Broody Hen Thread!

[Gen9]

Tonight is the 3rd night my broody is sitting on her egg, so I have this set up in the garage with an old table cloth on top. I dusted the bottom tray with DE before i put everything down. Any suggestions? I can't leave her in the coop because of ants. The dominant hens have been leaving her alone & won't even go near the nest she is laying in. I have the perfect conditions except for the **** fire ants!

She's a blue copper marans:

I'm a first timer with a broody. I really don't want to use an incubator anymore! Set it & forget it!

 

[Laci7210]

Ok thanks! (I haven't been on here for a few days) one of the chicks under my broody hatched this morning! the chick that hatched got up ontop of the mom so that must mean that so far, I have 1 cockerel. They will probably hatch on different days since they were laid on different days. I will try to give an update on when they hatch! (I feel bad because I never did do anything with the cracked eggs. I didn't get a chance and she didn't want me near her eggs! I guess that if they hatch then that would be great but if they don't, then I will just have to keep the chicks I have.. ;(...)

 

[chicken farmer]

I have a white silkie hen that is on her 2nd day of broody and since she recently got done with her last batch of chicks I don't want her to go broody till next spring so I had 4 chicks,1 ameracauna mix and 3 bantam mix and I put scooted them under her when the other chickens went to roost and at first she just looked at one ok but then I looked again and she was pecking one hard and mean a few times and the chick went in the corner of the nestbox and then I just closed the lid and I'm waiting for morining to see if she adopted them and thought they were her own.she had 7 eggs laid and I left 2 and put the 4 chicks under her because she can't count of course and hopefully I wake up and they will be together and happy

and keep in mind that the silkie rooster plus her 3 older silkie chicks sleep with her in there too so it can get pretty crowded,and I have a big coop they can go in but they prefer the little box outside in the pen

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Tonight is the 3rd night my broody is sitting on her egg, so I have this set up in the garage with an old table cloth on top. I dusted the bottom tray with DE before i put everything down. Any suggestions? I can't leave her in the coop because of ants. The dominant hens have been leaving her alone & won't even go near the nest she is laying in. I have the perfect conditions except for the **** fire ants!

She's a blue copper marans:

I'm a first timer with a broody. I really don't want to use an incubator anymore! Set it & forget it!

That looks good to me although maybe a little cramped.
make sure she can't tip the water over. You do not want the eggs getting wet as bacteria can enter through the shell then. Also make sure the garage has good air flow and doesnt get too hot.

Lady of McCamley

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Tonight is the 3rd night my broody is sitting on her egg, so I have this set up in the garage with an old table cloth on top. I dusted the bottom tray with DE before i put everything down. Any suggestions? I can't leave her in the coop because of ants. The dominant hens have been leaving her alone & won't even go near the nest she is laying in. I have the perfect conditions except for the **** fire ants!

She's a blue copper marans:

I'm a first timer with a broody. I really don't want to use an incubator anymore! Set it & forget it!

That looks good to me although maybe a little cramped.
make sure she can't tip the water over. You do not want the eggs getting wet as bacteria can enter through the shell then. Also make sure the garage has good air flow and doesnt get too hot.

Lady of McCamley

That is more the enough room for a broody... Doing great, keep it up

 

[donnavee]

Here is my broody - Cuckoo. She is 2 yrs old & this is her 2nd time to go broody. Last year we let her hatch some ducklings and she was a good Mom, but clearly disappointed that her attempts to teach her little ones to scratch were useless. We don't have a rooster so I got 6 fertile eggs from a friend - supposed to be a Barnevelder/Plymouth rock cross and I can't wait to see how the chicks turn out. Should be hatching next Monday; I candled yesterday and 4 look good and 2 maybe not.


This is her last year with her ducklings.

 

[Gen9]

That looks good to me although maybe a little cramped.
make sure she can't tip the water over. You do not want the eggs getting wet as bacteria can enter through the shell then. Also make sure the garage has good air flow and doesnt get too hot.

