Broody Hen Thread!

[Angie16hearts]

I blocked off the small entrance/ exit. Fresh wood ships. My girls don't like hay!! Fresh food and water in a small drown free container. There are quite a few chirping !! We may get a good hatch rate. The one I really wanted to hatch got accidentally got cold. It seams to be growing?! Idk.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I blocked off the small entrance/ exit. Fresh wood ships. My girls don't like hay!! Fresh food and water in a small drown free container. There are quite a few chirping !! We may get a good hatch rate. The one I really wanted to hatch got accidentally got cold. It seams to be growing?! Idk.

Pics in the morning
LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Yes.....my new brooding queen who is replacing (sadly) my faithful lost Oma-San has gone broody! The previous owner says she is a rock from day 1, even if moved (she won't be), has never abandoned a clutch or chick...so I don't need to wait

Sooooo, I just put in an order for 3 Isbar and 2 OE (Marans/Isabar) hatching eggs to my favorite breeder to pick up Wednesday!

The bantam Cochin maids in waiting are confused as to why the Silkie has switched to staying all the time on that nest...they were trying to dog pile tonight. I may have to put in one of my dividers if they look like they'll be causing problems...but I hope they will get the idea from the Silkie and perhaps co-brood....although I think they are too young...must be about 5 to 6 months of age....

New learning curve again with all new hens.

Anyway...keeping my fingers crossed...I *think* I'm back in business brooding again

Lady of McCamley

 

[PD-Riverman]

I blocked off the small entrance/ exit. Fresh wood ships. My girls don't like hay!! Fresh food and water in a small drown free container. There are quite a few chirping !! We may get a good hatch rate. The one I really wanted to hatch got accidentally got cold. It seams to be growing?! Idk.

Sounds Like you are having Good Luck with your Hatch. You have gotten some great advice. I wanted to add----I mentioned some time back that you should Not lift or tilt the mother hen to peek under her----so you can see the other eggs. Those eggs should be treated like a "pipe bomb" right now----It would be best to Not Touch, tilt, roll and for sure not taken out and candled. I also mentioned that I would Never feed the mother hen in the nest---doing this will cause her to poop in the nest---can become a mess. Also I would never offer her treats during her hatch that would cause her to leave the nest for a few seconds to eat it-----This would Not be Good for the unhatched eggs. None of this past seasons 33 broody hens pooped in their nest, none left the nest the last 2/3 days to eat---They were in Lock-Down and knew not to leave the nest. Good Luck to you!!

 

[Angie16hearts]

Sounds Like you are having Good Luck with your Hatch. You have gotten some great advice. I wanted to add----I mentioned some time back that you should Not lift or tilt the mother hen to peek under her----so you can see the other eggs. Those eggs should be treated like a "pipe bomb" right now----It would be best to Not Touch, tilt, roll and for sure not taken out and candled. I also mentioned that I would Never feed the mother hen in the nest---doing this will cause her to poop in the nest---can become a mess. Also I would never offer her treats during her hatch that would cause her to leave the nest for a few seconds to eat it-----This would Not be Good for the unhatched eggs. None of this past seasons 33 broody hens pooped in their nest, none left the nest the last 2/3 days to eat---They were in Lock-Down and knew not to leave the nest. Good Luck to you!!

oops, I took food and water out. Thank you for that info!! She has 6 under her. So 5 hatched last night. Waiting I other 4. Crossing my fingers. The egg that got cold hatched.

. How much longer do I keep her in lock down?
Luckily she has not gone to the bathroom in the nest. My bad I was worried she needed food.
She seems to be a great broody !! I have moved her here and there to check. She pays no mind to me and is very gentle with me. I'm definitely taking your advise ! I didn't even tell my boys. I'm waiting for her to be moved. So like I asked earlier how long is she to be in mock down?

And a thank you to everyone who has walked me through my first broody hen. I really think she will be broody a lot during her life. I love it!!

I re read 2 more days? Or just when she decides it's time?

 

[fisherlady]

oops, I took food and water out. Thank you for that info!! She has 6 under her. So 5 hatched last night. Waiting I other 4. Crossing my fingers. The egg that got cold hatched.

. How much longer do I keep her in lock down?
Luckily she has not gone to the bathroom in the nest. My bad I was worried she needed food.
She seems to be a great broody !! I have moved her here and there to check. She pays no mind to me and is very gentle with me. I'm definitely taking your advise ! I didn't even tell my boys. I'm waiting for her to be moved. So like I asked earlier how long is she to be in mock down?

And a thank you to everyone who has walked me through my first broody hen. I really think she will be broody a lot during her life. I love it!!

I re read 2 more days? Or just when she decides it's time?

