Broody Hen Thread!

[Chickensfan]

You should be able to make out the beginning embryo by candleing the eggs at about 7 days or so....give or take a day....all you will see is a dark spot about the size of an Apple seed...or small pea...and the air space should start to show....as it gets larger....I'd give them a good week or so more before checking....9 or 10 days....and I'd toss any clear or runny looking eggs....watch for blood vessels forming, that's a good sign....unless it's a bloody line following the edge of the air space, that usually means that the embryo started to form....but for one reason or another it died....I toss those as well...if you're wondering....wait another day or so, and check it again....

ok! thank you!

Great info here. Most of my new hens aren't laying yet, only a few. I hope to have some start setting in the Spring. Not sure if they would even start setting this time of year anyway.

i wasn't expecting it. it was quite a surprise to see my hen going broody.

@Chickensfan

When you say she has "a pile of eggs".... how many exactly? If there are too many it can result in a very poor hatch rate. If this is her first time being broody, I wouldn't give her more than 8 eggs.

Also, if she is hatching in the coop with the other hens, then you need to mark the eggs she has and regularly check and remove any that the other hens lay into her nest, otherwise you will end up with a staggered hatch which causes complications and again too many eggs in the nest compromises the chances of success of those that have started developing.

Good luck to you and your broody.

Regards

Barbara

thank you! i am not sure of the amount. i know it is more then 8. i am thinking i can candle them and toss the ones looking undeveloped/runny, as mentioned by @the poppster . then i will see how many remain. if there are still extra, what should i do with them?

 

[fisherlady]

A few recent pictures...Jo hatched 5 chicks last weekend, they are out running around with her and don't seem to care about the change in temperature...down to 26* here this morning.

A couple of our other hens with their hatched or adopted chicks. (Brownie adopted 5 which were rejected by another hen)
Brownie actually wasn't broody when we gave her the chicks, but she has raised chicks without being broody one other time so it was worth a try. She took them and within a couple of days was full on broody with them, she laid an egg the first day she had them with her but none since, they are 6 weeks now and going strong.
Brownie and Pidgy with theirs...

Brownie has even taught the littles that Mindy is part of the coop and good for keeping feet warm! LOL

 

[microchick]

@fisherlady, That little Brownie is worth her weight in gold!

 

[the poppster]

@fisherlady, That little Brownie is worth her weight in gold!

I agree!!! Brownie sure must be a treasure!

 

[fisherlady]

@fisherlady, That little Brownie is worth her weight in gold!

I agree!!! Brownie sure must be a treasure!

She is special to us! She was almost 4 years old and had never brooded when she happened to be housed with a small group which included a hen on eggs. Brownie ignored her till the eggs hatched, then we noticed her hanging out a lot with the hen and new chicks, a couple days after hatch we noticed her setting beside the broody on the floor and didn't think much of it till the broody called her chicks for food and 2 chicks popped out from under Brownie! So we started watching closely and realized Brownie was very involved with the chicks and the chicks were acting like both Brownie and the other hen were co-mamas. Within a couple more days Brownie wasn't laying eggs and took on full time co-brooding duties and when the chicks were a few weeks old the other hen was spending her nights up on the roost and Brownie kept the chicks in a floor nest. Brownie raised those chicks an extra couple weeks past when the other broody cut the apron strings. Brownie then went broody this year as a 4 year old for the first official time. Setting was hard on her old legs but once the chicks hatched and she was moving around more she was quickly back to good shape and she kept those chicks way longer than she needed! Finally giving them up when they were 12 weeks or so.
Since giving up her chicks we frequently noticed her playing "Auntie" with other little ones and all of the other broodies seemed ok with her doing it so when these little ones were rejected we figured Brownie was our best shot at getting them raised without us having to do it. Thankfully it worked!
Brownie never needs to worry about her happy home, she will be well cared for her entire life!

 

[fisherlady]

Deleted duplicate

 

[microchick]

@fisherlady I don't know which is more amazing, Brownie or Mindy. If I turned any oen of our dogs loose with our chickens I wouldn't have to worry because I probably wouldn't have any chickens left. What a great success story they both are!

I just got done going ten rounds with my broody, LiL'Girl and her 7 10 week old babes who aren't such babes any longer. I've had the door to their coop opened for the last two weeks so they could start to intermingle with the main flock. At night I've been putting one of the big 9 month old cockerels with them for warmth at night and kept expecting to find them all roosting with the main flock when I closed up at night but nope. Lil'Girl and her 7 kids were always back in their coop. Last night it got down to 20 and I noticed a thin sheen of ice on their waterer. This afternoon I went out and the whole flock was out enjoying the sun but Lil'Girl was keeping her family inside. It dawned on me suddenly what was going on. Three of the cockerels from the Feb hatch were hanging around the grow out coop and had showed a marked interest in Lil'Girl. She was keeping her babes around her like a shield against the boys and staying in the coop to avoid their amorous attentions. I proclaimed that today was moving day and set about catching Lil 'Girl and the 3 Buff O pullets first and putting them in the main coop. The 3 OEGB pullets and 1 cockerel were not nearly as easy. It was like trying to catch lightening! I found out that it was easier to corner them if I crawled into the coop and ambushed them. One at a time I crawled in, captured, crawled out, put the captured youngster in the main coop, repeat. Lastly, I got their feeder and water container, stopped to talk to DH, put them in the main coop, went back to close up the grow out coop and......Lil'Girl and two of the Buff O pullets were with her back in the coop.

And oh! LOOK! Two of the faster than lightening OEGB Girls are following close behind. I spent almost 45 minutes rounding them up again and this time closed the pop door since the bulk of the flock was outside anyway. Sooner or later I'm going to have to open up that pop door so the flock can go inside to roost. I just hope by that time they realize that they are supposed to live with the main flock now. I'd hate to have to round them up again.

