Broody hen

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Thats so exciting! Hope they all hatch out all right, It is so fun to see baby chicks raised by a hen. My Dutch Bantam loves to hatch chicks. She will soon be raising her fourth batch, because she just finished with her third. She lays eight to ten eggs and then wants to hatch. She can only hatch four at a time because i have a full size rooster and he can't mate her (he tries, but nearly squishes her and she is just too far under him, to successfully mate he would have to bend in half), so she hatches big eggs. It's pretty funny to see her at night with four chicks nearly the size of her or bigger trying to get under her at night. She is on top of them and not touching the ground at all. Dispite her size, she makes a very good mama. Good luck with your babies!
 
You don't need to help the chick. It takes a long time for them to hatch, sometimes mine start hatching in the afternoon and the next morning they are out and still damp. It can take hours. Mine have all been healthy and survived (except one hawk attack), and they took a while to hatch.
 
I went out,and the chick was trying to break out,but looked stuck,like it was having trouble getting out,so I helped it out.It had been 4 hours since last time I checked.When I gave it back to Bambi,she didn't take it.But she went out and chased my peahen out of the coop!What should I do?I'm thinking I might need to rescue it.
 
You shouldn't have taken it away from Bambi. At night, slip it back under her. Breaking out of an egg shell is very difficult, and the chick may look stuck, but it was probably doing all right. Chicks that cannot break out, and get help, will usually be weaker. If they cannot overcome this first hardship, hardships in life will be very difficult for the chick later in life. Just wait until nighttime and slip it back under mama.
 
BantammChick said:
I went out,and the chick was trying to break out,but looked stuck,like it was having trouble getting out,so I helped it out.It had been 4 hours since last time I checked.When I gave it back to Bambi,she didn't take it.But she went out and chased my peahen out of the coop!What should I do?I'm thinking I might need to rescue it.
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Can I tell you what to do and hope you do not get upset with me??? Hope So! I will tell you what I feel You should Do----Stop interfearing, causing problems. In my opinion you should NEVER be bothering the eggs, looking under the broody hen, tilting her during her time of hatching. Every time you tilt her---to look under her moisture escapes, moisture that she has built up that is needed for the hatch which can causes the eggs to have hatching problems.

How can I hatch out 150+ broody hens in 3 years and not one needed my help to hatch and not one was rejected?? Because for sure from day 18 to after her hatch day I do Not touch her----I do not even get close to her/them to upset her. My Family Knows not to get close to my many broodies. I just Leave them alone and They give me MANY chicks without my help. Good Luck

Edited to Add----She has got to be very upset to leave the nest while eggs are hatching----the reason I say that is out of the 150+ broody hens I set in just 3 years---Not a One Left the nest during the hatch---maybe because I do not bother them??
 

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