If you are able to spend some time in the coop with her I would open up her restriction while you are there to observe, if she comes off of the nest with the little ones then you can move her, if she sits tight then let her go and check her again in the morning or later this evening. Watch that there is no where for the little ones to get trapped away from the nest, they may start roaming after the first 24 hours and chicks are great at getting themselves stuck places they shouldn't be, or not being able to get back into the nest for some reason or another. Some chicks CAN fit through normal chicken wire, but they sure don't seem to know how to get back through the way they came. If you are using wire to restrict them it would need to be something along the lines of half inch hardware cloth....

 

[Lutz Farms]

@Lutz Farms
 and @Angie16hearts

I highly recommend NOT touching the hen or eggs until all chicks are hatched out and any eggs left are not pipped and not hatching...you can usually tell by mom's reactions who is going to hatch and who is not...she will begin to tend to those hatched and begin to ignore the eggs.

I have messed up hatches by doing so...ONLY intervene if it is for the absolute necessity and best for the hen/chicks....otherwise you greatly risk interfering with the process such that you can prevent a healthy chick from hatching...(if in doubt see my Buckeye hatch post in my signature...I intervened for the sake of one chick emergency and created another that ended up in an assisted hatch with antibiotics for the whole crew for 2 weeks!)

So at this point, unless there is strong compelling reason to move them as they are being tromped by others so they cannot hatch and you'll lose some if you don't try to move OR you've got predators snatching the chicks as they emerge....DO NOT move them.

If they've made it this far in the communal nest, they'll make it through hatch....THEN you can move the hen and chicks when momma indicates she is done sitting on eggs and wants to begin to tend to chicks...she gets up and leads them to water and feed and begins to show them how to scratch.

As to Angie16hearts question...no the hen doesn't typically eat the egg shells. She generally just tosses them aside. You can do some tidying after day 1 if need be, if she has pulled some to the side or you see some shifting away from the nest...but only if you are not disturbing the sitting hen and that wonderful environment that is hatching chicks beneath.

LofMc

Well, didn't recv all your replies until it was too late. I moved her at 2 a.m. under thought-out, egg, moving engineering process. Had a heating blanking warming inside cat kennel for a while in order to warm interior appropriately and timed everything down. Please remember, this hen is a doll. Very friendly and extremely docile. So, the move? Well, everyone is doing great as a peach soaking in moonshine on a hot summer day in Georgia. I am tickled to pieces. Have houdans and my E2's hatched and these chickies are very independent burgers and momma is fabulous. Thank you everyone for once again always being there when I needed you.

 

[Angie16hearts]

If you are able to spend some time in the coop with her I would open up her restriction while you are there to observe, if she comes off of the nest with the little ones then you can move her, if she sits tight then let her go and check her again in the morning or later this evening.   Watch that there is no where for the little ones to get trapped away from the nest, they may start roaming after the first 24 hours and chicks are great at getting themselves stuck places they shouldn't be, or not being able to get back into the nest for some reason or another.  Some chicks CAN fit through normal chicken wire, but they sure don't seem to know how to get back through the way they came.  If you are using wire to restrict them it would need to be something along the lines of half inch hardware cloth....

I still have the 4 under her. She was not about to budge this morning !! It's a nice warm day in the 70s high humidity. So I'm hoping she sits another day. I have her blocked with wood and put wood shavings any where I thought the chicks could get out. However they all seemed to want to stay under momma for the morning. We will see if she's throwing a fit when I get home.

I am crossing my fingers! She's willing to stay out. 6/10 seems good to me however this is my first unexperienced hatch.

 

[PD-Riverman]

So like I asked earlier how long is she to be in mock down?

She will let you know when she is ready to getting off the nest. If you got her completely blocked in the "nest"---she want be able to get off the nest----I don't think I have seen a picture of how you got her fixed up---normanally she will come off the nest when they all hatch----that are going to hatch---as long as the eggs were set at the same time. Maybe later part of day 22.Good Luck!

 

[Angie16hearts]

She will let you know when she is ready to getting off the nest. If you got her completely blocked in the "nest"---she want be able to get off the nest----I don't think I have seen a picture of how you got her fixed up---normanally she will come off the nest when they all hatch----that are going to hatch---as long as the eggs were set at the same time. Maybe later part of day 22.Good Luck!

her side of the coop is about 4 feet long. I blocked right down the middle if coop. Also shut her side off.
Got home around 5:30, she had one more chick. I could see the egg shell. The chicks kinda came out from under her. I'm sure cause there was some light. All 7 are good! 3 eggs left to go. I remembered you had said Tuesday would be her date. With the give or take 24 hours. This gives me hope that we may just get 1-2 or all. Because she's has no intrest in moving! I examined her sized and no feces.

The 3 under her I REALLY want to hatch! They are from my favorite hens! I gave her 3 off each. With a 2/3 hatch and 1/3. I realize I have a good hatch rate already and am happy things are going good.

Please keep the info coming. Thank you!!