Broody Hen Thread!

[fisherlady]

Thank you for your response.

I just realized there was another question I should have answered for you...

Hens will hatch any egg they can when broody, they don't care about the parentage and if they hatch it, or think they hatched it, since you can often sneak day old foster chicks under them...then they will raise it as their own until it is time for them to be on their own (4 weeks to 8 weeks old, usually)

Some folks have hens hatch and raise ducks or turkey, and I've read of instances where wildlife biologists have used hens to hatch out rare bird eggs such as eagles...

 

[sonderah]

My Broody Blue Slate being a good mommy and took her babies in out of the rain. This 2 week old poult is just chillin!

 

[griggy]

Hi all!

Well my broody girl Abby Lee is doing a great job. Wednesday will be 21 days since she went on the eggs. They were shipped eggs..right now she has 7 under her of the original 12. I candled them at day 7 and 14 and I am hopeful that we get some chicks out of it! I'm a little nervous about the next week. Right now Abby is in a big dog crate separated from the flock. Here are some questions I hope you can help with:

1) Will the eggs hatch on day 21 exactly or might it be Tuesday or Thursday?
2) Will I be able to tell something is happening?
3) Do I replace her food with chick starter?
4) We have a spare chicken tractor with a ladder going down to the grass. Should I move her and any chicks into there? Leave them all in the crate? Should I put them back in with her coop mates? And at what age?
5) Is there anything special I should give her to help her after the eggs hatch?

Thank you for any help in advance! I'm nervous! (Now I see why I adopted my kids instead of giving birth! LOL)

 

[Junibutt]

I heard Silkies make very good mamas, but just curious that if they can't protect themselves from standard hens and are at the bottom of the pecking order, how can they protect their chicks?

 

[fisherlady]

Hi all!

Well my broody girl Abby Lee is doing a great job. Wednesday will be 21 days since she went on the eggs. They were shipped eggs..right now she has 7 under her of the original 12. I candled them at day 7 and 14 and I am hopeful that we get some chicks out of it! I'm a little nervous about the next week. Right now Abby is in a big dog crate separated from the flock. Here are some questions I hope you can help with:

1) Will the eggs hatch on day 21 exactly or might it be Tuesday or Thursday?
2) Will I be able to tell something is happening?
3) Do I replace her food with chick starter?
4) We have a spare chicken tractor with a ladder going down to the grass. Should I move her and any chicks into there? Leave them all in the crate? Should I put them back in with her coop mates? And at what age?
5) Is there anything special I should give her to help her after the eggs hatch?

Thank you for any help in advance! I'm nervous! (Now I see why I adopted my kids instead of giving birth! LOL)

Hope I can help a bit...
1) Broodies often hatch even a day early, but environmental factors can change it, just as with an incubator hatch... so don't loose hope if it is not on day 21, if it goes to day 23 then you may need to candle.
2) Often on hatch day, or even the day before you will begin to hear the hen 'talking to' the eggs, she will quietly purr and chortle to them and you will sometimes be able to hear the chicks peeping in the eggs. My dog is always first to know when the broodies are hatching, I watch her and when she parks herself in 'guard position' in front of the broody nest I know it will be soon.
3) you can put the hen onto chick starter about any time during the brood... since she is not laying eggs she doesn't need the calcium often found in layer feed and the higher protein can help her maintain a good body condition while she sets.
4) for the first 2 or 3 days leave her where she is at. The babies will not be moving around much yet at that time. When you see her up off of the nest with them you can open her crate to allow her to roam farter afield when you are there to supervise. She may return to the crate and she may indicate she wants to go to the coop. If her flock mates are decent with the babies then let the mama hen decide where she wants to be, if there are flock members who are aggressive to her or the chicks then she may be better off in her own tractor for a couple of weeks. Let the chicken's attitudes be your guide on this one.
5) We spoil our broodies, though they don't really need it, it makes me feel better. Our broodies get scrambled eggs and meal worms and hulled sunflower seeds and other similar goodies when they are on the nest and when the chicks are little. It helps keep mama's condition up and having a bowl of goodies there gives mama hen a good chance to teach her chicks to come when she calls them. Fresh water should always be available nearby, or even better it should be within reach of her nest, though secured so it can't tip into her nest. We also scatter small amounts of Finch seeds in the broody's area when she starts getting up with the chicks. It is tiny seeds which seem perfect for mama hen to begin teaching the chicks to scratch and forage. Just make sure the scratch doesn't make up a large amount in their diet, they need the nutrition provided by the chick starter to be the primary part of their diet.

Good luck! Broodies are a wonderful experience... you will be hooked!

 

[Alaskan]

Hi all!

Well my broody girl Abby Lee is doing a great job. Wednesday will be 21 days since she went on the eggs. They were shipped eggs..right now she has 7 under her of the original 12. I candled them at day 7 and 14 and I am hopeful that we get some chicks out of it! I'm a little nervous about the next week. Right now Abby is in a big dog crate separated from the flock. Here are some questions I hope you can help with:

1) Will the eggs hatch on day 21 exactly or might it be Tuesday or Thursday?
2) Will I be able to tell something is happening?
3) Do I replace her food with chick starter?
4) We have a spare chicken tractor with a ladder going down to the grass. Should I move her and any chicks into there? Leave them all in the crate? Should I put them back in with her coop mates? And at what age?
5) Is there anything special I should give her to help her after the eggs hatch?

