Broody Hen Thread!

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Just wanted to check in... my first ever broody hen is sitting on a dozen assorted barnyard mix eggs! I thought last week she might be getting broody, but then nothing really came of it. Well Saturday I saw her quite content on the nest in the most popular box, so I didn't grab the eggs. I planned to grab them that night when she went up on her roost, but I got busy. When I went out Sunday morning she was still on the nest. I'm not sure if she slept on it or not. Well Sunday she never moved, even when the other hens were desperately trying to lay in that box (literally sitting on top of her). I counted and numbered the eggs so I know if she steals any more (she had a dozen, probably only about 2 are hers).

She's only 9 months old, a BLRW, and I'm super excited! I don't need more chickens, but I figure a few more hens can't hurt and I'll eat any roos. Plus I'm still trying to figure out if I have Marek's in my flock (I've had symptoms, but it's hit and miss, and all from 1 local guy so he could just have bad breeding) so at least I'll know if the chicks survive that I don't have it.

Anyway, so I figure that they're due around June 13.

Questions:
Are BLRW good mamas? In general?

Should I be concerned because she's so young? only 9 months...

I'm not going to separate her, but I built 8 new nesting boxes to tempt the other hens away from her. I'm hoping it works.





Lacey-- Love it!
 
T
sharol said:
That is so exciting.

You can tell if the eggs are fertile by breaking one and looking at the yolk.  There is a little white spot on the yolk.  If it has a ring around it (like Saturn) it is fertile.  If it is just a dot, it is not.  If one egg from a hen is fertile, the likelihood that the others from that hen are fertile..  Eggs take 21 days or so from the time they are set under the broody.  I like to collect eggs for a couple of days and save them on the counter in an egg carton, and give them to her all at once so they will all hatch around the same time.  If you can determine which eggs come from which hens, you can choose eggs from the hens that are fertile.  It is my understanding that a breeding will render her fertile for a couple of weeks.  Eggs can hatch at any time after about day 19.  I say that, but I had one chick hatch a couple of weeks ago at 17 days.  No accounting for that.

I let my broodies stay where they want to be until about day 16 or so.  Then I move them to a location on the floor.  Yes, they can be pretty protective.  Mine get less aggressive as the 3 weeks goes by because I take them treats and water (in a little plastic cup just outside the nest box -- that took a while to figure out).  She will stay on the nest most of the time for the 3 weeks.  My girls come off the nest late afternoon for 20 minutes to an hour and squawk and run and stretch for a while.  They eat and drink and poop and head back to the nest box.  She will need a nest on the floor or in a separate place (read this thread for good info on separation ideas) for a little while to hatch them out, and depending on the other hens and the mom, she may integrate them immediately with the others or keep them separate for a while.

It is too late to graft your chicks onto the broody for two reasons.  First, they are too old to learn to obey her commands and she would probably kill them.  Second, she hasn't been broody long enough.  Hens work themselves into motherhood, and as I understand it, you can't really graft chicks until toward the end of the 3 weeks it takes to hatch babies.

Good luck with your hens.  Be sure to check for fertility before wasting time on non-fertile eggs.
Click to expand...
 
sharol said:
That is so exciting.

You can tell if the eggs are fertile by breaking one and looking at the yolk.  There is a little white spot on the yolk.  If it has a ring around it (like Saturn) it is fertile.  If it is just a dot, it is not.  If one egg from a hen is fertile, the likelihood that the others from that hen are fertile..  Eggs take 21 days or so from the time they are set under the broody.  I like to collect eggs for a couple of days and save them on the counter in an egg carton, and give them to her all at once so they will all hatch around the same time.  If you can determine which eggs come from which hens, you can choose eggs from the hens that are fertile.  It is my understanding that a breeding will render her fertile for a couple of weeks.  Eggs can hatch at any time after about day 19.  I say that, but I had one chick hatch a couple of weeks ago at 17 days.  No accounting for that.

I let my broodies stay where they want to be until about day 16 or so.  Then I move them to a location on the floor.  Yes, they can be pretty protective.  Mine get less aggressive as the 3 weeks goes by because I take them treats and water (in a little plastic cup just outside the nest box -- that took a while to figure out).  She will stay on the nest most of the time for the 3 weeks.  My girls come off the nest late afternoon for 20 minutes to an hour and squawk and run and stretch for a while.  They eat and drink and poop and head back to the nest box.  She will need a nest on the floor or in a separate place (read this thread for good info on separation ideas) for a little while to hatch them out, and depending on the other hens and the mom, she may integrate them immediately with the others or keep them separate for a while.

It is too late to graft your chicks onto the broody for two reasons.  First, they are too old to learn to obey her commands and she would probably kill them.  Second, she hasn't been broody long enough.  Hens work themselves into motherhood, and as I understand it, you can't really graft chicks until toward the end of the 3 weeks it takes to hatch babies.

Good luck with your hens.  Be sure to check for fertility before wasting time on non-fertile eggs.
Click to expand...



Thank you so much!! Awesome info. She did get off of them this morning to eat so I got a chance to see what's going on under there. She's sitting on 14 eggs! But I know some arent from her. So I took two and cracked them open. The one I knew wasn't from her was not fertilized. The second however....was very bloody and had a little ball of....tissue? With a big black dot on it. I'm assuming that they're fertilized! I am so excited!!! And also in a mourning a bit for that little guy I busted into. Thanks again for all of your help. Eeeeek! This is going to be so much fun!
 
Quote:
I know what you mean. I feel guilty about hurting eggs in development too. If you give it a week or so you can candle them with a bright flashlight (just search candle eggs) and you will be able to figure out which ones are developing -- they will be getting darker inside, the non-fertile ones will still be clear. If you candle an un-incubated egg, you'll get an idea how they start out.
 
good question. I'm not there with her the whole time. I had her closed in for a couple days and she sat on them much of the time, at night, but not as often as I am used to other broody hens doing . I opened the door and she left and didnt go back. So clearly not brooding. I left the door open for two days hoping another hen would feel inspired. a few layed an egg on the nest but didnt brood. I decided to close the orphington in again and she is sitting. Have the eggs gotten too compromised by the stop and start? It's either this or let them go anyway because no one else is brooding. So I figured worth a try?
 
On the morning of day 21 all was quiet no activity, came home to find the most viable egg shell open. Found the chick on the far side of the coop floor (not in a good way). 2 eggs left. Reconsidering purchasing chicks to put under her at this point, thinking that this hen may not be cut out for it. If she can successfully hatch at least 1 of the 2 remaining she'll get more, if neither hatch or they end up like the first it seems pointless to try more.

More lessons learned. Also based on coloring I learned that I can't tell which eggs come from which hens as well as I thought.
 
One of my Delawares, Diva (AKA Mean Girl), went broody in a big way. She has been walking around the yard clucking softly and kind of staying off to herself. I thought maybe she wasn't feeling well, but she's been eating and drinking. I went to gather eggs today and she she scared me half to death with her broody screech. Lol!

This makes three broody girls in a row in the last couple of months.

 
sharol said:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

Here is the candle page I've been looking for for 3 weeks. I just blundered into it. It has wonderful pictures of every stage. I copied and pasted the information several years ago and then couldn't find the original page.
Click to expand...
Awesome! Thanks.
big_smile.png
 

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