Broody Hen Thread!

[Woobsie]

I had a broody hen who's eggs thought died, turns out 5 of the 11 hatched and while she was waiting for the last 2 to hatch, she pushed out a dead rotting chick that quit developing possibly up to a week before. I took it out (even though she pecked me) and disposed of it and she managed to clean up the area pretty nicely. I added some extra straw in a corner and she managed to place extra under and around her...cleaned it all by herself

 

[Joski1995]

I

I have been blessed with an abundance of broodies this year in particular.... have a couple of short videos of them in the coop run and out and about My flock is mixed and our broodies are in with the flock usually within 3 days of hatch, so you will see a lot of youngsters mixed in. I tried to share a bit of info in the videos, but if any questions feel free to ask.

love your videos. I bought chicks that are suppose to be sitters when they grow up.hope to have lots of little chicks too I have about 24 girls and 3 boys I plan on keeping. Hope that's not too many roosters. I guess we will see. I have one golden laced rooster, one Brahman, and a red one not sure what he is. His tail feathers are already getting green. They are about three months now.

 

[fisherlady]

I
love your videos. I bought chicks that are suppose to be sitters when they grow up.hope to have lots of little chicks too

I have about 24 girls and 3 boys I plan on keeping. Hope that's not too many roosters. I guess we will see. I have one golden laced rooster, one Brahman, and a red one not sure what he is. His tail feathers are already getting green. They are about three months now.

We do pretty well with 3 roosters and 21 hens but there are a couple of hens (each roo has a favorite) who end up with damaged back feathers and we often will put 'hen saddles' on them to help. Trimming the roosters spurs help also.

I hope your flock develops as you want... it is a wonderful adventure to be able to plan a group and watch it grow into what you hoped it would be.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I have been blessed with an abundance of broodies this year in particular.... have a couple of short videos of them in the coop run and out and about
My flock is mixed and our broodies are in with the flock usually within 3 days of hatch, so you will see a lot of youngsters mixed in.
I tried to share a bit of info in the videos, but if any questions feel free to ask.

Great videos Fisherlady...I finally got some time to watch them...great fun to see all your chicks and broodies and roos living together as a group...fun seeing how you did things with your coop and run areas.

Wow 60 to 70 birds right now...well done.

Lady of McCamley

 

[jocelyne1967]

I have a coronation sussex that is always broody! and I mean always. She is broody for a couple weeks, her dry spell for a week or so and lays for 1-2 weeks. This has been her cycle since February. Do you you think letting her have chicks would break this cycle or is this just her way? I have had her since fall and she is about 1.5 years old.

 

[Chickens R Us]

I candled the eggs under my broody all 4 have veins in them. I hope she starts eating a little more. The food and water is about 3 feet from her nest box should I move it closer?

 

[jajeanpierre]

I am hoping my broody hen will hatch eggs I put under her 19 or 20 days ago. I candled them at about two weeks and all 7 had development. I also have two eggs under a different broody hen that are a few days younger. The younger eggs are expected to hatch about Thursday. I've never candled them--I just forgot. Should I now that it is so late?

I'm in south central Texas, and I'm worried about humidity. Should I be?

What advice do you have?

I honestly didn't expect any of the eggs to develop, so any chicks will be a pleasant surprise.

Thanks for any advice/words of wisdom.

 

[fisherlady]

I am hoping my broody hen will hatch eggs I put under her 19 or 20 days ago. I candled them at about two weeks and all 7 had development. I also have two eggs under a different broody hen that are a few days younger. The younger eggs are expected to hatch about Thursday. I've never candled them--I just forgot. Should I now that it is so late?

I'm in south central Texas, and I'm worried about humidity. Should I be?

What advice do you have?

I honestly didn't expect any of the eggs to develop, so any chicks will be a pleasant surprise.

Thanks for any advice/words of wisdom.

I would candle the 2 younger eggs asap.... if neither is developed then you may want to steal 2 from the other hen which are good and slip under the hen due Thursday. This will ensure that both hens end up with chicks and you won't have to try to have the later hen start over. Leaving 5 with the 1st hen would still be plenty to keep her happy and the second hen won't care much if the chicks hatch 'early'... they don't count days after their broody mood is really deep.

 

[fisherlady]

I have a coronation sussex that is always broody! and I mean always. She is broody for a couple weeks, her dry spell for a week or so and lays for 1-2 weeks. This has been her cycle since February. Do you you think letting her have chicks would break this cycle or is this just her way? I have had her since fall and she is about 1.5 years old.

when you say she is 'always broody' do you mean she goes to a nest and sets 24hours a day, for 2 weeks straight? Does she go back up to the roost with the other birds overnight at all during this time? If she does stay in the nest 24/7 then you have to decide to either allow her a couple of chicks and on the next time she sets give her a couple of day olds after the 10 day mark or give her a small clutch of eggs to see if she will stick to a nest if she feels she has enough eggs to keep her happy (though I wouldn't risk expensive breeder type eggs on an iffy bird)

If you do a search for 'breaking a broody' there are numerous threads on here explaining different techniques used with varying degrees of success... if you search this thread for 'breaking a broody' and advance search it with the name 'Sydney Acres' I know she has posted a copy of her instructions/methods.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I would candle the 2 younger eggs asap.... if neither is developed then you may want to steal 2 from the other hen which are good and slip under the hen due Thursday. This will ensure that both hens end up with chicks and you won't have to try to have the later hen start over. Leaving 5 with the 1st hen would still be plenty to keep her happy and the second hen won't care much if the chicks hatch 'early'... they don't count days after their broody mood is really deep.

I'll candle them today.

I think I panicked too early--look what I found when I checked the box right after I sent my original post! Six out of seven have hatched, the seventh has a chip out of the egg so I hope it hatches with no problems.

Now what do I do? How long will she stay in her nest box?

I just never thought this far ahead because I honestly did not believe any would hatch. I was intending to let them out to free range with my free range group. The rooster I have is very protective (soup-pot protective). I'm just integrating twelve almost four-month old Ameraucanas with the free range flock. I let them free range for the first time yesterday, and four put themselves to bed in the larger coop with the free range flock (and the broody now with chicks). Eight went to bed in their regular dog-house coop.

I could put the broody in the little pen that the twelve half-grown Ameraucanas came out of. It would be safe from most predators. However, I wouldn't get the fun of watching a momma and chicks out being natural.

Thoughts please.