Broody Hen Thread!

[donnavee]

Here are my 3 little ones. Out of 6 eggs, 2 were infertile, 1 got broken?, and the other 3 turned into little fluffy butts.

Mama is teaching them to scratch - a lot!

 

[MarinR]

Here is my mama leghorn and her babies four having a dust bath on this gorgeous day! They watch her so closely and do everything she does. They are becoming very good little foragers already! I love all the flying dirt in this photo. I could just watch them all day.

 

[donnavee]

Here is my mama leghorn and her babies four having a dust bath on this gorgeous day! They watch her so closely and do everything she does. They are becoming very good little foragers already! I love all the flying dirt in this photo. I could just watch them all day.

Adorable! - I am not getting much done since the little chickies hatched But they are peeps for such a short time, so I'm enjoying.

 

[sharol]

One of Marlena's babies found a cicada that hadn't gotten out of its shell this afternoon. The baby was running around with the other two chasing it. When she saw what the chick had, she found two more for the other 2 chicks. She is such a good mother.

 

[LoooAnnn]

I need HELP pretty please!

I have a small backyard flock of 3 hens. Our hen Applesauce has gone broody. She sat in her nesting box for about a week and seemed very committed. We planned to add another 3 this coming spring so we could do chicks again, but with a broody hen I decided what the heck and took the gamble she might take to some day old foster chicks. We went and picked them up yesterday, brought them back to a warm brooder with vitamin/electrolyte water and starter feed. Then I did as I read to do...around mid-night I moved the food/waterer out to the nesting box and blocked it off from our other girls. I placed them under her wing and they peeped for a minute or two and i could hear Applesauce in there moving around a bit. Then they were quiet and all seemed to be going well! i stayed up for an hour or so checking on them every 20 minutes and i stayed outside in earshot to listen for anything during that time as well. Eventually I went to sleep and they were fine this morning until my husband woke me up around 8:00 and one of the little chicks was walking around screaming (she is definitely the most vocal of the three in general). I showed her her food and water and she was happy again. Then I took the other two out from under Applesauce and showed them their food and water as well. After a few minutes they were chirping again so I tried to put them back under Applesauce's wings and it wasn't working. Then She started getting puffy and agitated and it was like she noticed them in their for the first time and acted like they were intruding. She was pecking at them so I moved her outside while I collected them and their stuff to move them back inside to the brooder.

Then for the first time in a week applesauce acted like a somewhat normal hen again, foraging around the yard! She was still getting puffy and acting weird. A few hours later she ended up back in the nesting box and she seems back to her newly broody self again.

Big question....should I try again? Do you think my meddling caused her agitation?

Or do I just brood them inside I really wanted them to have that natural experience of being raised by a real chicken mommy, and selfishly take a lot of that work away from me! But their well-being is my primary concern.

Any suggestions or similar experiences?

TIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here they all are happily this morning until she started pecking them...

 

[20736]

You gotta have a Plan B.
Look like it's time for Plan B.
stuff happens.

 

[OneCrazyCowgirl]

My broody has been laying on eggs for awhile bout a week and a half I'm aware of and probably when I was on vacation.
Here's one of her eggs I candled. Some of the eggs that were all black ended up being rotten but this one doesnt smell like the others. Is this a chick? If so how old

 

[chickydee64]

I need HELP pretty please!

I have a small backyard flock of 3 hens. Our hen Applesauce has gone broody. She sat in her nesting box for about a week and seemed very committed. We planned to add another 3 this coming spring so we could do chicks again, but with a broody hen I decided what the heck and took the gamble she might take to some day old foster chicks. We went and picked them up yesterday, brought them back to a warm brooder with vitamin/electrolyte water and starter feed. Then I did as I read to do...around mid-night I moved the food/waterer out to the nesting box and blocked it off from our other girls. I placed them under her wing and they peeped for a minute or two and i could hear Applesauce in there moving around a bit. Then they were quiet and all seemed to be going well! i stayed up for an hour or so checking on them every 20 minutes and i stayed outside in earshot to listen for anything during that time as well. Eventually I went to sleep and they were fine this morning until my husband woke me up around 8:00 and one of the little chicks was walking around screaming (she is definitely the most vocal of the three in general). I showed her her food and water and she was happy again. Then I took the other two out from under Applesauce and showed them their food and water as well. After a few minutes they were chirping again so I tried to put them back under Applesauce's wings and it wasn't working. Then She started getting puffy and agitated and it was like she noticed them in their for the first time and acted like they were intruding. She was pecking at them so I moved her outside while I collected them and their stuff to move them back inside to the brooder.

Then for the first time in a week applesauce acted like a somewhat normal hen again, foraging around the yard! She was still getting puffy and acting weird. A few hours later she ended up back in the nesting box and she seems back to her newly broody self again.

Big question....should I try again? Do you think my meddling caused her agitation?

Or do I just brood them inside I really wanted them to have that natural experience of being raised by a real chicken mommy, and selfishly take a lot of that work away from me! But their well-being is my primary concern.

Any suggestions or similar experiences?

TIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here they all are happily this morning until she started pecking them...

HI,
Imprinting happens in the first four days. they are likely just to old.....................Hope this helps...........

 

[sharol]

It is also possible that she hadn't been broody long enough. I have READ (with the emphasis on other people's experience, not my own) that she needs to set for 3 weeks or so in order to be ready for chicks. I know my broody was clucking to her eggs way before they were hatched. A couple of days at least.

I doubt she will ever accept these chicks at this point. they are probably just too old.

My broody hatched 3 eggs, and I hatched 3 eggs a couple of days later (all the same breeder). I tried to give her the 3 chicks I hatched and she screeched at them and tried to kill them. She had one cornered in the coop before I got it rescued. Needless to say, they have been inside with me and she has raised her 3.

Looks like you get to raise the cuties.

 

[cozadfarm]

My hen has been sitting on eggs for about 24 days. Not sure if her eggs are even fertile. My question is, will she continue to sit on these infertile eggs or will she realize after awhile that they won't hatch?