Thank you for any help in advance! I'm nervous! (Now I see why I adopted my kids instead of giving birth! LOL)

1) nope, they will not be exact. *sigh* 21 days is just a good guess
2) yes, even before they get out of the egg they will make (hopefully) an internal pip, at which point they will start to peep! They can peep like this, totally inside the egg, for usually 12 to 24 hours, but sometimes a bit longer, before they actually hatch out of the egg.
3) yep, I would, it won't hurt her for the few weeks she will be with the chicks.
4)I would leave her where she is until
- all of the chicks that are going to hatch have hatched
- all of the chicks have passed that "super tired barely awake" stage which last from one to three days, during this time they will spend much of their time under mom. They simply will not be running around much at first.
- I have mine in a chicken tractor right now, but locked up in the little coop space. I have been looking at the VERY long ramp that goes down to the grass.....I am not sure about the safety, and just how old they need to be to navigate such a long and steep ramp. My mini coop is maybe 2.5 feet up...kind of far for a chick to fall. So, depending on the size of the coop in the chicken tractor, and the length of the ramp etc. you will have to make a judgement call. However, a tiny space is great for the first 5 days or so. If you have the chicken tractor, I would keep her and the chicks in there until they outgrow it, then move them in with the rest of the flock.
5) Nope, but change to one of those chicken waterers where the baby chicks have less likely hood of drowning. My broody is doing well drinking out of the little chick waterer.

hope it works out!!!!! (shipped eggs are a PAIN!)

 

[fisherlady]

I heard Silkies make very good mamas, but just curious that if they can't protect themselves from standard hens and are at the bottom of the pecking order, how can they protect their chicks?

It depends on flock dynamics.... If your silkie is low on the totem pole then she may get pushed around if the other hens are bullies, but most broodies become much more aggressive than they normally would be when they have chicks, and it seems most other flock members recognize their intensity and give them space. We have a silkie who is the smallest hen by far in our dual purpose coop. She avoids some of the bossier hens but will stand up to most of the flock when she has chicks. And she spends all day (and I do mean all day!) out free ranging with the chicks teaching them to fend for themselves.
As the flock guardian I take responsibility to minimize problems for my broodies, that doesn't mean they get molly coddled and kept separate for 8 weeks... it means I make sure that the broody has space to move away from problems and a safe spot to retreat to with her chicks and that if there is a particularly nasty flock member then I address that bird, so the broody can do her thing. Our broodies have their chicks in the main coop with all of the other birds after the first week or 2 of voluntary separation (the hen is given a more private broody area, but allowed to choose when she wants to go back into the main coop)
The more the flock is exposed to broodies and chicks the less curiosity it causes (usually) so diligent supervision and observation early on can help you prevent problems or intervene early to solve problems as they crop up.

 

[missy_cbell21]

I have a 9 month Cochin that is broody for the first time. I'm not sure if she is a standard or banty but I think banty. Anyways, she has been sitting on an empty nest for 2.5 -3 weeks. I thought she would just stop because she didn't seem very dedicated at first. She would get up and eat/drink and walk around for 10-15min any time I went outside. For the last few days she only gets up when I bring out food. Eats a few bites and back to the nest. I am hoping it's not too late to put some eggs under her. I planned on getting some day old chicks but can't find any local. She does not look like she has lost any weight and her comb and feathers look good/normal. Today I mixed raw egg with some chick starter/grower and cooked that up and put some in the nest. She devoured it!
So, I'm needing help from all the pros.
Should I get some eggs under her? If so, how many. I have a dozen "mud eggs" that are just a bit bigger then what she lays. I also have a sizzle that is playing with the idea of going broody, should I put eggs in for her or wait until she is really sitting?
I also have a question on eggs. I bought a dozen random fertilized eggs. They have not been put in the fridge, I think that is normal, but is there anything I should do to them before putting them in the nest? Does it matter how they are placed in the nest? Thank you all for any help!

 

[elsfieldchickens]

If she is dedicated i would put them under her.however a dozen might be a bit much for a banty.

 

[farnorth]

I've put eggs under a hen that was already sitting 3 weeks on golf balls and she sat another 3 weeks and hatched out the eggs I gave her.

Had another hen that sat 6 weeks most of the time on golf balls and for a while on some eggs that didn't turn out to be furtile. By the time I got her some chicks I think she had been broody for a day or 2 over six weeks. She has been mothering the chicks for 6 weeks and is just now starting to shows some signs of wanting to rejoin the flock (roosting herself and her brood with the big chickens instead of keeping the babies apart).

So I would say go for it. Give her however many she can fit under her. I just put them around the hen and she nudged them under herself the way she wanted them. Only give her as many as she can keep covered. I didn't do anything special to the eggs other than they were not refrigerated before hand and they were kept pointy end down in a carton.