 5 to 6 weeks old)
Bantan Cochin sisters (the mop heads)
set 4, 1 hatched (2 quit around day 15, got cold, 1 fully developed didn't hatch)...silly birds co-brooded (my first) and kept losing eggs in a no fluff zone between them.. 1 red pullet from that
set 2, 2 hatched (yipee...another co-brood...fewer eggs and less tussling I guess)....one girl and one boy (CL/Barnevelder)....re-homed roo at 1 week of age (sex linking working!!!!). Have a lovely CL/Barnie olive egger girl running around at 2 weeks of age looking fat and sassy.
So, 50% overall hatch rate. Will need to separate or work small batches if co-brooding.
Now in this corner, the main coop experiment (had to try it folks)
Splash Marans (Miss Bianca) and Isbar/Marans (Olive)
Set 3...Splash and Olive keep stealing and pushing each other off getting eggs cold....got them settled in separate boxes. Tossed non-fertile no go.
1 egg to Splash and put her in large end box (blocked at locked down)
1 live chick that was a CL/Barnevelder roo. Fostered after week 1 by Olive, grew up in flock within main coop (awesome to watch) and fledged at 5 weeks. Rehomed at 6 weeks.
Splash 100% hatch but poor at mothering this time.
Olive....Isbar/Marans
1st round. 1 egg split off 2 set (Splash took other).
100% hatch (1 live chick), but chick crushed in that popular small side box on chick's day 1.
Reset Olive with 2 more eggs. She abandoned these 2 eggs to take care of Splash's abandoned chick.
(See Queen Mum for rescue of that abandoned 2 eggs).
So what 100% hatch???? But lost baby. so 0%??? But great at fostering and kept that baby alive in cold weather.
Rhodebar (with later interference from re-brooding Splash)
4 set, 2 eggs crushed with tussle from re-brooding Splash during first week, 1 egg a quitter, 1 hatched (and chick crushed on day 1, sadly a lovely little girl CL/Barn).
25% hatch rate....0% live chick
This popular small side coop is not working.
So.....my brooding within the main coop experiments....not so good a result...as I honestly expected but had to try. They all want to lay in the small end box, and brood there, but I have had two very fierce brooding hens squat there, hatch eggs (of those that don't get stolen, crushed, or kicked out). But then chicks get crushed with the tussle for that box. I will never use that box again for brooding.
If I try the main coop again, as the integration into the flock was a thing of beauty with the pappa rooster watching over, I will move the hen to the large end box and block off that box so that the hen can have peace and quiet while the baby hatches and becomes mobile. Possibly at 1 week of age again, maybe sooner. We'll see.
But, as to be expected, if I am serious about brooding, and really want good hatch and survival rates, I will continue to set with the bantams in my faithful designated broody hutch with segregated nests.
If I allow the two mop heads to co-brood again, I will keep the clutches smaller as they seemed to understand 2 eggs but kept losing 4 eggs in no fluff zones (seriously they should be able to each set 6). No fighting over chicks, but the constant shifting of eggs is problematic (I think they can't sense the larger clutch isn't under somebody????)
Good thing I only need small batches this year as I am testing genetics.
Final end result.....3 lovely pullets and 3 roos (rehomed)
I will await to see the egg color of these pullets to determine where my breeding plans go next. Keeping my fingers crossed that Barney (the Barnevelder roo) has good genetics for rich egg color.
My brooding girls should take a break, and then probably late summer my bantams will go broody again. I plan to set the Splash eggs to get blue laced birds that hopefully lay dark egg color (Splash's color is becoming more even and lovely terra cotta). I may also see what the Rhodebar mix produces as well as that would be a sex linked pairing and should be fine utility.
Bottomline....as PD-Riverman advises, the best method is to separate and isolate the hen if you want high hatch rates, and move early on to avoid nest tussles and crushed eggs or chicks. If you have a very, very, laid back flock with large nest boxes, you can flock brood, but be prepared for losses unless you can subdivide or set up barriers.
But it was fun to foray into main coop brooding again to see what could happen with my big girls (Main coop brooding was a disaster with bantams...hence the broody hutch). I really, really, like the seamless integration of the chicks into the main flock....but the hatch day is the big problem...you have got to isolate even if you have a very, nasty, testy broody (Olive and Rhodebar have drawn blood twice...mine... upon any type of movement)...she can't protect the chick from her own weight as the others hoard into the nest.
LofMc
Last edited:
chikdukturkmom
In the Brooder
Broody day 3
Hatched on day 22
4 day old chicks
11 day old chicks
15 eggs, 12 hatched. Got 7 reds, 4 barred rocks, and 1 easter egger...
@chikdukturkmom Congratulations on your hatch....Awesome photo. Crop and save it for one of the contests.
Lofmc
Last edited:
I agree! Love that pic.@chikdukturkmom Congratulations on your hatch....Awesome photo. Crop and save it for one of the contests.
So excited that the babies have started to hatch! If I were home with mine I would be hovering non-stop but I'm camping right now and blissfully ignorant of what is happening at home. The blocked off broody nest is all set up with everything Mama and babies will need. Hopefully my neighbor will send photos if he sees anything when he goes to collect the eggs!
CrazyHenLady386
Chirping
I have five brown stars and 3 Californian white hens. I have a white hen and a brown hen that suddenly went broody. One fluffs up and growls at me and the other (my "pet" hen) doesn't growl when I put my hand in the nesting box. The brown hen "Piper" is friendly all the time and doesn't care about being picked up but I am wondering why she has the urge to sit in that nest all day! I also just got six black australorp chicks. Could they be the reason? Here is a pic of Piper. The picture of the white hen "Duchess" can be found on my page. Quite an appropriate name for such a diva!
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