Broody Hen Thread!

[OneCrazyCowgirl]

Thought I'd update y'all on Sora. She's now 2 and a half weeks old and super sweet! Her mom is a devil but she is taking great care of Sora and I know she's just protecting her. When should I put them back in with the other chickens without worrying about her getting killed ?

Here's some pics

 

[fisherlady]

Thought I'd update y'all on Sora. She's now 2 and a half weeks old and super sweet! Her mom is a devil but she is taking great care of Sora and I know she's just protecting her. When should I put them back in with the other chickens without worrying about her getting killed ?

Here's some pics

adorable!! So glad she did well.

I'd put her and momma into a area of the run which is sectioned off with chicken wire as a test run, or put a half moon of chicken wire off of a side of the run for them to spend some time during the day. This will allow the other birds in the flock to get used to seeing/smelling them again. After a day or two of that you may be able to allow some supervised interaction to see how it goes. It depends on flock dynamics, so no set in stone rule as to age or method of reintroduction.

 

[AmericanMom]

adorable!! So glad she did well.

I'd put her and momma into a area of the run which is sectioned off with chicken wire as a test run, or put a half moon of chicken wire off of a side of the run for them to spend some time during the day. This will allow the other birds in the flock to get used to seeing/smelling them again. After a day or two of that you may be able to allow some supervised interaction to see how it goes. It depends on flock dynamics, so no set in stone rule as to age or method of reintroduction.

X2...

 

[Roxie479]

Okay, She was sitting on one all day. So, I took 6 of the eggs that I had placed in the incubator last night & put them under her. She just wiggled around and settled on them.

So I have 7 total under her and 19 in the incubator along with 3 quail and waiting on 10 Bourbon Red turkey eggs.

Makes me laugh!

 

[MLWoods]

How long do you guys leave eggs under mama once most have hatched. I have 8 chicks, one tried to hatch but didn't make it out, ("shrink wrapped" is the term I just learned on byc) so that a leaves three unhatched since they started about 18 hours ago. Lay on the advice, no pun intended

 

[OneCrazyCowgirl]

So hard to get pictures of Sora ! Mom is crazy protective

 

[fisherlady]

How long do you guys leave eggs under mama once most have hatched. I have 8 chicks, one tried to hatch but didn't make it out, ("shrink wrapped" is the term I just learned on byc) so that a leaves three unhatched since they started about 18 hours ago. Lay on the advice, no pun intended

It may take as much as 3 days or so for a hatch to complete. Mother nature has a built in safety net for the late hatchers, since newborn chicks don't have to eat or drink for 2 to 3 days it allows the mama to remain on the late eggs for a couple of days before she has to get up to tend to the early hatchers. If you notice the broody has left the nest (for more than a few minutes) and is out scratching and teaching her other chicks you can check the remaining eggs for signs of life/viability and place them into an incubator to give them a few extra days to hatch. You may then be able to graft the late hatchers back to the broody.

 

[sonz77]

We have 1!!! So eggscited, our first chick, 3 more under momma still, staggered about 4-5 days.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

Sora is such a cute chick!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

We have 1!!! So eggscited, our first chick, 3 more under momma still, staggered about 4-5 days.

congratulatons on your hatch thus far Lady of McCamley