Broody Hen Thread!

[Junibutt]

Thanks @fisherlady and @jajeanpierre for your support. Yeah I will have to sit it tight now. I may bring her inside so I can watch her very few hours. She is in a box so that will not disturb her nest.
Its like expecting for 9 months and then having a stillborn. I am a man but can imagine what a woman goes through when that happens. (I am sorry, not trying to belittle that pain but just trying to make a comparison)

 

[Blooie]

I swear Scout either has a death wish or he's an adrenaline junkie! Ken and I were putting the winter covering over the run when I heard Agatha carrying on something awful. Went into the coop and the little stinker is running around OUTSIDE the broody cage and Agatha is pacing and fluffing and growling inside the cage! I caught him (how can a 3/4 day old chick outrun a grown up human?) and gave him back to Mom. She pecked him most severely on top of his little hard head and then hightailed into the nest with him in hot pursuit. He snuggled down to warm up and she looked at me as if to say, "Kids.....whaddaya gonna do?" I spent some time looking for his escape hatch and couldn't find it so I kept peeking in every few minutes to see if could catch him in the act and find it.

Fast forward to half hour later, same scenario. This time a couple of the other other hens were eyeballing him pretty seriously so I told Ken until I found the opening I was NOT coming out of the coop. I put him back and just sat back to watch. He got himself a drink and a little tidbit to eat, then promptly went to the point where the basket meets the open door of the crate and out he went. I couldn't see that spot from any of the angles I had, but believe me, it's blocked off now!

In this picture you can see where I've marked "Escape Hatch" at that point. The text is pretty small, but it's a good indicator of how little space it takes for these little critters to get themselves into trouble!

 

[SilkieHenHoney]

Our hens eggs are due tomorrow. But, it looks as if she has stopped brooding them. Could I put a brooder lamp above them to keep them warm? They are still alive, I can here them pecking when I put the egg close to my ear. Can I still hatch them? They are due tomorrow.

 

[Junibutt]

Our hens eggs are due tomorrow. But, it looks as if she has stopped brooding them. Could I put a brooder lamp above them to keep them warm? They are still alive, I can here them pecking when I put the egg close to my ear. Can I still hatch them? They are due tomorrow.

Looks like you are in a similar boat as I am.

 

[fisherlady]

Our hens eggs are due tomorrow. But, it looks as if she has stopped brooding them. Could I put a brooder lamp above them to keep them warm? They are still alive, I can here them pecking when I put the egg close to my ear. Can I still hatch them? They are due tomorrow.

Yes, if she has quit you can move them to a safe location (but only if you can do it without rolling them around or disturbing them much, otherwise leave them in place).... lay a thermometer on top of the eggs and use a heat lamp to keep the nest around a 100+/- a degree, but I'm not positive on the temp. I don't incubator hatch, so you will need to use the search block above to find exact temp for hatching.
Since the broody is not able to provide humidity during hatch you will need to watch for shrink wrapped chicks, I can't think of any reliable way to provide higher humidity at this point unless you are able to move them into a bathroom and run the shower once in a while.

 

[darkbluespace]

Our hens eggs are due tomorrow. But, it looks as if she has stopped brooding them. Could I put a brooder lamp above them to keep them warm? They are still alive, I can here them pecking when I put the egg close to my ear. Can I still hatch them? They are due tomorrow.

I have experimented with putting eggs in a clear plastic container with a heating pad on low underneath. I put sponges in the container for humidity.

I have heard of people hatching eggs under a lamp... maybe a lamp over a closed container that could hold some humidity... with a way to keep an eye on temp?

Best of luck!!

 

[SilkieHenHoney]

Yes, if she has quit you can move them to a safe location (but only if you can do it without rolling them around or disturbing them much, otherwise leave them in place)....  lay a thermometer on top of the eggs and use a heat lamp to keep the nest around a 100+/- a degree, but I'm not positive on the temp.  I don't incubator hatch, so you will need to use the search block above to find exact temp for hatching.
Since the broody is not able to provide humidity during hatch you will need to watch for shrink wrapped chicks, I can't think of any reliable way to provide higher humidity at this point unless you are able to move them into a bathroom and run the shower once in a while.

I have experimented with putting eggs in a clear plastic container with a heating pad on low underneath.  I put sponges in the container for humidity.  

