Broody Hen Thread!

[FarmerBoy24]

Quote:
All of my Silkies were the BEST mothers.

 

[nobodyherebutuschickens]

On the topic of chicken mothers: I've been hearing some horror stories about hens eating their babies. I've got my very first broody hen ever on a nest of six right now, and am getting a little worried about what will happen when they hatch. How common is it for the mothers to eat their own young?
(I don't have silkies: My hen is a white orpington. Imma little jealous of those chicks she'll have, she's so soft!)

 

[mudchicken]

I dunno bout eating the young but mine just stepped on a little one :-(

 

[nobodyherebutuschickens]

Quote:
!!!! I'm worried about that, too!

 

[NewToFarming]

I don't think it is very common but it does happen from what I hear. I have gone through 7 broodies so far this year that hatched so far and none of them had done this at all. I have 8 more broodies setting right now too!! I will have chicks out my ears!! The breed that have brooded and hatched were silkies, an NN, silkie/fav mix and a leghorn. All have been good mothers!!!

 

[SierraView]

I have a dingbat broody silkie. She gets off the nest for treats and other random reasons. This morning at 7am I went to check them and found a hatched baby chick 20ft from her nest,

it looked dead, laying on its side in a fetal position with wet dirt stuck all over it. another hen stepped on it and I seen it barley move. I picked it up and it was stiff and cold but moved a tiny bit. I put it under another hen that had hatched some chicks that were 3 days old. Figured it would die very soon but had no idea what else I could do. Couple hours later I went out there thinking to get this dead chick out from under a hen. I picked up the hen and no dead chick. It was fluffy, peeping and standing up. I am totally amazed.

 

[NewToFarming]

I think sometimes they get all tangled up in that fluff and kind of go for a ride with them and drop off when they get up and move. I have also had that happen with eggs. I even checked this one, didn't see an egg sticking with her....after she was done eating, there was one of the eggs dropped off where she was standing!!! I still don't know where that one was hidden! LOL...MAybe the baby just got stuck up under a wing or in the fluff and she kind of fell out when she got off the nest to eat???

 

[seramasrus]

I raise Seramas and want mine to go broody, because I don't incubate the eggs, I just let them raise them. So I have never tried what I am about to tell, so I'm not sure if it works or not. But my grandmother, which I know she always had chickens, and she had her own little trick as far as I can remember for dealing with broody hens. She had mostly laying hens and when they would go broody, I remember her doing the following. She would go get an old bucket and fill it most of the way up with water, then she would add ice to it and let it set for a few mins. Then I remember she would go out and start getting the hens that had went broody, then she would take one at a time and dip their stomach's down in the ice water for a few mins. After that, she would take and put them in a cage for a few days and repeat the process a few more times and then would return them back to the pens. I was to young to really notice if it truly worked or not, but I may give it a try one day to see if it works or not. I think it would be an interesting to try or find out if anyone else has every tried this and fine out if it really works or not.

 

[FarmerBoy24]

Quote:
I never heard of hens eating there own chicks and it's ever happened to me. I wouldn't worry. What breed of chicks is she going to hatch? because if there some Bantam you would worry about a huge Buff Orpington stepping on them. lol

 

[joe17]

Don't worry about you hen stepping on the chicks or eating them. It is not too common. 9/10 your Orpington will be a great mom!