Broody Hen Thread!

[Lady of McCamley]

vpatt...it is unlikely you hurt anything with the chicks as they are amazingly durable at the peeping stage when within the enclosed shell.

I have learned it is best to avoid touching the eggs those last 48 hours to hatch as the chicks are moving into position and it is best to not disturb them...however sometimes you have to do a quick tidy if mom messed in the nest....and if no one is hatching a quick check and tidy seems to be okay.

However I found it is crucial to avoid looking once they start pipping as you can creat a big change in humidity within the shell and cause a shrink wrap situation with a chick...something I did this summer in an emergency situation trying to save a chilled chick who had fallen out of the nest insert and was thoroughly chilled.

I knew what I had done at the time as my normally irritated but stoic Silkie was panicked and frantic to get back to the chick under her who was emerging from the shell. I had never seen her so desperate. Though half the shell was gone and the membrane pipped, that chick never was able to break through the membrane as I discovered hours later it had become like glue. I ended up finally intervening and doing a hatch rescue which fortunately ended up with a healthy chick but I learned a valuable lesson in not lifting up mom indiscriminately.

Lady of McCamley

 

[TeaChick]

I'm posting this in both the Broody Hen threads I know of ("broody hen thread" and "old-fashioned broody hen hatchalong and informational thread"). I'm sorry for double posting, I just want to get as much information and advice as I can. Thanks.

I have some eggs I need hatched right away. I put them in the brooder and put a hen in there I feel confident will go broody on them for me. I chose her b/c she already lays in the brooder (and I don't want her to start laying somewhere else) and no one else lays in the brooder (therefore, not causing anyone else to think they need to find a new nest). I have a few questions on what to look for and time frame.

I have had a broody before, so I have an idea of how she'll behave if/when she goes broody. But what should I look for to give up on her brooding the eggs?

She's kicked some of the eggs out and she has eaten one of them. At what point to I take the eggs and just stack them in the 'bator? (I don't want this situation to create an egg eater.)

Absolutely any information or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[PD-Riverman]

Yes I do have the food close by. Sigh......next time I will do it all differently. I had the food and water set so that the others could not get to it and that made it close to her. I can say at least I learned from this experience....and will not do this again until I am really prepared. I hate for the chicks to suffer because me, tho. I did go ahead and fix the water for chicks with marbles and put chick starter out. I will shut the others out of the coop except at bedtime so that they wont cause issues...but I think I am the only one doing that.

Its Ok, a little poop want kill them. I do this so much---33 broody hens this season and probably 1000+ chicks in the incubator---that I do not mess with the broody hens--not even candle them. I do know for a fact that feed and water where she can reach it leaves a Poopy mess. I place the food and water where she has to get off the nest to get it---so she will take a walk. The last 2/3 days she will not leave the nest---which is where the increased humidity comes in. Being she is not eating/drinking those days she will not have to poop usually. I do not place any food/water for the chicks either, where they can get it without leaving the nest. I want Mom to leave the nest when she gets through hatching and she will---might be a day or two later if you pile the food up where she does not have to move--lol. All 33 of my broody hens hatched every Good egg----most of what little bit of poop that was in the nest was from the chicks---not her. She will be fine with no food and water for those 2\3 days For sure the chicks will be fine for several days without food and water.

Again, messing with the eggs under a broody and a incubator right up to hatch does not affect some people as much as others and I believe it is because of their Location---might be wrong BUT for sure NOT messing with them those last 2/3 days will FOR sure Not Hurt anything-----Having bad Luck in the beginning(very few hatch)---messing with them, pulling just hatched chicks out the incubator at will etc-----I Now DO NOT bother them at all---I do not want to possible cause a problem---a week ago I pulled 80 chicks out of 81 eggs out the incubator---one egg that did not hatch, BUT when I placed the 81 eggs in the hatcher, there was one that I felt had a early death but I put it in anyway. For Me---I have Good hatches Just Leaving Them alone---Do only what Needs to be done---nothing more, nothing less. Good Luck with your future hatch!

