Broody Hen Thread!

[fisherlady]

@Me Myself and My Girls

If the dog crate is small you can give her a floor level nest box with a fence around it for protection or put a fence around her crate and open the door to let her move in and out into her 'paddock'. This type of set up allows the broody to move around a little with her chicks while the flock gets used to seeing them. Since your weather is poor it also keeps the chicks safer from the cold until they are mobile enough to manage pop door ramps and outside obstacles. The other hens will just have to put up with some lost floor space for a while.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

@fisherlady and fellow brooding friends,

Okay....the update.

But first a recap of the backstory....trust me I have a point...

I set 11 eggs. In candling it looked like 8 were developing nicely, 3 iffy.

On Day 18, I got confused on my dates and in a fit of anxiety, mid-morning that day, I checked to see if there were any developments or stinking overdue eggs, so startling the hen off the nest she flew into the yard. Not too worried, as she is a faithful broody, I knew I'd find her in the main coop nest box when she resettled in about 20 minutes to half hour....which I did.... and then replaced her in the isolated broody box. Whew...no harm, uhem, no foul.

Only, it turned out to be her look alike daughter I resettled, who at that night's lock up was quietly sitting on the roost with stone cold eggs. Arrrrggggg! Possibly a 3/4 to half day left in the 40 to 50 degree cold!!!!! From harm to no fowl.

With dim hope, I resettled the real mom onto the nest of eggs in the broody box, crossing my fingers and wishing for the best.

On Monday, day 21, 2 chicks were hatched under mom, and 1 chick had hatched but died, being drug away from the nest by mom (squishy chick syndrome). I left the remaining eggs in hope that maybe something might develop, but figuring 2 was likely all I was going to get out of this mishap prone hatch.

Tonight, day 22, I just picked mom up and checked underneath her to pull away any dead babies and discarded shells and obviously rank eggs.

I have EIGHT happy, healthy chicks, alive and well!!!!!!!

....and wait for it....THREE unhatched eggs, which I did not candle due to timing.

Okay, so the 8 out of the 11, right, that I thought would hatch from candling.

But wait....1 died.

And I have 3 unhatched eggs left in the nest.

Okay, fingers and toes here folks for manipulatives.....

11 set, 8 hatch, 1 died, leaves 2 eggs not hatched. I have 3 eggs not hatched.

I'm leaving them one more day in case of late development due to cooling. The extra egg could have been laid by the daughter who obviously sat long enough on the nest to keep the chicks alive....or....this is the same mother hen last year that I set 10, pulled 2 that were infertile on candling, then hatched 9.

2 + 2 still equals 4 right? Apparently except for this sneaky hen. (I'll have to frisk her each time she broods to get an accurate egg count from now on).

LofMc (not LofMath)

 

[fisherlady]

@fisherlady and fellow brooding friends,

Okay....the update.

But first a recap of the backstory....trust me I have a point...

I set 11 eggs. In candling it looked like 8 were developing nicely, 3 iffy.

On Day 18, I got confused on my dates and in a fit of anxiety, mid-morning that day, I checked to see if there were any developments or stinking overdue eggs, so startling the hen off the nest she flew into the yard. Not too worried, as she is a faithful broody, I knew I'd find her in the main coop nest box when she resettled in about 20 minutes to half hour....which I did.... and then replaced her in the isolated broody box. Whew...no harm, uhem, no foul.

Only, it turned out to be her look alike daughter I resettled, who at that night's lock up was quietly sitting on the roost with stone cold eggs. Arrrrggggg! Possibly a 3/4 to half day left in the 40 to 50 degree cold!!!!! From harm to no fowl.

With dim hope, I resettled the real mom onto the nest of eggs in the broody box, crossing my fingers and wishing for the best.

On Monday, day 21, 2 chicks were hatched under mom, and 1 chick had hatched but died, being drug away from the nest by mom (squishy chick syndrome). I left the remaining eggs in hope that maybe something might develop, but figuring 2 was likely all I was going to get out of this mishap prone hatch.

Tonight, day 22, I just picked mom up and checked underneath her to pull away any dead babies and discarded shells and obviously rank eggs.

I have EIGHT happy, healthy chicks, alive and well!!!!!!!

....and wait for it....THREE unhatched eggs, which I did not candle due to timing.

Okay, so the 8 out of the 11, right, that I thought would hatch from candling.

But wait....1 died.

And I have 3 unhatched eggs left in the nest.

Okay, fingers and toes here folks for manipulatives.....

11 set, 8 hatch, 1 died, leaves 2 eggs not hatched. I have 3 eggs not hatched.