At least when I go to the doctor tomorrow I can honestly tell him that yes, I exercise regularly. I chase chickens on a daily basis.

 

[fisherlady]

@fisherlady I don't know which is more amazing, Brownie or Mindy. If I turned any oen of our dogs loose with our chickens I wouldn't have to worry because I probably wouldn't have any chickens left. What a great success story they both are!

I just got done going ten rounds with my broody, LiL'Girl and her 7 10 week old babes who aren't such babes any longer. I've had the door to their coop opened for the last two weeks so they could start to intermingle with the main flock. At night I've been putting one of the big 9 month old cockerels with them for warmth at night and kept expecting to find them all roosting with the main flock when I closed up at night but nope. Lil'Girl and her 7 kids were always back in their coop. Last night it got down to 20 and I noticed a thin sheen of ice on their waterer. This afternoon I went out and the whole flock was out enjoying the sun but Lil'Girl was keeping her family inside. It dawned on me suddenly what was going on. Three of the cockerels from the Feb hatch were hanging around the grow out coop and had showed a marked interest in Lil'Girl. She was keeping her babes around her like a shield against the boys and staying in the coop to avoid their amorous attentions. I proclaimed that today was moving day and set about catching Lil 'Girl and the 3 Buff O pullets first and putting them in the main coop. The 3 OEGB pullets and 1 cockerel were not nearly as easy. It was like trying to catch lightening! I found out that it was easier to corner them if I crawled into the coop and ambushed them. One at a time I crawled in, captured, crawled out, put the captured youngster in the main coop, repeat. Lastly, I got their feeder and water container, stopped to talk to DH, put them in the main coop, went back to close up the grow out coop and......Lil'Girl and two of the Buff O pullets were with her back in the coop.  And oh! LOOK! Two of the faster than lightening OEGB Girls are following close behind. I spent almost 45 minutes rounding them up again and this time closed the pop door since the bulk of the flock was outside anyway. Sooner or later I'm going to have to open up that pop door so the flock can go inside to roost. I just hope by that time they realize that they are supposed to live with the main flock now. I'd hate to have to round them up again.

At least when I go to the doctor tomorrow I can honestly tell him that yes, I exercise regularly. I chase chickens on a daily basis. 

I hate to laugh at another's woes, but I have to admit I got a good chuckle from your 'wrangling' description....possibly because I was happy it wasn't me this time getting to do it! Many times a broody and her bunch have gotten themselves into an area they shouldn't have and I have had to play wrangler....so I could sure sympathize with what you went through! Normally this happens when it is raining, freezing or I am late to get somewhere! I now keep a long handled fishing net and a wide leaf rake out by the run for wrangling aids and I do use them!

Yes, broody hens will keep their chicks around to avoid roosters... I have noticed a few doing it here. Often the hen is one who is more timid anyways or our current young cockerels are too rowdy. I find removing the excess cockerels quickly smooths things over. We now have a grow out pen for any youngster who gets too big for his britches, he gets removed to there until he is big enough to process instead of ranging with the flock. I would rather they remain out ranging with the flock but sometimes it just has to be ...

Thanks for the Mindy comment, she is a fun one with the flock...a few recent foot warming/ leaning pillow moments...

 

[microchick]

Unfortunately the three amorous admirers are from my Feb. hatch. Admittedly they are big handsome fellows but Lil'Girl wants none of their attentions. My two oldest roosters are molting and could care less and the 3 Buff O cockerels also from the Feb hatch are too busy bossing everyone around and trying to stay out of the other three cockerel's way to be a bother. The 4 young cockerels from my June hatch have just discovered their voices and girls are something they are still running from as the hens let them know that they will have none of their nonsense.

Confusing, yes. I was planning to have my cockerels and extra roosters in a bachelor pen and separate run this winter but I didn't get the inside of their coop finished and insulated in time so everyone is coexisting in the main coop until spring. I'm spending the winter watching the boys and selecting the three that will be with the hens come spring. The rest will go to the bachelor pen and get scheduled for rotation whenever somebody steps out of line and needs some time out.

I just went out to check and seee how things were going. When I opened the coop door, this is what I saw:


All 7 lined up together on the roost reserved for those of ranking, AKA, the highest roost bar with my biggest Buff O cockerel Rocky AKA The Rock sitting beside them. Mom was across from them trying to be invisible.

 

[fisherlady]

Unfortunately the three amorous admirers are from my Feb. hatch. Admittedly they are big handsome fellows but Lil'Girl wants none of their attentions. My two oldest roosters are molting and could care less and the 3 Buff O cockerels also from the Feb hatch are too busy bossing everyone around and trying to stay out of the other three cockerel's way to be a bother. The 4 young cockerels from my June hatch have just discovered their voices and girls are something they are still running from as the hens let them know that they will have none of their nonsense. Confusing, yes. I was planning to have my cockerels and extra roosters in a bachelor pen and separate run this winter but I didn't get the inside of their coop finished and insulated in time so everyone is coexisting in the main coop until spring. I'm spending the winter watching the boys and selecting the three that will be with the hens come spring. The rest will go to the bachelor pen and get scheduled for rotation whenever somebody steps out of line and needs some time out. I just went out to check and seee how things were going. When I opened the coop door, this is what I saw: All 7 lined up together on the roost reserved for those of ranking, AKA, the highest roost bar with my biggest Buff O cockerel Rocky AKA The Rock sitting beside them. Mom was across from them trying to be invisible.

Glad they got their place sorted out, their will some sqawking and feather ruffling the next few days but they will settle in.