Broody Hen Thread!

[Emcrowston]

My speck lady has just finished hatching her 8 eggs, 5 are very strong chicks and 2 not so strong yet, only hatched this morning, the first hatched on Friday night. One of the new ones she got out of the shell, never known of this before but I watched her do it, it does appear to have rather a large bottom. I will see later if they are ok. One died in the shell and didn't make it out. I will try and attach a photo when I can find how to do it! Haha.

 

[Shellz]

Yes, I'd like to know how they're doing. Interesting, the broody assisting the chick to hatch. Hope they will be ok.

 

[Shellz]

I'm leaving soon for the day. I know I'm gonna miss a bunch of stuff! I'm picking up 3 week old Malines chicks & hatching eggs. A long drive - 5 hours round trip. There's a great pub on the way to stop for a late lunch. Nom, nom! I'll check in tonight & try to catch up. Best of luck everybody!

 

[CAjerseychick]

Went out this morning and found another hen sitting on the eggs. They where pretty cool to the touch. Is it normal for another hen to come in and take over? Would really love to have some hen raised chicks. My other hens are rir mutt and bo mutts.

I think it does happen (like to me my first broody!).. not sure how common it is.... also somewhere else said dont give up on the eggs, they can cool and still hatch,....

 

[Emcrowston]

Latest update is that one of the chicks that hatched this morning has died, I think it is the one that mum helped this morning. The other is doing just fine. I have put mum and her 6 chicks out in the sunshine this afternoon. And all are doing well. hope your trip Shellz was a success.

 

[Shellz]

Latest update is that one of the chicks that hatched this morning has died, I think it is the one that mum helped this morning. The other is doing just fine. I have put mum and her 6 chicks out in the sunshine this afternoon. And all are doing well. hope your trip Shellz was a success.

Aww, that sucks! Yeah, I had a first time broody give up after 6/8 hatched last year. The 7th one hatched just as she had given up & gone to take care of her dry chicks. I forced the 7th one back to her. It worked out, sorta. I think she knew it was a 2nd boy & wasn't needed in her bunch of girls. I had to cull the 2 boys later, as they were just awful to the girls! I know a good roo when I see one & they were bad!

I'm glad you have your 6 healthy chicks. Broody moms just seem to know better than us sometimes. There may have been something wrong with the chicks she went after. It may not have been apparent what was wrong. Had they lived, perhaps problems might have surfaced & they might have died later anyway.
It's important not to beat oneself up over it. Enjoy the nice clutch & momma you have! I love watching broody mamas!

Yes, thank you! I did have a successful trip. We went over together which chicks to take. He was honest & kind enough to point out a chick with a crooked toe in one bunch. So I didn't get that one. I have 6 chicks that are 4 weeks old & one chick 5 weeks old. They're gorgeous & healthy. I should have pics up soon. I have 18 more eggs. 7 went under broody #2, replacing the mutt eggs. 11 went into my incubator. Now for a long wait! Broody #1 is on 6 BLRW eggs & I'll try to candle hers tomorrow. At the 1 week mark for her. I'm going to be up to my eyeballs in birds by months end, lol!

 

[LibRat]

I have some questions.... I am new to chickens and I have two. One rooster who's about five months old and a hen who's two years old. She's laying fertilized eggs so I know my rooster is mature. We don't want a lot of chickens but would like to hatch a few eggs.
1. How do you know when your hen is broody? Is there warning or does she just one day puff up and stay on the nest?
2. Do you have to put lots of eggs under her or can you just hatch one or two?
3. If we pick up her egg every day how do you get eggs under her when she does go broody?
4. And I put the eggs in the fridge which I know stops the growth process so what do I do with the eggs if I want her to hatch a few?
5. I guess I'm saying the desired end result is for my hen to hatch a few chicks. How do I go about doing it lol?
Thanks for any advice!

 

[sharol]

What breed is your hen? That can affect when (and if) she goes broody. Some breeds are more prone to broodiness than others (for example Silkies and Buff Orpingtons tend to be broodier than some other breeds). You just have to be patient and wait for her. My BO is 2 years old and just got broody a couple of weeks ago. She is now sitting on 6 eggs (that I provided since I don't have a rooster anymore). Some breeds like the sex-links (red stars for example) rarely get broody.

She will keep laying for a while after she goes broody, so you can let her keep her eggs. If you have a few on the counter (I don't refrigerate my eggs unless I get a dozen ahead), you can give them back to her. I understand you can put eggs that have been refrigerated under a hen, but....

Basically, you just have to wait for the hen.

I have some questions.... I am new to chickens and I have two. One rooster who's about five months old and a hen who's two years old. She's laying fertilized eggs so I know my rooster is mature. We don't want a lot of chickens but would like to hatch a few eggs.
1. How do you know when your hen is broody? Is there warning or does she just one day puff up and stay on the nest?
2. Do you have to put lots of eggs under her or can you just hatch one or two?
3. If we pick up her egg every day how do you get eggs under her when she does go broody?
4. And I put the eggs in the fridge which I know stops the growth process so what do I do with the eggs if I want her to hatch a few?
5. I guess I'm saying the desired end result is for my hen to hatch a few chicks. How do I go about doing it lol?
Thanks for any advice!

 

[LibRat]

What breed is your hen?  That can affect when (and if) she goes broody.  Some breeds are more prone to broodiness than others (for example Silkies and Buff Orpingtons tend to be broodier than some other breeds).  You just have to be patient and wait for her.  My BO is 2 years old and just got broody a couple of weeks ago.  She is now sitting on 6 eggs (that I provided since I don't have a rooster anymore).  Some breeds like the sex-links (red stars for example) rarely get broody.

She will keep laying for a while after she goes broody, so you can let her keep her eggs.  If you have a few on the counter (I don't refrigerate my eggs unless I get a dozen ahead), you can give them back to her.  I understand you can put eggs that have been refrigerated under a hen, but....

Basically, you just have to wait for the hen.

Thanks! She's a black sex-link and was broody when I got her and the farmer I got her from said that was the third time so I guess approx every six months for her. And thanks for the advice on the eggs. I know you can buy hatching eggs but I really want my two to be the parents lol I didn't know you could leave eggs out of the refrigerator and that they still could hatch after several days! I'm learning so much lol thanks again!

 

[sharol]

this is only my opinion based on what I read here.

Unwashed eggs will keep for a couple of weeks on the counter. I've personally eaten eggs that have been at room temp for 2 weeks, and they were fine. If you wash them, you need to refrigerate since you wash off the bloom that protects them from bacteria. You shouldn't ever wash eggs you are going to hatch, either, for the same reason. I have read that they will hatch after sitting out for 2 weeks, but that the viability goes down after 1 week.

If she shows signs of going broody, you should be able to let her lay her own clutch, but my BO stopped laying 3 days into her broodiness. She has been on the eggs for 6 days so I'm hopeful she will stay faithful to them.

I'd go over to the incubating and hatching thread and look at the sticky about care of hatching eggs. It is really interesting.

Thanks! She's a black sex-link and was broody when I got her and the farmer I got her from said that was the third time so I guess approx every six months for her. And thanks for the advice on the eggs. I know you can buy hatching eggs but I really want my two to be the parents lol I didn't know you could leave eggs out of the refrigerator and that they still could hatch after several days! I'm learning so much lol thanks again!