Broody Hen Thread!

[Bogtown Chick]

Embarking on my first hatching experience today! Tammy Wyandotte is sitting on a surprise mixed batch of Banty eggs, will hopefully have some orpingtons, Sussex and pekins in 3 weeks. Though with my luck they will all be roos!

Good luck missus. Fingers and Toes are crossed that you get a little hen in the brood!

I've got 7 eggs coming from a breeder: 3 blue laced red wyandottes, 2 olive eggers, welsummer, and a buckeye egg. I don't know if I can get any more under that silkie. I'm a little worried about all roos myself, and worried about too many hens...for coop space issue....LOL. All sorts of worryin' going on. I guess we can't count our chicks before they've hatched...isn't that the saying?

 

[missus]

Good luck missus. Fingers and Toes are crossed that you get a little hen in the brood!   

I've got 7 eggs coming from a breeder: 3 blue laced red wyandottes, 2 olive eggers, welsummer, and a buckeye egg.  I don't know if I can get any more under that silkie.  I'm a little worried about all roos myself, and worried about too many hens...for coop space issue....LOL.  All sorts of worryin' going on.  I guess we can't count our chicks before they've hatched...isn't that the saying? 

Tammy Wyandotte is a Banty and she is sitting on 6 and a fake quite nicely, though she's a flighty madam so wether this will situation will continue remains to be seen!

 

[PortlandHen]

Hi! I'm new to the thread. My Dominique, Abby Lee, went broody last week. Yesterday I put 12 Dominique eggs underneath. They were shipped eggs, so I'm not sure how well they will do, but I am hopeful. I think she has at least one more underneath her that is unfertile..I tried to get them out but she wasn't having it and I didn't want to upset her. We separated her into a giant dog crate and she seems very content. She moves very little. She is a good little hen. When can I candle and do I need to buy a special candle thiing? (Don't know the term.) I'm so happy for this thread!

We use a very bright LED flashlight. It's been working! I'm new to the whole hatching eggs thing, but we candled on Day 3 (egg in cupped hand and flashlight under egg) and saw veins. I'd check on day 4 or so to see. I guess it also depends on how dark brown the eggs are. We have a Maran egg and green egg I've never been able to see through, so we will just see on day 21.

Side note: make sure you candle over a soft surface… just in case those little eggs drop. That would be so sad. Oh, here's our Day 3 blue candled egg:

 

[PortlandHen]

Wow! My broody Cochin could be a statue! Seriously, do I have to worry about her getting food and drink?

I was worried about this, so we put tiny bowls of food and water by her face. She eats and drinks when we're not looking

and comes out once a day or so to poop terrible poops.

 

[PortlandHen]

5ish days till Day 21. I am so excited and ready for that day. Excited for chicks and ready for the egg sitting time to be done. Each time my girl gets off to poo… then heads back to the nest… she misses 1 or 2 eggs (they're usually under her wing). Luckily I figured this out early on. So, I have to check under her EACH time she heads back to the nest. Everyday. Always missing 1 or 2 eggs. I swear. Ha! Good thing she's sweet and doesn't try to attack me, just lots of growling.

She was off of one for about 2 hours on day 12ish… candled and saw the little alien wiggling. Shoved it back under her and hoping it's ok! I think it's going to be a long weekend! Can't wait!

 

[jammyjammy2112]

hello i am soppose to be collecting a pure bred black silkie hen and a cross bred silkie hen tomorrow
but the man rang today saying the black silkie had just gone broody today i said thats not a problem thats the main reason i wanted the silkies
BUT i must drive about 30 minutes and the man must drive about 30 minutes with the hens to meet half way
so the black silkie will be in the car for about an hour depending on traffic
will this break her droodyness tbh i dont mind if it does break but i would love if it didnt break the broodyness
thanks

 

[DarynA146]

thanks bud

 

[jammyjammy2112]

ohh and she wont no any f the hens so they will fight but of course ill separate her during incubation and when they hatch i was hoping to leave them free range but would the cock be annoyed of thinking that he never mounted her be like those aint meh chicks hehe

 

[fisherlady]

Hello everybody
Just wondering are there any good clean legged large fowl Broodys?
Thanks

There aren't any guarantees on them, that is for sure.... hatcheries and even back yard breeders spent so much time trying to break broodies and not using their eggs because the broody trait was irritating to them (it interfered with their egg production, and profit margin)... so dependable broody stock is hard to find.
Almost any breed might become broody, there is a chart on this site that allows you to choose broodiness as a trait when searching breeds... but your best bet is to find a breed which tends to broodiness on the charts... and then find a reputable breeder of heritage stock, and be up front with them... tell them you are looking for broodiness and find out if it is something they still have happen frequently with their stock. Frequent broodiness of the breeders stock will greatly increase your chances.

I have large fowl rocks who are great broodies... so look at your more old fashioned breeds first... your Plymouth Rocks, Buckeyes and Jersey Giants may be a good place to start looking. ( I have broodies of all of these)

 

[Alaskan]

Dorkings from a breeder are VERY broody.... Just ask on the dorking thread!