Broody Hen Thread!

[Lady of McCamley]

So all my hens can be fed chick food? And sorry if I sound stupid, but what do you mean wean? When I think of that word I think of nursing mothers. What will they be weaning off of?

Not only can be fed but should be fed chick food. An adult bird can handle the extra protein in chick feed but the calcium amount in layer feed can damage the kidneys of chicks until they are old enough to lay and need the calcium. Feed all chick crumble or flock raiser and set out oyster shell or calcite grit for your layers who will naturally choose to eat the amount they need while the chicks will leave it alone.

Weaning was simply a euphemism for fledging...mom deciding the chicks are old enough to take care of themselves. She will do that anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks...generally around 6. It will be when the babies are fully feathered and mom has taught them to roost, then she loses interest in them and may even peck at them to leave her alone and go be chickens.

Lady of McCamley

 

[BLT79]

help, I just came home from work and went to see my chickens. checked on mamas in coop and I found a partial bloody egg shell at the coop door edge! what is that all about!

 

[GardenDave]

I have a broody hen and was considering getting some fertilized eggs for her to hatch, is this a good idea? Or just wait her out u til she tires of sitting?

There's nawt wrong with a happy hen If she wants an egg I'd give her one. If keeping more hens isn't ideal you could always give them away or sell them when they are a few months old and the mother has lost interest.

I got carried away with chick crumb when I got my first hatchings last year. I got a 20kg bag for seven chicks lol - it was my first time so I didn't know how much I'd use. Turns out not to be 20kg lol. So in the year since I've occasionally thrown down some of the left over crumb for a treat for the adults. I think its getting a little old now because they are losing interest in it.

 

[GardenDave]

Check under the mother for a chick. I never noticed blood on any shells from my hatches though so perhaps not a great sign, especially with several days to go. My two eggs under Silky are due to hatch on Tuesday too

 

[BLT79]

oh ok! so I will stock up on oyster shell and chick food by the bundle! haha! thank you all so much for your brilliant tips and knowledge! I am so new to this broody chicken thing!

 

[BLT79]

Check under the mother for a chick. I never noticed blood on any shells from my hatches though so perhaps not a great sign, especially with several days to go. My two eggs under Silky are due to hatch on Tuesday too

you think I may have hatched chicks already?

 

[Romoshka]

So 25 of my 46 eggs went into the incubator 3 days after the first chick hatched. Candled out 12 and Left 3 in each of the nests. Next day hens were off the nest so the rest went in after candeling out 2. Since I have no idea ho old these eggs and they candled out "good" I plan to give em at least a week...maybe 2. Had 2 hatched out this AM and successfully grafted them in...now 4 broodies and 4 chicks. As I type this I now hear another one in the incubator behind me chirping.

 

[BLT79]

I should of mentioned that it wasn't a whole egg, just a shell, broken.

 

[fisherlady]

I should of mentioned that it wasn't a whole egg, just a shell, broken.

The hatching process can often result in only partial egg shells being found... I have always figured the broody may eat some of the shell pieces in an attempt to 'housekeep' the nest, though I have never seen them doing it.
If the hatch isn't due... There are times a broody will kick out an egg which has quit developing, sometimes there will be an egg found pushed out of the nest, sometimes only parts of it are found (again assuming the hen eats it to clean the nest area) and sometimes the egg count simply drops by 1 with no remnants ever found... but it had to go somewhere.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

help, I just came home from work and went to see my chickens. checked on mamas in coop and I found a partial bloody egg shell at the coop door edge! what is that all about!

Chances are somebody hatched...look for a chick. There is often blood on the shell. The veins in the membrane have to recede during the hatching process, and sometimes there is some left over blood in those veins which stains the shell.

Lady of McCamley

ah...didn't catch that Fisherlady had already answered....totally agree...either hatched or possibly the broody kicked out a defunct egg, however, I have not found bloody shells from dead eggs...usually its just yellow gooky mush.

EDITED TO ADD: you seem surprised...if it is day 19 or 20, it is possible you had an early hatch...or possibly something got into the nest and grabbed and egg, but usually there is a whole lot more mess and evidence of commotion...look under the hen to rule out it was a chick, then assess from there.