Broody Hen Thread!

[yochickiemomma]

I use a sharpie or a wax pencil.

thank you

I have plenty of sharpies.

 

[mcclucker]

Update on my grafted babies - they are a week old and I've opened their pen so they can go out to meet the adult hens. Mama is the top of the pecking order and they don't seem to be interested in the babies at all which is great. They are thriving! As soon as they are feathered more (another 1-2 weeks?) I'll let them out into the run and try to have my brooder babies join them.

My GLW is an amazing mama. She and the chicks will eat out of my hand but she is very protective when the big hens are near. I should loan her out to set eggs and raise babies!

 

[jnckids]

What is the most eggs your broody has sat on and how many hatched?

 

[microchick]

13 but only hatched 8. She was a first time broody and as the old saying goes, her eyes were bigger than her belly.

 

[jnckids]

13 but only hatched 8. She was a first time broody and as the old saying goes, her eyes were bigger than her belly.

Mine is a collector. She looks like a saucer covering all of them. I'll have to get a new pic in the morning.

 

[thunderbird]

Her with the first chick that hatched yesterday, 2 more eggs have pipped and should hatch today or tonight

 

[elaineinspain]

my broody australorp hatched 1 chick on day 21. She still has 3 more eggs under her, and today is day 23. Today she was off the nest and kicking through the wood shavings showing baby how to forage, I suppose. But she had left her eggs, and when I touched them they were cold. I took them inside and tried candling them but couldn't work out anything except for the air cell (large) and dark shadow in 2 and in the other one if I moved the egg the dark shadow sort of moved with the movement of the egg - didn't look promising. Then I tried water candling after checking first that there were no cracks. They all floated with approx 85% under the water, but no movements at ll. I tried tapping on the egg and listening for pipping - nothing. I have put them back under my broody and she immediately pushed them underneath her and settled on them.
How long should I leave them with her? All the eggs were set under her on the same day. And she stayed on the nest constantly, 24/7 for the full 21 days. Only after the one hatched on day 21 has she shown any interest in getting off the nest, if only for a short while.

 

[PD-Riverman]

How long should I leave them with her? All the eggs were set under her on the same day. And she stayed on the nest constantly, 24/7 for the full 21 days. Only after the one hatched on day 21 has she shown any interest in getting off the nest, if only for a short while.

Being they did not hatch within a day or so of the others and set at the same time----you can Trash them!!

 

[yochickiemomma]

My Cochin bantam kicked one of her eggs away yesterday at some point (several feet from where she's brooding). I found it this morning stone cold so I pitched it. I'm assuming she knew there was something wrong with It? I also candled the eggs that were under my Icelandic hen and left her with 11 that looked like possibly viable eggs. I need to mark them tonight as I forgot to last night she was being a u know what and I was trying to hury. I'm Glad I wore a pair of work gloves or else my hands would be torn up. Hubby was trying to help out but couldn't stop laughing at me getting growled and pecked at every time I gave an egg back to her.

 

[microchick]

The hens usually know before we do that something 'ain't right' about an egg. I know it sounds gross and really it is but have you considered necropsy on your unhatched eggs? I do all unhatched eggs that are not viable after candling and it does help you figure out what may of happened, when it happened and if there is anything you can do to keep it from happening again.

Good luck on your hatch. Sounds like you have a good broody hen.