I have heard of people hatching eggs under a lamp... maybe a lamp over a closed container that could hold some humidity... with a way to keep an eye on temp?

Best of luck!!

Thanks for the excellent advice!

 

[Kathyandmark]

Good Morning Everyone..

I wrote a post a bit back about our brooding Hen.. We did put 12 fertilized eggs under her and after all things happening (learning that the others can and will eat the eggs/so we seperated
her) in the end we had one small black chick survive out of all the 12.. Of course I felt bad so had to go and get four more little ones around the same age as the new one.. She is such a
wonderful mom.. she has taken to them all and its a beautiful site to see how she teaches them how to do things...

My question is How do we bring the two flocks together.. we have 7 big birds about two years old..the mom and 5 little ones.. now we have mom in the small hut and run so others can see them
the others are in a large coop and have a large run... I dont just want to shove them together and possible have death.. Is there some way to do it slow and make sure it goes well.. Please
need any and all advice from all you experts.. we have only been doing this for two years and have not come into this...

Thank you

Kathy and Mark.

 

[Blooie]

Good Morning Everyone..

I wrote a post a bit back about our brooding Hen.. We did put 12 fertilized eggs under her and after all things happening (learning that the others can and will eat the eggs/so we seperated
her) in the end we had one small black chick survive out of all the 12.. Of course I felt bad so had to go and get four more little ones around the same age as the new one.. She is such a
wonderful mom.. she has taken to them all and its a beautiful site to see how she teaches them how to do things...

My question is How do we bring the two flocks together.. we have 7 big birds about two years old..the mom and 5 little ones.. now we have mom in the small hut and run so others can see them
the others are in a large coop and have a large run... I dont just want to shove them together and possible have death.. Is there some way to do it slow and make sure it goes well.. Please
need any and all advice from all you experts.. we have only been doing this for two years and have not come into this...

Thank you

Kathy and Mark.

I'm kind of wondering the same thing. Out of 15 eggs, we got our little fuzzy Scout and that's it. Agatha has done a stupendous job taking care of him and he's thriving. But Agatha is showing definite signs of being OVER being stuck in the broody pen. Yesterday I close the coop off from the run after all the girls had laid their eggs for the day and opened her side door. She came running out into the coop and Scout was right behind her, exploring and finding tidbits of yummies when Mom scratched them up for him. If I so much as opened the coop door to check on them she puffed up and growled and he scurried under her. But it was only the two of them in coop then.

I do have the other 9 chickens to worry about. Scout is now 5 days old. Is it safe to open the doors and see what happens? - (remembering, of course, that Scout seems to have a death wish.) The other girls mingle around the broody pen all day long and she fluffs up, spreads her wings and growls if she thinks they're getting too close. They've seen Scout and he's seen them, and Agatha was still holding her own before he hatched when she'd leave the nest to be out with the general population for a bit. I hate to sound cold and callous, but if I had 15 chicks to think about I might not be as concerned, but since he's it, and he's Katie's, I am still hesitating.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I'm kind of wondering the same thing. Out of 15 eggs, we got our little fuzzy Scout and that's it. Agatha has done a stupendous job taking care of him and he's thriving. But Agatha is showing definite signs of being OVER being stuck in the broody pen. Yesterday I close the coop off from the run after all the girls had laid their eggs for the day and opened her side door. She came running out into the coop and Scout was right behind her, exploring and finding tidbits of yummies when Mom scratched them up for him. If I so much as opened the coop door to check on them she puffed up and growled and he scurried under her. But it was only the two of them in coop then.

I do have the other 9 chickens to worry about. Scout is now 5 days old. Is it safe to open the doors and see what happens? - (remembering, of course, that Scout seems to have a death wish.) The other girls mingle around the broody pen all day long and she fluffs up, spreads her wings and growls if she thinks they're getting too close. They've seen Scout and he's seen them, and Agatha was still holding her own before he hatched when she'd leave the nest to be out with the general population for a bit. I hate to sound cold and callous, but if I had 15 chicks to think about I might not be as concerned, but since he's it, and he's Katie's, I am still hesitating.

I am sorry but I can not help you two with this because-----now I never Mix the young chicks with the older hens. I did and I lost chicks that got pecked by the older hens. If I was going to mix I would let the chicks get at least 1/2 grown before I mixed. Sure if they free-range it easier/better because the chicks have more room to stay away brom the older chickens.