 

[PD-Riverman]

I'm posting this in both the Broody Hen threads I know of ("broody hen thread" and "old-fashioned broody hen hatchalong and informational thread"). I'm sorry for double posting, I just want to get as much information and advice as I can. Thanks.

I have some eggs I need hatched right away. I put them in the brooder and put a hen in there I feel confident will go broody on them for me. I chose her b/c she already lays in the brooder (and I don't want her to start laying somewhere else) and no one else lays in the brooder (therefore, not causing anyone else to think they need to find a new nest). I have a few questions on what to look for and time frame.

I have had a broody before, so I have an idea of how she'll behave if/when she goes broody. But what should I look for to give up on her brooding the eggs?

She's kicked some of the eggs out and she has eaten one of them. At what point to I take the eggs and just stack them in the 'bator? (I don't want this situation to create an egg eater.)

Absolutely any information or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Am I reading this right, You think you can "Make" a hen go Broody??? I do not think So-----Not at YOUR Will. Good Luck!

 

[mymilliefleur]

Yes, The poop will not hurt the eggs. mine often poop in the nest and I've had rotten eggs explode under the hen, and the chicks hatched just fine and were healthy and happy.
Remember, hens have good bacteria on their feathers/skin that coats the chick when it hatches that incubators don't.

I don't bother my hens ether, I just let them do their job, though the temptation to see how many chicks she has is usually to much to bare.

As for making a hen go broody, PD riverman is right, there is no way to ''make'' a hen go broody. you can trigger a hen to go broody some times by putting a clutch of of fake eggs in a nest, etc, but nothing is guaranteed to work. a hen will go broody when she feels the conditions are right to go broody.

Good luck with your birds!

 

[vpatt]

PD and mymillie......and everyone else. Thnx so much for all the advice and encouragement! I appreciate it so much. I will update tomorrow if anything changes.
I'm excited and anxious and feel kind of silly, too, lol.

e

 

[TeaChick]

Am I reading this right, You think you can "Make" a hen go Broody??? I do not think So-----Not at YOUR Will. Good Luck!

Not "make", offer her the opportunity encouragingly.
Yes, I know she will or won't at her own discretion.
Thanks for wishing me luck.

Yes, The poop will not hurt the eggs. mine often poop in the nest and I've had rotten eggs explode under the hen, and the chicks hatched just fine and were healthy and happy.
Remember, hens have good bacteria on their feathers/skin that coats the chick when it hatches that incubators don't.

I don't bother my hens ether, I just let them do their job, though the temptation to see how many chicks she has is usually to much to bare.

As for making a hen go broody, PD riverman is right, there is no way to ''make'' a hen go broody. you can trigger a hen to go broody some times by putting a clutch of of fake eggs in a nest, etc, but nothing is guaranteed to work. a hen will go broody when she feels the conditions are right to go broody.

Good luck with your birds!

Thank you. I'm using real eggs, and I'm trying to get her to go broody b/c I need these eggs hatched. They have a better chance of hatching with her than stacking them in the incubator.






BTW, I find it interesting that everyone wanted to attack my choice to use a broody hen (since that's my only viable option) rather than answering my questions. Thanks for all the "help".

 

[A6chickenhome]

Not sure if its always the same with every hatch but my hatchlings pipped at around 6am and didn't seem to make much progress that entire day. When I went to let the girls out the next morning at around 6am they had all hatched.

 

[scourge killer]

are u still open for new ppl?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

...She's kicked some of the eggs out and she has eaten one of them. At what point to I take the eggs and just stack them in the 'bator? (I don't want this situation to create an egg eater.)

Absolutely any information or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

The real answer is put the eggs in the incubator as soon as you wish them to begin incubation. Since broodiness or hatching behavior is determined by hormones, waiting on a hen to go broody is like waiting on a teenage boy to grow a beard.

That said, how old are your youngest eggs .....NOW? Any hatching egg 21 days old or older when incubation first begins is imho a waste of electricity or your setting hens' time.