Broody Hen Thread!

[16 paws]

question: i think i am mis-remembering but i thought i had read at some point that broody hens hatching chicks on day 19 is a pretty common thing, particularly in warmer months.

can anyone weigh in on this? we are on day 18 with our first hen who has made it to hatch day, and i read to keep an eye on the mama once hatch begins to make sure she isn't homicidal. but i don't want to spend 3 days in my garage haha!!!

I hatch a lot of bantams and they do hatch on day 19 sometimes. I guess it depends on a lot of different factors such as how many eggs she is covering, the temps, how long she stays off of them maybe and other things. If it were me I would not worry about the mama too much. I think it happens but it is not normal.
I think they have a better chance of things going wrong if there are others in with her. Is she separated?

 

[wannahomestead]

Well I'm grumpy today! I found an egg missing from the broody nest, a different chicken in there, and remnants of the shell of the missing egg. One of my other jerk hens got in there and ate one of the eggs!

What a jerk. Down to 11. Hopefully broody gets back on the nest and we get back on track. I had a couple eggs that were yolky, so I cleaned them off real well. We'll see what happens.

 

[thebulg]

I hatch a lot of bantams and they do hatch on day 19 sometimes. I guess it depends on a lot of different factors such as how many eggs she is covering, the temps, how long she stays off of them maybe and other things. If it were me I would not worry about the mama too much. I think it happens but it is not normal.
I think they have a better chance of things going wrong if there are others in with her. Is she separated?

she is separated yes! she abandoned her first nest on day 6 and never started acting normally. we thought we were going to have to cull her, but it turned out i guess once she began laying eggs again, she began setting a nest. so i thought maybe this would be the best way to let her reset, to just let her try again. and she's done a pretty good job. she only gets off every 2 or 3 days and then gets a little lost and i have to take her back after an hour or so. and i think that's kind of more why i am a litttttle concerned, because she abandoned once and she has seemed a little disoriented throughout. she's sitting on 15 eggs now!! there were 17, one got stepped on early on, one was infertile. all others were good around day 10. and she's doing a fantastic job covering them all.

i'll just keep an eye on her a few times through the day until monday i suppose! i wasn't planning on going anywhere anyhow!

 

[microchick]

16 paws, I'm really trying to resist peeping no pun intended. I usually crack the lid in the morning and the evening just to check to make sure Aggie is okay and handling the heat without adverse reactions. My husband joked that he bet I would be out there trying to hook up AC for her with a portable unit if I thought she was overheated. I assured him that no, I would be happy if she just had the fan on in the coop and yes, the fan is on.

Today is day 20 for her. Her February hatch was a little late due to the winter weather so I guess all things considered, being early in hot weather would be expected. I was expecting things to start tomorrow and finish up on Sunday. Now maybe things will finish up tomorrow for her. Temperatures here are expected to be 91 today, 92 tomorrow and 93 on Sunday.

 

[Mezzer]

We have 2 very small pips! but it's only day 19, I hope they will be ok...

 

[sharol]

We have 2 very small pips!

but it's only day 19, I hope they will be ok...

They will be fine. Chicks don't pip until they are ready to start the hatching process.

Advice (just don't ask me what I DO):

Get out of the broody area and don't dink with the eggs or the hen. If you know they are pipped, you have been peeking at the eggs, right? That can interfere with the hatching process (or so they tell me). Go somewhere and sit on your hands until you see chicks or hear peeping. Then sit on your hands some more. LOL

Like I said, don't ask what I do in that situation.

 

[Mezzer]

They will be fine.  Chicks don't pip until they are ready to start the hatching process.

Advice (just don't ask me what I DO):

Get out of the broody area and don't dink with the eggs or the hen.  If you know they are pipped, you have been peeking at the eggs, right?  That can interfere with the hatching process (or so they tell me).  Go somewhere and sit on your hands until you see chicks or hear peeping.  Then sit on your hands some more.  LOL

Like I said, don't ask what I do in that situation.

Lol. I am sitting on my hands and I pledge here and now that I will NOT mess with the before mentioned eggs so help me God. :b

 

[microchick]

Yeah, keeping hands off. Not an easy assignment. I agree though. If the chick's pippin it's ready to go. From pip to zip can take a while. That baby needs to rest after it accomplishes something in the hatching process. My hen's first chick hatched this morning. They are due tomorrow. No problem. I did my pm peep under the nesting box lid and sure enough, there was baby sitting by Mom's breast feathers, looking hale and hearty. It looks like a BO/Welly cross. I said, "well hello, dolly" and gave it it's temporary name. Mom growled at me and made it clear that I wasn't welcome so I closed up the box and got out of dodge. I was expecting her to hatch tomorrow through Sunday. Got an early surprise.

Now tie those hands behind your back and don't touch mom. Peeking is permitted as long as you do not touch. I know, it's hard, especially with your first hatching and yes, with subsequent hatching but the hands off advice widely given here is the best way to deal with broodies.

 

[Mezzer]

Yeah, keeping hands off. Not an easy assignment. I agree though. If the chick's pippin it's ready to go. From pip to zip can take a while. That baby needs to rest after it accomplishes something in the hatching process. My hen's first chick hatched this morning. They are due tomorrow. No problem. I did my pm peep under the nesting box lid and sure enough, there was baby sitting by Mom's breast feathers, looking hale and hearty. It looks like a BO/Welly cross. I said, "well hello, dolly" and gave it it's temporary name. Mom growled at me and made it clear that I wasn't welcome so I closed up the box and got out of dodge. I was expecting her to hatch tomorrow through Sunday. Got an early surprise. 

Now tie those hands behind your back and don't touch mom. Peeking is permitted as long as you do not touch. I know, it's hard, especially with your first hatching and yes, with subsequent hatching but the hands off advice widely given here is the best way to deal with broodies.

I put a chair in the coop (large coop) to watch. :b but I won't touch. It IS difficult for me, (I was the one to open all the Christmas presents on the sly and tape them back up) my other hens and suddenly VERY interested in my broody hen. I wonder if this will cause the others to want to brood?

 

[microchick]

Mezzer you are one up on me. I wish I could sit back and watch. The way my old coop is set up the only way I can 'watch' is by lifting the lid on the nesting boxes to sneak a peek.

I think I've made about 15 diversions through the barn and by the nesting boxes with my ear plastered up against the box itself trying to hear any 'peeps' coming from inside.

I just told my husband that the next time a hen goes broody I want a broody cam set up the last three days of her incubating.