Broody Hen Thread!

[fisherlady]

Anybody got any idea how long after initial hatch I can continue to graft late hatches onto the broodies? Recall that stupid allowed the other hens to continue to lay in the broodies nests. Hence I had egss of progressive ages. Hens got off nest at 3 days so I out the rest in the bator. Been grafting 1or 2 in every night for the past 9 nights. Have grafted 8 successfully so far and so have 10 out there with the "family". Just put 2 more in tonight. Got one more about to hatch now. Still have 18 in the bator. Will there come a point where the hens will reject?

Some hens will take every chick you offer...what you may need to use as a guide is the behavior of the older chicks. you may start to see bullying behavior and / or notice that the youngest ones can't keep up with the other ones. At that time it is time to quit adding to the hen even if she is still accepting them.

 

[cayle]

Thank you and one more thing the hen I moved into the cage wants to go back to her old nest so what do I do?

 

[fisherlady]

Thank you and one more thing the hen I moved into the cage wants to go back to her old nest so what do I do?

Broodies can be very hard to move, it is best don't at night and best if they can be kept in relatively dark and quiet environment until they are resettled. Try covering the cage with a blanket but be sure it doesn't over heat her. You may need to only partially cover it.

 

[Romoshka]

Some hens will take every chick you offer...what you may need to use as a guide is the behavior of the older chicks. you may start to see bullying behavior and / or notice that the youngest ones can't keep up with the other ones. At that time it is time to quit adding to the hen even if she is still accepting them.

Fisher lady you are very helpful. Thank you for your continued advice. I'm indebted to you.

 

[cayle]

Thank you so much ur very helpful

 

[fisherlady]

Fisher lady you are very helpful. Thank you for your continued advice. I'm indebted to you.

You are welcome! The other thing I should have mentioned earlier is to make sure the hen can cover the little ones easily if it is still chilly overnight in your area.... once chicks are a couple of weeks old they are probably fine being on the 'outskirts' of the broody in the nest at night but those younger need to tuck under on all but the warmest of nights. So take in her 'coverage ability' when deciding how many she can handle.

 

[fisherlady]

Thank you so much ur very helpful

I hope it works, I have often been frustrated trying to move broodies.... if she won't tolerate the move to the cage then try just moving her within the coop, possibly just to a floor nest in a corner which you can block off with chicken wire to help keep her from being bothered. Some hens just don't want to leave what they consider the 'security' of the flock sights and sounds.

 

[RudyElpollo]

This guys need more Help!!!!. My broody Silkie (cotton ball) has been sitting for 20 days. Hatching is expected tomorrow. Nows here's my question. How long after the chicks hatch does a hen remain in that (broody) mind state? Reason I ask. I have a Blue laced Wyandotte who went broody and then after 2 weeks of laying abandoned the eggs, I then placed those eggs under Cotton Ball. Which means those eggs should hatch next week. "Oh what a tangle web I weaved".

 

[Dumb Kluck]

This guys need more Help!!!!. My broody Silkie (cotton ball) has been sitting for 20 days. Hatching is expected tomorrow. Nows here's my question. How long after the chicks hatch does a hen remain in that (broody) mind state? Reason I ask. I have a Blue laced Wyandotte who went broody and then after 2 weeks of laying abandoned the eggs, I then placed those eggs under Cotton Ball. Which means those eggs should hatch next week. "Oh what a tangle web I weaved

My broody got off the nest & abandoned it completely 2-3 days after hatch (she had 9 active chicks to share the joys of foraging & dust bathing with) :/ She only returned to sleeping in the nest after the last egg was removed (it was a dud). Keep a close eye on the eggs, if shes off of them for more than a couple hours at a time, then she may be over the sitting phase of brooding, and the eggs may go cold. The good news is that if your hen doesn't want to hatch the additions. YOU can finish incubating the eggs & the new chicks can be "grafted" in with the existing brood under the mother hen (at night while everyone is sleeping). Good luck.

 

[Woobsie]

There are 3 chicks now! yay! First hatch was yesterday at work and now I see 2 more today..1 white and two black!
My question, mama seems really tired, is that normal? She sometimes sits up wide awake and then easily falls back asleep when the little ones have stopped bugging her. She will go from awake to asleep in a matter 20 seconds or so. Sometimes she will have one eye open while the other is trying to rest. Is she really that exhausted? I put a little food into her box...but no water because I wanted to wait until she moves them down off that nest..didn't want to get any water in the box and it is a little tight accomodations in there. Is that normal behaviour? The chicks are quite fiesty...picking on her wattles for attention