Broody Hen Thread!

[mymilliefleur]

Well, Gracie is at it again....





So far she has 5 hatched, barnyard mixes (large fowl)... still has 2 eggs but I'm not holding out much hope, she normally hatches all of hers within a few hours of each other, but she can keep the eggs till tomorrow just in case.
The first one hatched was out roaming around within a few hours of when I first heard cheeping, don't know exactly when it hatched but it has been out from under her exploring more than it's been underneath for most of the day already... hardy little hooligan for sure! Probably a rooster with that kind of a 'go get em' attitude.

Those fluffys are adorable!

I have a broody due to hatch in a couple of weeks, can't wait to see what I get.

 

[Tdough13]

Thanks for the quick response. I took her out of the broody breaker and put her back with "her man", but she just immediately created a nest around herself with the bedding and has been laying there all day. Third day with no eggs.

 

[Angie16hearts]

we ended up with 3 that have grey coloring? Can I let pepper and babies range with the flock? Or do they need to be out at separate times? I let them out earlier with a real close eye. The big girls watched very carefully and quite. I'm worried they may attack? They didn't give my baby bantams to hard of a time but I kept them close to me. Any info on introducing would be great! Most of you know she is in a broody coop. She's able to strech and dust bath.

PS is the few that look grey normal ? They are EE's

 

[JJSS89]

Does anyone give their broodies something special a day or two before "lockdown" since they won't be coming off of the nest for a few days? My broody should have a clutch hatch this weekend so I was wondering if I should give her a special treat today before she becomes unmovable. Just curious. This is my first hatch with a broody.

It wouldn't hurt anything but she doesn't need it. She might not even eat it. It's a natural instinct for them to stop eating when the eggs start pipping. She wont know why she doesn't eat but in the wild it would prevent her from creating waste which would attract predators. Just keep feed and water close by and she'll take care of herself. After the last chick hatches, she'll start showing them how to eat and she'll start eating more herself.

 

[mymilliefleur]

we ended up with 3 that have grey coloring? Can I let pepper and babies range with the flock? Or do they need to be out at separate times? I let them out earlier with a real close eye. The big girls watched very carefully and quite. I'm worried they may attack? They didn't give my baby bantams to haerd of a time but I kept them close to me. Any info on introducing would be great! Most of you know she is in a broody coop. She's able to strech and dust bath.

PS is the few that look grey normal ? They are EE's

Those little fuzzlets are adorable! Yes, they all look fine. How big of a space do the chickens have? If you keep your birds in coop where space is limited, than I would keep your mama separate for now.

 

[mymilliefleur]

we ended up with 3 that have grey coloring? Can I let pepper and babies range with the flock? Or do they need to be out at separate times? I let them out earlier with a real close eye. The big girls watched very carefully and quite. I'm worried they may attack? They didn't give my baby bantams to hard of a time but I kept them close to me. Any info on introducing would be great! Most of you know she is in a broody coop. She's able to strech and dust bath.

PS is the few that look grey normal ? They are EE's

Oh, and for some reason I could only see two of your pictures until I quoted your post, and than I could see the other two pictures and the rest of your post.

 

[Angie16hearts]

Those little fuzzlets are adorable! Yes, they all look fine. How big of a space do the chickens have?  If you keep your birds in coop where space is limited, than I would keep your mama separate for now.

Oh, and for some reason I could only see two of your pictures until I quoted your post, and than I could see the other two pictures and the rest of your post.

here is our standard coop the small one is our bantam coop and the one on the ground is broody coop. We have 2-4 days of rain that's why we have tarps up. Should I give her her own time out of coop each day? Separate from all the others? It's hard to see how the broody coop is set up It has a open area about 2 feet it has a cover then in closed is about 4 feet. Taking a guess.

On a side note my mille crouched for me today

I know your on that thread as well

the pictures didn't come out in the order I wanted them to.

 

[Angie16hearts]

...

Oh, and for some reason I could only see two of your pictures until I quoted your post, and than I could see the other two pictures and the rest of your post.
[/. Thank you ! I think they are darling! We are going to keep a few. I want to handle each chick everyday intel I figure out what gender they are. I'm really looking at the ones with grey. I should ask the EE thread. If anyone has any information on why they have grey and what they may end up looking like?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Well, Gracie is at it again....





So far she has 5 hatched, barnyard mixes (large fowl)... still has 2 eggs but I'm not holding out much hope, she normally hatches all of hers within a few hours of each other, but she can keep the eggs till tomorrow just in case.
The first one hatched was out roaming around within a few hours of when I first heard cheeping, don't know exactly when it hatched but it has been out from under her exploring more than it's been underneath for most of the day already... hardy little hooligan for sure! Probably a rooster with that kind of a 'go get em' attitude.

Cute, cute, cute. Be interesting to see what the little babies look like when they grow up...barnyard mixes are so fun that way.

Queen Mum is royally committed to her clutch...day 3 and she is sitting like a champ....17 to 18 days to go...hopefully of the 5 eggs I'll get at least 3 Isbar and OE layers.
LofMc

 

[nikkers390]

I spotted my first broody by accident.
Even though we live in SW FL, it still gets cold at night. (40 F IS cold here)

I definitely did not want chicks in the house because of hubby's severe allergies. So, outside brooding was scheduled for when temps do not fall below 65 f at night. when I saw this young 8 month old BCM pullet sitting on a clutch, I tried to take the eggs but she screeched like an eagle. Startled the blazes out of me!
OK. I had no expectations and let her sit. She hatched 9 out of 10 eggs. I kept her and the chicks isolated till the chicks were 3 weeks old and then put her and the babies in a separate coop and run. She still has 9 babies all feathered out, 7 weeks old. A few days ago I saw she was laying more eggs, not fertile since no roo there.
She still broods the chicks. She is an excellent mama! Is it possible she wants more babies? I think she needs a rest!

Any advice will be appreciated since this is a first for me.