Broody hen vs incubator poll

[Lazy Farmer]

On a sales perspective.

INCUBATOR IS A MUST. It takes 21 days for your investment to manifest.

• With 4 basic hobby incubators I can set 50+ eggs per oven. 4 x 50 = 200 eggs.
• With broody hen, maybe 12 eggs, 11 eggs? Then if I am lucky, 11 x 4 broody hens (if they are available or decide to stay broody), with nothing but pure luck.. 44 or less eggs. Of course they get poop on them which greatly drops the numbers. And broody hatches are mostly seasonal.

So lets say a miracle happens!
Both methods are successful with a 100% hatch ratio..
I know that wouldn't happen but stay with me.


Chicks sell for an average of $4 each here in my neck of the woods. Depending on the breed. $4 is average.

• 4 hens miracle hatched 44 chicks remember? 4 x 44 = 176. $176 has been generated based on an impossible 100% hatch ratio.
• 4 ovens with 50 eggs. Remember, if a miracle happens and 100% hatch, 4 x 200 = 800. $800 has just been generated by using our highest possibility factor.

Ok, back to the reality factor. 100% is hardly ever going to happen. But Even with a POOR HATCH RATE, I would rather have a higher number of eggs set to compensate my time and efforts.
The miracle of broody hen is wonderful on a small self serving purpose. But I can't pay my bills and keep my level of farming thriving with broody hens.

 

[Chicken-lovebirdchihuahua]

On a sales perspective.View attachment 1398765

INCUBATOR IS A MUST. It takes 21 days for your investment to manifest.

• With 4 basic hobby incubators I can set 50+ eggs per oven. 4 x 50 = 200 eggs.
• With broody hen, maybe 12 eggs, 11 eggs? Then if I am lucky, 11 x 4 broody hens (if they are available or decide to stay broody), with nothing but pure luck.. 44 or less eggs. Of course they get poop on them which greatly drops the numbers. And broody hatches are mostly seasonal.

So lets say a miracle happens!
Both methods are successful with a 100% hatch ratio..
I know that wouldn't happen but stay with me.


Chicks sell for an average of $4 each here in my neck of the woods. Depending on the breed. $4 is average.

• 4 hens miracle hatched 44 chicks remember? 4 x 44 = 176. $176 has been generated based on an impossible 100% hatch ratio.
• 4 ovens with 50 eggs. Remember, if a miracle happens and 100% hatch, 4 x 200 = 800. $800 has just been generated by using our highest possibility factor.

Ok, back to the reality factor. 100% is hardly ever going to happen. But Even with a POOR HATCH RATE, I would rather have a higher number of eggs set to compensate my time and efforts.
The miracle of broody hen is wonderful on a small self serving purpose. But I can't pay my bills and keep my level of farming thriving with broody hens.

View attachment 1398764​

Great point

 

[Chicken-lovebirdchihuahua]

Just another voting update!!

 

[cmom]

You can never have too many.

 

[shoregirl68]

I have a girl aptly name Moody Broody, the first 2 years we broke her. Last year we put that broody girl to work. She was born to be a mom! It was the most incredible experience EVER! My husband is such a worry wart...what if, what if, what if)...my daughter and I said..."So, what if". We read about all the things that could happen, she decides to leave the nest, the other hens attack, she's a bad mom. She was the best mom ever. And the rest of the our girls, well I don't think they noticed, except when they violated Moody and her brood's space. Don't mess with mamma bear. So she is broody again and we just lost 2 of the Chocolate Orphingtons she hatched out last year and one of Moody's sisters.

My Pet Chicken to the rescue. Didn't get the exact breed/s we wanted but are super excited to let our Moody be a mommy again. The eggs came today and after we placed them under her it was as if she let out a sign of relief..."where the heck have y'all been with my dang eggs." We were rotating freshly laid eggs out so she had at least 2 under her but since the loss of the COs our egg production is way down.

I'll post some pix of our babies, fingers crossed, in 3 weeks. 10 Carolina Blues and 3 mystery eggs...hopefully she can handle that many

We'll be checking on her daily and this year I promise not to candle the eggs too many times......thinking that is why only 5 of 10 hatched...live and learn.

 

[Conan]

Broody all the way! I'm lucky and have a great little Mottled Cochin Bantam hen who goes bonkers every year - multiple times. I've broken her many times (the longest it took was a full week) but it's honestly just easier to let her do her thing. I like to use her for hatching ONLY. I remove the chicks as soon as they hatch and dry. I find that I am able to have much friendlier chicks that way and it's nice to let her go back to being a chicken and taking care of herself a little. Plus, that way I can use her for brooding ducklings, pheasants, etc. I just popped a dozen pheasant eggs under her today - very excited to see what happens!

 

[AlleysChicks]

You can never have too many.View attachment 1399192 View attachment 1399193 View attachment 1399201 View attachment 1399206

And I thought I was bad!

 

[AlleysChicks]

Here you go. A broody brooding a broody! Hawk(EE) is sitting on a duck egg. Biddy a year old OEGB has just started brooding. Apparently she tried to steal Hawks egg.

 

[alexa009]

Here you go. A broody brooding a broody! Hawk(EE) is sitting on a duck egg. Biddy a year old OEGB has just started brooding. Apparently she tried to steal Hawks egg.
View attachment 1400249

Lol!!

 

[MaryZoe]

Unfortunately, I don't have much choice. I kinda have to use a broody. Nankins just don't seem to do well in an incubator. They need to hear mama talking to them all along or hatch rates plummet. I had a first-timer quit on me the first week, so I have those in a bator at the moment, but I'm not really expecting any peeps, now. Still ... one can hope!

I prefer broodies--no effort at all on my behalf. But when I have used incubators, I typically play YouTube recordings of mama hens talking to their chicks and of boxes of chicks peeping all at once. I always see an increase of hatching action when I start to play nature's sounds. You might want to play some mama Nankin or Nankin chick peeping for you incubator. It really works!