I'm leaving them one more day in case of late development due to cooling. The extra egg could have been laid by the daughter who obviously sat long enough on the nest to keep the chicks alive....or....this is the same mother hen last year that I set 10, pulled 2 that were infertile on candling, then hatched 9.

2 + 2 still equals 4 right? Apparently except for this sneaky hen. (I'll have to frisk her each time she broods to get an accurate egg count from now on).

LofMc (not LofMath)

So glad she hatched out the rest! And she could have even been hiding one under a wing when you returned her to the nest or it could have been the daughter's egg laid during the incident. We have had broodies steal eggs to add to a clutch, and broodies take sneaky to A whole new level! I doubt it was a miscount from before. When you candle the eggs left in the nest after she moves out her chicks you will know for sure.

 

[aart]

LofMc (not LofMath)

What a great story!!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

@fisherlady

Okay, Day 23 midmorning, I checked on momma and babes, and 3 eggs were still not hatched....2 babes hatched on early day 21, so I have the beginnings of a staggered hatch.

No sounds or movement, and the eggs felt very light (but I didn't candle as these are dark brown), so I gently cracked eggs open. Too my surprise, I found 3 fully developed but dead chicks, no movement at all, and egg yolk not fully absorbed as it ran.

I am assuming they died that Firday/Saturday due to chilling (??) (I am really assuming if they were alive when I made the first gentle crack, they would have moved or chirped????) They were 3 babes tightly balled in a stiff membrane.

More interestingly, I had three FULLY developed chicks. Two of the eggs had my hatching mark on them, one did not.

I have 12 chicks accounted for....8 hatched and healthy, 1 hatched and died found at nest, 3 in shell dead on eggtopy. I'm pretty sure I only set 11 eggs as I remember thinking if I waited another day I'd have an even dozen...but decided to just set 11.

I can only conclude either I cannot count (but the egg was not marked, so I can't mark competently either), or that particular hen is a very gifted sneak x2. I know I checked her wings....but apparently not closely enough. She probably had one in her wing all the time of her escape and resettlement. (Which is what she must have done last year for hatching 9 chicks out of 8 eggs).

Anyway, I did not look under mom to see chicks this morning, though heard their loud chirping, as I want mom to have as little disturbance as possible now....I merely gently reached in and pulled the 3 eggs that I could see toward her chest out.

Now she can fully devote her attention to those 8 hungry babes.

I am astounded I got that good of a hatch after the chilling on Friday. Those eggs were VERY cold.

LofMc

 

[fisherlady]

Good to hear she is settled now, sorry the others didn't make it but from what you describe I am in agreement that the chill was too much.

They may have been eggs on the out edge of the nest so cold got to them first...

 

[room onthebroom]

Hello! Following.

 

[room onthebroom]

OMG! Got one.

 

[room onthebroom]

She's in a small, elevated nesting box. Should I leave them there? Should I try to move her, baby & other eggs into a lower area? Should I try to cram chick start & water up there?

The baby is completely dry & pecking at stuff. Must've hatched last night or really early this morning. I'm told they don't need anything for 24 hours, but its hot here & I don't want mom or baby dehydrating.

 

[fisherlady]

She's in a small, elevated nesting box. Should I leave them there? Should I try to move her, baby & other eggs into a lower area? Should I try to cram chick start & water up there?

The baby is completely dry & pecking at stuff. Must've hatched last night or really early this morning. I'm told they don't need anything for 24 hours, but its hot here & I don't want mom or baby dehydrating.

Mother nature built in a safety window for chicks, they do fine for 2-3 days after hatch on what they absorbed from the yolk just before hatch. This gives them time to wait for the other eggs to hatch. If the eggs were all started at the same time they should hatch within about 24hrs of each other.
I don't usually shift them to a floor box until the 2nd or 3rd day or after the last chick is dry if they all hatch about the same time. If you need to move them and eggs are still not hatched there is a risk the hen may leave the nest and eggs to care for the hatched chicks, this is a danger if a hatch is staggered (eggs set over multiple days) and you will need to be prepared with a backup plan for finishing incubation. The hen may stay on the nest, but no way of knowing for sure until you try, so close observation needed so early assistance/intervention can be given if needed.

You can offer the hen a drink of water in the nest if you have reason to be very concerned about dehydration, most healthy hens who ate daily during incubation are fine for a day or two without food at hatch time. Don't leave the water dish in the nest though, too much risk of it tipping and drowning chicks or causing wet bedding and chilling of chicks or eggs. Our hens are used to us and will take a drink when offered, not all hens are cooperative with 'stupid human tricks' though and she may ignore you.