Broody Hen Thread!

[KinkyMKD]

I have 2 broodies ATM,one sitting on 9 eggs and the other on 13 eggs.The one sitting on 9 eggs should hatch the chicks on Tuesday/Wednesday.The fun thing with that broody is that she is the smallest of my last year's hatch,an smallest in my flock,but man she is an ANGRY broody,she is trying to peck everything near the nest

 

[aart]

Hey all, I just posted a general semblance of this in a new thread, but I'm rather pressed for time, so I'll post it here too -if that's alright.

I just I've had a Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, Pickle, who's been broody (first time) for little over a week now. Today, we drove an hour to get two four-day-old chicks to put under her (a Welsummer and a BO). I just 'grafted' the two chicks to her -as it's dark outside. I put them in front of her to see if she'd pull them under her, and she pecked at them. Then, I slipped them underneath her. She growled, but made no move to stop me and the chicks stayed under her (they're under her back leg). The chicks peep if I move her, so they don't seem to be in trouble...

I just had a few questions:
- Would she have pulled them under her if she wanted to accept them? (She's in the night-trance, so she kind of pecks at everything near her face because she can't see very well...)
- Is there chance of the chicks suffocating down there? Will they move around of their own accord?
- How often should I check the momma and babies tonight? (Every half-hour or so?)
- Will things get better by the morning?
- Did I do the right thing?

Thanks! Hope everything turns out alright!!

Chicks that are 4 days old might be a stretch for grafting......not only might mama reject them, but the chicks might not stay with mama.
Have a backup plan just in case.....you probably know by the time of my posting this of it worked out or not.
Best of cLuck!

 

[blkjak]

So I have to say So far So good. I had a late assisted hatcher, 2 days after everyone else. Had curled toes and was sticky. Placed him wednesday night under a broody hen and when I checked last night was doing fine. Toes have straightened out. I think from now on I will be placing weaker chicks under broody hens if this works out well. They can look after chicks better than I can!

 

[Sonya9]

Okay, thank you! I don't have to worry about them as much, hopefully. Fingers crossed.

Next time I would be more subtle when you put chicks under her. Chicks hatch under their mama's they don't walk up with an introduction, kwim?

Slightly OT but when hatched naturally the mama feels/hears the chicks a couple of days before hatch and mine at least change their posture and pull their weight off the eggs. The signs of the pending arrival are not visual, the mama senses it by sound and movement.

 

[chicksurreal]

I just want to say how amazing it is to watch a broody with her chicks. Also, it's absolutely stunning to watch the baby chicks run around in weather that I thought would kill a 3 week old chick.

Nessie brings them out in the mornings and they just go around with her all day. When they get cold, she lets them get under her wings, but it isn't very often! It was cold, rainy, and VERY windy all day here yesterday, and they were fine. Amazing.

Pretty sure they're both boys.

 

[aart]

Quote: Not OT at all....important thing to know when dealing with broodies.
I'm sure my dog could hear them then too, his focus toward the nest definitely increased the last couple days before hatch.
It's all fascinating if you pay close attention.

 

[Sonya9]

Not OT at all....important thing to know when dealing with broodies.
I'm sure my dog could hear them then too, his focus toward the nest definitely increased the last couple days before hatch.
It's all fascinating if you pay close attention.

Yes it is fascinating indeed! Yesterday the little bantam rooster (the chick's daddy) spent a lot of time in the coop listening. He can't see the chicks (they are penned off) but he knew something was up! The little roo is all about encouraging his hens to lay, sometimes showing them the nest boxes etc....so I expect he will be thrilled to have chicks.

I do have a question and a concern though. My bantams raised some chicks last year with the flock and everything was fine BUT....this year I have a couple of young Red Ranger laying hens and they are rather aggressive birds. The mama hen is so much smaller than they are, she is fierce but size wise she can't fight them off if they decide to get nasty. I should probably fence off an area of the outdoor run for them huh? That would mean also cutting out a door for them in the coop, is that a good idea or will it cause more integration problems down the road?

 

[cbourbeau32]

I have a hen that went broody yesterday. My question (s) are:

1) I'd like to leave her in the nesting box where she is but will the other chickens who have laid in that box continue to do so and if so what do I do about it? Can I mark the eggs I want to keep with a permanent marker and take all the other eggs out each day?

2) How do I get the right amount of eggs under her at the same time so they'll all hatch at the same time? A coworker of mine has offered to bring me a dozen to work on Monday. Should I accept his offer and take the eggs all out from under her each day until Monday evening when I get home from work and replace with the new ones? I kind of hate to do this as I'd like to raise from my own chickens.

Sorry for the "novice" questions but that's what I am.....a novice

sure love this site though!

 

[Sonya9]

I have a hen that went broody yesterday. My question (s) are:

1) I'd like to leave her in the nesting box where she is but will the other chickens who have laid in that box continue to do so and if so what do I do about it? Can I mark the eggs I want to keep with a permanent marker and take all the other eggs out each day?

2) How do I get the right amount of eggs under her at the same time so they'll all hatch at the same time? A coworker of mine has offered to bring me a dozen to work on Monday. Should I accept his offer and take the eggs all out from under her each day until Monday evening when I get home from work and replace with the new ones? I kind of hate to do this as I'd like to raise from my own chickens.

Sorry for the "novice" questions but that's what I am.....a novice

sure love this site though!

You want all of the hatching eggs to start at the same time and yes you do want to mark them. Give her an area to herself (where no other hens can lay) and collect the eggs you want to hatch, them set them under her all at the same time. You do not want eggs started on various days, that will mean the last to hatch may be abandoned when the first are running around and need their mama's attention.

If you have some known infertile eggs (like from the grocery store) you can use those to keep her happy while you collect the fertile ones for hatching. Most folks wait until the broody has been sitting for 3-4 days to make sure she is serious before they give her hatching eggs and they use infertile eggs during that time. Also if you have to move her out of a nesting box try to move her to an area that will be suitable for containing the chicks for a few days when the time comes.

 

[BeanHen]

Chicks that are 4 days old might be a stretch for grafting......not only might mama reject them, but the chicks might not stay with mama.
Have a backup plan just in case.....you probably know by the time of my posting this of it worked out or not.
Best of cLuck!

I do have a backup, thankfully (just in case).

It's light outside now, though Pickle is in the garage (I have the light on) because it's been raining non-stop for the past four or five days.
I still don't entirely know if she's accepted them or rejected them yet.

She is making a clucking sound that she didn't make before we put the chicks under her. She hasn't gotten up from her nest yet (I did take her two fake eggs out when I put the babies in), nor really acknowledged the chicks. She hasn't kicked them out from under her, though, so I'm taking that as a good sign (hopefully?) They are coming out, and pecking her eyes and wattles (the chicks are pecking the hen), is that a solvable problem?

Do I need to do anything else?

And thank you all who responded to my last post! Very helpful!!