Broody Hen Thread!

[BLT79]

I'm not even a chicken and I'm jealous of that set up! How many roosters and hens do you have? Your dog is awesome! How sweet! Would love to see more pictures!

 

[Romoshka]

It truely is unfortunate that there are eggs at many different stages. See what you have more off in stages and run with it. I've seen my hen roll eggs daily even when they should be locked down. So I guess its a 50/50. Go with your gut!

There were 46 total eggs in 3 boxes. I removed all but 3 from each box candled out 12 and put the rest in the incubator. Pencil marked the 3 eggs in each box. Will candle the nine I left tomorrow and remove the failures and replace them with good ones from the incubator. Have had 3 hatch so far but one was dead in the house this afternoon. There are 4 hens setting these 3 boxes and there is some struggles over who is gonna be momma. The chicks seem not to care as they meander from box to box. This whole thing has been wuite an experience.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

We usually start hearing chirping the day before hatch, louder once they have externally pipped. Actually, we usually aren't the first to hear it... our dog is normally the one who alerts us that new babies are about to make an appearance! She does everything but lift the broodies up with her snout in the process of trying to see the new chicks!
Here she is watching a hen and babies in the broody hut... I have caught her actually in the hut with them also!

Here she is another time inspecting her new charges... taking care of the birds is her job... just ask her!

And for those wondering about mixing the youngsters into the flock... here is a shot of our yard a few weeks ago, there are all ages from adult down to a few 6 month olds to a bunch of youngsters mixed in here.... I will have to make a point to get some more flock/group shots while the little ones are mixed in....

Nice pics...thanks for showing them. I am always amazed at how tranquil your flock is with integration. My girls eventually get along, but boy there sure is some shuffling until then.
Lady of McCamley

 

[Junibutt]

We usually start hearing chirping the day before hatch, louder once they have externally pipped. Actually, we usually aren't the first to hear it... our dog is normally the one who alerts us that new babies are about to make an appearance! She does everything but lift the broodies up with her snout in the process of trying to see the new chicks!
Here she is watching a hen and babies in the broody hut... I have caught her actually in the hut with them also!

Here she is another time inspecting her new charges... taking care of the birds is her job... just ask her!

And for those wondering about mixing the youngsters into the flock... here is a shot of our yard a few weeks ago, there are all ages from adult down to a few 6 month olds to a bunch of youngsters mixed in here.... I will have to make a point to get some more flock/group shots while the little ones are mixed in....

Those new mamas are beautiful. What breed are they?

 

[Chicken Wrights]

I have a California White Leghorn that surprisingly is broody. I would like to move her and the eggs out of the coop into a small cage. Any suggestions?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I have a California White Leghorn that surprisingly is broody. I would like to move her and the eggs out of the coop into a small cage. Any suggestions?

Moving can be tricky; it all depends on the hen.

Have everything set up, then move her at night. Be prepared that she may freak and want to go back to her original nest area. Some hens strongly attach to that first nest and simply won't move elsewhere. It may be a good idea to place dummy eggs until you see if she is going to thrash. However, sometimes having her eggs waiting for her in the new nest is all it takes for them to settle. One poster recommended setting them at night and shining a flashlight on the eggs so that they can only see their eggs. I've not tried that, but it might be worth it.

You can also take some of the bedding from the old nest so that her smells are in the new nest.

Good luck...and wow...you've already had luck if you've got a White Leghorn broody!
Lady of McCamley

 

[fisherlady]

There were 46 total eggs in 3 boxes. I removed all but 3 from each box candled out 12 and put the rest in the incubator. Pencil marked the 3 eggs in each box. Will candle the nine I left tomorrow and remove the failures and replace them with good ones from the incubator. Have had 3 hatch so far but one was dead in the house this afternoon. There are 4 hens setting these 3 boxes and there is some struggles over who is gonna be momma. The chicks seem not to care as they meander from box to box. This whole thing has been wui)te an experience.

Sounds like you are doing a great job of getting it sorted out for your hens!

. and you are right about chicks... ours run from mama to mama without a care. Thankfully the hens seem great about it (as long as the chicks are about the same age as whichever they actually hatched)

 

[sonderah]

Candled my RP hen's eggs last night. She only tried to eat me once. She is NASTY!! Poop everywhere! Just lays there and poops in the nest! I didn't realize so didn't have supplies ready. This evening we will have to drag her out again and change out some bedding. The eggs are due Monday!!!

 

[sonderah]

Question??
So, I added juveniles to my pens. Therefore I have been mixing food half and half starter grower/ layer breeder. And offering oyster shell for extra calcium for the layers.
How does everyone else handle this??

 

[LisaLouHoo]

Question??
So, I added juveniles to my pens. Therefore I have been mixing food half and half starter grower/ layer breeder. And offering oyster shell for extra calcium for the layers.
How does everyone else handle this??

If you have a mixed age flock, don't give any layer feed until the young ones are closer to 18 wks. The side of oyster shell should be enough for the laying hens. Calcium for chicks can be damaging to them. It is ok for everyone to eat the starter, just extra protein. Live and learn in the chicken world, lol.