Broody Hen Thread!

[PineTopFarm]

My dark Cornish hatched a brood of four chicks today. This is her second brood this year. I was surprised they hatched because about 10 days ago DH collected eggs and accidentally collected the hatching eggs as the hen had been off them temporarily. It wasn't till several hours later that I realized what had happened. The hen readily accepted them back when I took them out to her but I was concerned they had been in the house too long.
One did work himself into the "shrink wrapped" stage. He had chipped away the shell but was stuck in the membrane. After about 24 hrs of this he was still chirping so I cut a tiny hole in the membrane. A few hours later he was out.

 

[sonz77]

e I am so happy for you!

How many is this now?  Didn't you have a staggered hatch? 
Lady of McCamley

Thank you!!! That's all of the eggs that were under her, they all hatched. 6 days apart in total.
Those other eggs were a total fail, 7 were clear, only one actually developed partway.

 

[cws451]

hello everyone I have 4 BSL hens that have been laying for a couple months. im going to build a tractor and buy a rooster to put in there...my question is if BSL usually go broody im not wanting to get involved in incubating right..

 

[Lady of McCamley]

hello everyone I have 4 BSL hens that have been laying for a couple months. im going to build a tractor and buy a rooster to put in there...my question is if BSL usually go broody im not wanting to get involved in incubating right..

Well technically BSL are a more commercialized breed and should therefore be less likely to brood as that would have beem selectively bred out of them.

However of the 3 I have owned from 2 separate purchases thus unrelated birds..2 were very good brooders. They went broody at about a year of age in the spring...again separate incidences.

I have heard others use them as well so I don't think my personal experience is unusual.

So there is hope. With your ages possibly this next spring. Have a nice secluded nest box with cushy bedding for them and leave fake eggs in it. Come spring one of them may step up and take the project on for you.

Lady of McCamley

EDITED TO SAY: I should say BSL are a hybrid not breed...they do not breed true.

 

[jammyjammy2112]

hi my chicks are 7 weeks old now with mama silkie there really healthy but there feathers are falling out i doubt mama is picking them offf its her 3rd time with chicks is it normal for chicks to molt all the rest off my hens are molting can it be molting with chicks thanks

 

[robat70]

Sandy,

Enjoyed your post:
I'm so glad your post was near the front of this thread and easy to find because we have a 6 month old Buf Orphington who has been laying for about a month. She recently started puffing up and making sounds that remind us of Jurassic Park -- She sounds ferocious.. maybe a velociraptor. A few days later she started sitting on the nest. Last night we had to carry her to the run to lock her in for the night even though it was fully dark. We have fake eggs in all our nesting sites because our free range hens in a very large yard kept changing their nest sites and the fake eggs seemed to settle them down. She's using one of the sites favored by a couple other hens. I'll read more about how to handle this situation but was amused by your post. This is certainly a learning experience. At least they're all healthy for now, and producing wonderful eggs.

Robert

 

[12chickens]

I use to keep the hens in boxes with wire over the front so the didn't get out and walk off and go into another box. recently i put them in a different room coop and for each broody hen i have a clutch of eggs it work pretty well if they get up they go to the eggs that are on occupied.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

hi my chicks are 7 weeks old now with mama silkie there really healthy but there feathers are falling out i doubt mama is picking them offf its her 3rd time with chicks is it normal for chicks to molt all the rest off my hens are molting can it be molting with chicks thanks

Yes, soft molts are natural in growing chicks as they will lose baby down for baby feathers, then lose those for teen feathers, then those for adult feathers. I will often see tiny little feathers here and there and the babies have loose fluff on them and some thinninsh spots here and there as down and sparse feathers cover an area. So they often look pretty scraggly from the time they lose the baby down fluff until they get in the teen feathers (like a really bad hair day). Roosters will look more scraggly than hens as hens grow their adult feathers faster (especially tail, back and wing areas). Faces, necks and chests seem to feather more slowly and can have some bare-ish spots.

However, if you are seeing big bald spots on your chicks with lots of feathers lost on the ground area, that may not be normal. I've never witnessed big bald spots (like a naked back) on my growing chicks from a hard molt. I've only had my older hens experience a hard molt like that. A hard molt in chicks could signal a dietary deficiency, too warm a brooder (heat lamps), or cramped quarters (stress).

Since you have chicks with a momma and all seem healthy, it is likely a soft molt as you don't seem startled that you have naked chicks.

BYC has a good molt article here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chickens-loosing-feathers-managing-your-flocks-molt

The Chicken Chick has a good article on causes of unhealthy feather loss here: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/03/chicken-feather-loss-cannibalism-causes.html

HTH
Lady of McCamley

 

[MzPlacedHippie]

I'm so glad your post was near the front of this thread and easy to find because we have a 6 month old Buf Orphington who has been laying for about a month.  She  recently started puffing up and making sounds that remind us of Jurassic Park -- She sounds ferocious.. maybe a velociraptor.

Too funny! We say ours sounds like the one that spits black goo at Nedly. I forget what kind it is. You know, 'fetch the stick stupid.' That one. My son says to stand back!

 

[elsfieldchickens]