Broody Hen Thread!

[fisherlady]

I'm told that the chick stage is pretty short-lived and they'll be teenagers before you know it!

I have a "first-time-chicken-keeper-and-broody-mama-owner" question:
If I were to sell a broody hen's the chicks before they were at the age where she decides that they can take care of themselves, would she go back to being broody, or would she rejoin the flock and start laying again? This is hypothetical, because I would like them to be feathered out before I sell them, but another chicken keeper told me that it's much easier to rehome day-old to week-old chicks than if you wait until they're older.

I can't answer the question about the hen going back into broody mode... I have never separated a hen from her chicks yet.

As far as the selling... it really depends on your local market and the breed of bird you are selling. I advertise my youngsters as 'broody raised chicks',since they are... and make it plain in the ad that these birds are very self sufficient and will require very little in the way of special care since they were broody raised... and usually sell them between 8 and 10 weeks old. I have had no trouble selling them and have found there are a lot of folks who appreciate getting chicks which have been taught to forage and deal with flock issues already (ours free range a lot). The only advantages to selling as much younger birds is you may get more sales due to the 'cute factor' and you can sell as straight run so you don't need to deal with young cockerels which are much harder to sell later on.

 

[calichicken]

I can't answer the question about the hen going back into broody mode... I have never separated a hen from her chicks yet.

As far as the selling... it really depends on your local market and the breed of bird you are selling. I advertise my youngsters as 'broody raised chicks',since they are... and make it plain in the ad that these birds are very self sufficient and will require very little in the way of special care since they were broody raised... and usually sell them between 8 and 10 weeks old. I have had no trouble selling them and have found there are a lot of folks who appreciate getting chicks which have been taught to forage and deal with flock issues already (ours free range a lot). The only advantages to selling as much younger birds is you may get more sales due to the 'cute factor' and you can sell as straight run so you don't need to deal with young cockerels which are much harder to sell later on.

Do you know about how long a hen tends to mother her chicks before she expects them to be on their own?

 

[Back2Roots]

Quote:
Thanks fisherlady - your post is most helpful! I never thought of advertising them as broody-raised as being a selling feature, but you're right - it most definitely is! However, my hens only get to free-range in the evenings some week nights and on the weekends under supervision, because we don't have a fenced property and there are predators in the area, and we have part of the run sectioned off with a broody coop for mama and her chicks. Yesterday she took them into the run for the first time, and I've been bringing greens in to them to scratch through, but logistically it's difficult to free range them at the moment. My broody's three chicks are Ameraucanas - they could be either black, blue or splash because the lady I bought the hatching eggs from had a splash rooster running with black, blue and wheaten hens. I really don't know how to tell by the colour of the chick down, other than definitely no wheaten chick. I think they are a fairly popular breed in our area, though, so I'm hoping it won't be too difficult to sell them. You actually hit the nail on the head as to my reason for considering an early sale: I live in a no-roo zone, so can't keep any cockerels. 8 to 10 weeks old sounds like what I had in mind for selling them. It may be obvious by then which ones are cockerels, but if that's the case I guess I can try to sell them as a trio. I have no idea how many are cockerels and I heard from a seasoned breeder that it's a tricky breed to sex until they are older.

 

[SD Bird Lady]

@calichicken mine seem to be done at about 4 weeks. But I think it depends a lot on the hen and the temps

 

[ochochicas]

Everyone I work with has purchased young hens or older pullets (16 - 20 week old range). They prefer the pullets to be well started and ready to lay. They don't want to wait for younger birds to lay eggs, and they actually consider raising chicks to be a hassle. It really does depend on the market. There are also people in my area that would be happy to take a couple of young roosters in trade for a hen so they will have more meat to process. I live pretty close to a large city so we always have lots of options.

 

[calichicken]

@calichicken mine seem to be done at about 4 weeks. But I think it depends a lot on the hen and the temps

Thanks! first time hatching with a broody so trying to get info as I go

 

[fisherlady]

Do you know about how long a hen tends to mother her chicks before she expects them to be on their own?

as mentioned it varies greatly depending on broody and temperatures.... I have a hen who will keep her chicks 7 or 8 weeks when it is cold, but by late spring and on her summer hatch she is done with them between 4 and 5 weeks.

Other hens are similar, though they aren't quite as extreme in the seasonal difference like Gracie is... generally a 4 week old broody raised chick is fine as long as the weather is above 40* and there is more than 2 or 3 of them to cuddle together. Most of our hens are 6 weeks and done, maybe a week more or less.

You will find that the broody group tends to stick pretty tight together for the first few weeks after the broody finishes with them, they will basically become their own 'sub-flock' within the coop and even have their own mini pecking order until puberty hits and they will then begin to integrate much more into the older flock.

 

[calichicken]

as mentioned it varies greatly depending on broody and temperatures.... I have a hen who will keep her chicks 7 or 8 weeks when it is cold, but by late spring and on her summer hatch she is done with them between 4 and 5 weeks.

Other hens are similar, though they aren't quite as extreme in the seasonal difference like Gracie is... generally a 4 week old broody raised chick is fine as long as the weather is above 40* and there is more than 2 or 3 of them to cuddle together. Most of our hens are 6 weeks and done, maybe a week more or less.

You will find that the broody group tends to stick pretty tight together for the first few weeks after the broody finishes with them, they will basically become their own 'sub-flock' within the coop and even have their own mini pecking order until puberty hits and they will then begin to integrate much more into the older flock.

Thank you! I am so excited to see her be a momma!!!

 

[minnehaha]

Hi, I was going to incubate 12 Cream Legbar eggs, but then noticed my Black Orpington hen Bertha was refusing to come out of the nesting box and growling at me if I peaked in, she also has a bald belly. So, I consulted with this forum and a friend who uses broody hens to hatch chicks and learned that I indeed had a broody on my hands. I decided on day 3 that I should give her eggs.

Tonight was the night, I gave her 12 fertile blue eggs. I thought she was asleep so I moved her into a large dog cage with an X Large covered kitty litter box which use to be her favorite nesting box until I built wood ones. I put the dog crate next to the nesting boxes right inside the Hen house. I put her in, but she was awake and was upset and rejected the whole thing.

Next, I removed the nest that she had been sitting in for 3 days and put it in the dog cage with the eggs in it. She immediately checked it out, was pleased, hopped in and rearranged the eggs and promptly sat on them. I peaked in and she growled at me, good sign, so I let her be, is this success?

I'm really glad that I never attached my nesting boxes. I did this so I could rearrange them if necessary, and it came in handy tonight as I was able to move one of them for broody Bertha.

I guess it's time to read more about broody hens hatching eggs. Here's a picture:

You can see her beak and her eyes shining in the opening of the curtain:

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Very nice setup