Broody Hen Thread!

[silly4buttons]

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That would work... I have frequently had hens sit for 4 to 6 weeks if I had trouble getting eggs for them.  The biggest thing to make sure of is that her health is good... if you go back a few pages on this thread, or search my posts on here you will find a number of them with treat suggestions to bolster them during the longer sit. Good luck with her hatch!
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When she started to go broody I move her in the house because I wanted to keep an eye on her

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you for the input. She is in the feed room of the barn. They free range during the day and rarely lay in their nesting boxes in the coop. They have certain places in nooks of stacked hay that they generally lay. She is in one of these nooks. I think I can easily build an area around here with hay and chicken wire, large enough for food/water and her nest. So, I think I'll go do that now. I got the hen out this morning that was laying and counted the same as were there yesterday morning. Do I still need to remove?

I wouldn't...sounds like the easiest solution...you won't risk mom abandoning a new nest and pacing for the old...and you refrain birds from getting into her. As long as she has food/water and a place to stretch her legs, enough structure in the nest so eggs can't roll...and free from predators (who LOVE the sound of little chicks)...she should be good to go for 21 days. I would still mark those eggs in case you somehow get a fence jumper.

Good luck,
Lady of McCamley

 

[hollymh]

well I went to check on the hen with the chick and found she has crushed one of the eggs a perfect almost ready to hatch chick inside the yolk was almost fully absorbed as well.

 

[fisherlady]

well I went to check on the hen with the chick and found she has crushed one of the eggs a perfect almost ready to hatch chick inside the yolk was almost fully absorbed as well.

Ohhhh... so sorry, I know that is a sickening find... we had a 'day later' which didn't complete pushing free of it's shell and DH found it and thinks the hen may have accidently suffocated it also. All I can say is that I know these types of things happen.. sometimes I attribute it to the broody's lack of experience, sometimes I just don't know what made it happen and like my DH said about this last one.. ''sometimes it just sucks trying to be a 'farmer' "

I hope her other eggs do OK for you.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

well I went to check on the hen with the chick and found she has crushed one of the eggs a perfect almost ready to hatch chick inside the yolk was almost fully absorbed as well.

x2

Also, remember the greatest number of fatalities in hatching occur during the first 3 days and the last 3 days. The shell may simply have been too thin to withstand the rigors of hatching...which may mean the chick might not have hatched as it would have been compromised to bacteria.

Often a failed hatch means a feeble chick. Still doesn't make the loss less disappointing.

Hopefully the rest will hatch with the greatest of success.
Lady of McCamley

 

[zmaryellen]

We came home from an unplanned 4 day vacation and discovered that we have a broody hen sitting on 11 eggs. Before we left we asked a neighbor to get the eggs each day and open and close the coop in the mornings and evenings (chickens free-range during day)
The neighbor did not collect the eggs while we were gone, and we don't know which eggs were laid on which days. None of them can be older than 4 days.
My question: Would it be alright to just let the hen continue to sit on all the eggs, and take our chances at them hatching at different times?
We've never hatched eggs before- just bought the chicks at the farm store. We got a rooster only last summer. I was a farm girl, but that was a loooooong time ago, and I've had NO experience with all this!!! (But loving it!) .

 

[fisherlady]

We came home from an unplanned 4 day vacation and discovered that we have a broody hen sitting on 11 eggs. Before we left we asked a neighbor to get the eggs each day and open and close the coop in the mornings and evenings (chickens free-range during day)
The neighbor did not collect the eggs while we were gone, and we don't know which eggs were laid on which days. None of them can be older than 4 days.
My question: Would it be alright to just let the hen continue to sit on all the eggs, and take our chances at them hatching at different times?
We've never hatched eggs before- just bought the chicks at the farm store. We got a rooster only last summer. I was a farm girl, but that was a loooooong time ago, and I've had NO experience with all this!!! (But loving it!) .

Chances are the hatch will be staggered, but you can minimize the problems associated with a staggered hatch by doing a few things....
1). Immediately mark all of her eggs so no more are added to her clutch
2). while marking, check the eggs for condition, and pull any you find with cracks or which are really porous looking or covered in poo
3) be prepared for them to hatch over 3 or 4 days, to aid the hen you will want to have water and chick food set up within easy reach of nest so the early chicks can get food and water without stressing mama hen, who will want to stay on the nest for her late hatchers
4) Candle sometime between day 10 and 14, pull any eggs which are clear or appear 'sloshy' inside, developing chicks will have 2/3rds of egg dark with a distinct air pocket on the rounder end, if you pull duds mid way through the hen will have fewer to worry over after the first ones hatch.
5) you may want to place a divider between her and the flock either from the start or closer to hatch date so mama won't be getting freaked if other flockmates come close to her babies (because they will try to get the babies food and water...)

 

[hollymh]

So I went to close up the coop and there was two hens in the broody nest and the broody was on the edge of the box. I checked the eggs and found ANOTHER crushed one but the baby was still alive... I pulled the eggs and the chick, I hate that I had to but they wouldn't make it Im sure. heres what I found in the nest box, ugghhh

 

[silly4buttons]

I remove the 2 eggs and gave her the incubator eggs she took them with out a problem. The eggs that I took from her where no good inside they stop deloping and had brown slime

 

[kimmerjo]

I have 4 chicks! First came on Friday...How long should I wait to remove the unhatched eggs from the nest????