Broody Hen Thread!

[PD-Riverman]

When placing store bought chicks with a broody hen, do you place the chicks under her belly or under her wings. I want to try this for the first time in the spring. I have a silkie who is constantly going broody and I think she would be a good mom. I have heard many success stories of doing this.
Is there any info I need to know, besides putting the chicks with her at night time.

Thank you!

Just after dark I would place them under her sides/front/wings but not under her breast bone and do this in total darkness and in a secured nest(not where the chicks can run off). You can check back on them in 1/2 hr by doing a quick flash of a light----adjust if needed. You do this early in the night so they will have all night to adjust to each other. I would be where I could watch as daylight breaks the next morning(not a hour after daylight--might be to late) in case you have to do a quick rescue. Good Luck

 

[laurianne]

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Thank you very much for the information! I really appreciate it!

 

[laurianne]

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Thank you for your two posts. Do you suggest sticking them under her 1st thing in the morning after they are purchased? Our feed store gets them in at 7am. But here at that time it is usually light out already, then cover her separate pen with the towel? Thanks again!

 

[fisherlady]

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I bring them home and they go directly to broody, though a quick pit stop for a drink with vitamins or chick booster would be ok....just my preference since my broody area (if I plan to graft) is easily darkened and it allows me to spend daylight time to make sure all is well. I work 24 hour shifts, so I need to know all is well the first day, since I can rarely babysit the second one.

 

[RachaelR32]

Day 21 and when I checked on my broody she'd got 1 chick out of 10 eggs. Just before dark she'd got 2 chicks. How long is she likely to sit on the remaining eggs? Do I need to be out there early in the morning to rescue the remaining ones if she leaves the nest?

 

[fisherlady]

Day 21 and when I checked on my broody she'd got 1 chick out of 10 eggs. Just before dark she'd got 2 chicks. How long is she likely to sit on the remaining eggs? Do I need to be out there early in the morning to rescue the remaining ones if she leaves the nest?

They usually stick tight for at least 24 hours, but frequently checking after that period and having a backup plan in place is always a good idea.

Edit to clarify...by checking I mean just checking that she is still sitting on the eggs, not lifting her up to check the eggs themselves....if she is still parked just give her time, unknown factors could extend the hatch an extra day or so. I wouldn't do anything more until the 3rd day after the first hatch.

 

[RachaelR32]

They usually stick tight for at least 24 hours, but frequently checking after that period and having a backup plan in place is always a good idea.  

Edit to clarify...by checking I mean just checking that she is still sitting on the eggs, not lifting her up to check the eggs themselves....if she is still parked just give her time, unknown factors could extend the hatch an extra day or so. I wouldn't do anything more until the 3rd day after the first hatch.

Is it best to take the eggs away if she leaves them, or to take the chicks away to get her to sit longer? I don't have an incubator and the electric hen I ordered as back up hasn't arrived even though it was dispatched days ago :-(

I don't know how many of the remaining eggs are even growing. On day 17 candling I only saw movement in 2 eggs and before then I'd only seen veins in one egg. But the second chick today came from an egg I'd not seen movement or veins in so my candling must not be great. The one that I've been able to see growing at each candling hasn't hatched yet.

 

[fisherlady]

Is it best to take the eggs away if she leaves them, or to take the chicks away to get her to sit longer? I don't have an incubator and the electric hen I ordered as back up hasn't arrived even though it was dispatched days ago :-(

I don't know how many of the remaining eggs are even growing. On day 17 candling I only saw movement in 2 eggs and before then I'd only seen veins in one egg. But the second chick today came from an egg I'd not seen movement or veins in so my candling must not be great. The one that I've been able to see growing at each candling hasn't hatched yet.

If she leaves the eggs then go ahead and take them, allow her to proceed with the hatched chicks and hope your electric hen arrives in time or make an emergency incubator with a shoe box, soft towel and a heat lamp or heating pad with a thermometer to adjust settings as needed. To re-hash an old saying... in my opinion... a chick already hatched is worth two in the shell....
If you take the eggs you can take them into a dark room or closet and candle them again...but nothing lost by giving them an extra day or two in your incubator as long as none stink or are seeping.

 

[RachaelR32]

If she leaves the eggs then go ahead and take them, allow her to proceed with the hatched chicks and hope your electric hen arrives in time or make an emergency incubator with a shoe box, soft towel and a heat lamp or heating pad with a thermometer to adjust settings as needed. To re-hash an old saying... in my opinion... a chick already hatched is worth two in the shell....
If you take the eggs you can take them into a dark room or closet and candle them again...but nothing lost by giving them an extra day or two in your incubator as long as none stink or are seeping.

Thanks. I shall see how things look in the morning. I guess she'll stay put now its dark. Our night are still nearly 16hrs long so thats lots of sitting time. I don't know when the first hatched. It wasn't hatched yesterday morning when she got up to eat but it was there when she got up for water today.

 

[the poppster]

Yes, I am a victim of chicken math. Currently have 4 coops for chickens and 1 quail pen. AND my tiny bantam went broody this week.

Oh,Oh! That's the start...I have a Jersey Giant hen who is going broody right now...I let her hatch out chicks last spring and she turned out to be the worst mom I've ever seen...about a week after her chicks hatched she started to ignore them.....she blooded them but that was about it...no clucking the chicks to food...it was sad to watch...she would be first to any food and chow down...she started to lay eggs about two weeks after the chicks hatched.