Lady of McCamley

That is more the enough room for a broody... Doing great, keep it up

Thanks, I moved the water over. If it were to spill it wouldn't get on the eggs, but it would get the bedding all wet, its sitting on a cinder block. I'm kinda glad I moved her she barely had a nest (the second picture) the board was almost showing underneath. I have a pretty good idea why she chose that one instead of the other 5 nests. I moved her late last night. It took me 3x to push her into the bigger cozy spot, she was smart to know that this wasn't the original. but she finally got a clue... This morning I look & she's all settled in! She's sitting on 8 eggs right now. I think I will see if she would like to sit on 1-2 more if I place them in front of her & she will tuck them under her. She's so determined! I think she is going to be a great mama

 

[julie0477]

Hello fellow chicken lovers! I have my first broody hen and I need help! My lil silkie girl has gone full on broody. She's picked a spot in the backyard -- same spot where she has been laying her eggs. She refuses to use the nest boxes. Anyway, its a hidden spot but it makes me nervous leaving her out there all night, so every night I have been picking her up and putting her in this little chicken tractor that I have and she's content, but every morning she wants out. I open the door and she eats, drinks, and goes right back to her spot in the yard. I haven't given her any eggs yet. What should I do?

 

[crowinncluckn]

This is my first time with a broody and it turned out to be a very disappointing experience. I have an EE and a BO who go broody at the drop of a hat. I never let them sit on eggs before because I didn't have a rooster. We finally got a rooster and got him up to speed, so I thought why not let them hatch a few babies. The EE was the first to become broody after I determined that the eggs layed were indeed fertile. I gave her seven eggs and let her go about her business. About a week into it I found a broken egg in the nest. I removed it and cleaned the area while she was out feeding. The broken eggs continued at a rate of 1 broken egg a day until their were two left. I checked each egg and they were all developed to some degree. The two eggs did not hatch by the 21st day so I decided to leave them a little longer. On day 24 I removed her from the broody pen and opened the two eggs. They contained fully devekoped chicks, but they were dead and had been for a while. I have no idea why the chicks died, but it was sad.

MY BO went broody about 10 days ater the EE and has five days to go before hers are due to hatch. So far she has not broken any eggs so I am hoping for a better out come. My guestion is: if the eggs do hatch when do I open the gate to the run so that she can intoduce the chicks to the other chickens. I have 9 hens and 1 rooster. I would like her to be able to raise them and for them to be able to stay in the run and free range with the others. I want them to sleep in the broody pen until they are big enough to get into the elevated coop.

 

[sharol]

When my head hen tried to attack my broody's first chick (it fell out of the area where she was brooding), I removed them all, chick, hen, eggs, nest to a portable hoop coop I had prepared for a couple of older chicks I had hatched in an incubator. I want to know when to let her out of the hoop with the babies, too. I dont' have a roo right now (except for the 6 week old that I hatched), and 8 other hens. Her chicks are 2 weeks old and doing great in the hoop coop.

I want to know too. Anyone?

This is my first time with a broody and it turned out to be a very disappointing experience. I have an EE and a BO who go broody at the drop of a hat. I never let them sit on eggs before because I didn't have a rooster. We finally got a rooster and got him up to speed, so I thought why not let them hatch a few babies. The EE was the first to become broody after I determined that the eggs layed were indeed fertile. I gave her seven eggs and let her go about her business. About a week into it I found a broken egg in the nest. I removed it and cleaned the area while she was out feeding. The broken eggs continued at a rate of 1 broken egg a day until their were two left. I checked each egg and they were all developed to some degree. The two eggs did not hatch by the 21st day so I decided to leave them a little longer. On day 24 I removed her from the broody pen and opened the two eggs. They contained fully devekoped chicks, but they were dead and had been for a while. I have no idea why the chicks died, but it was sad. MY BO went broody about 10 days ater the EE and has five days to go before hers are due to hatch. So far she has not broken any eggs so I am hoping for a better out come. My guestion is: if the eggs do hatch when do I open the gate to the run so that she can intoduce the chicks to the other chickens. I have 9 hens and 1 rooster. I would like her to be able to raise them and for them to be able to stay in the run and free range with the others. I want them to sleep in the broody pen until they are big enough to get into the elevated coop.