Broody hen

[Loopy lou]

1. 
   

2. Congratulations seem to be in order. It's a good feeling, isn't it.
   
   First, a couple of technical things. How sure are you on your counting of the days? That's a real common mistake on here. An egg does not have 24 hours worth of development when you start incubation, you don't say "one" until the next day. An easy way to check your counting is that the day of the week you start them is the day of the week the 21 days is up. If you start them on a Wednesday, then the target day is also a Wednesday.
   
   With all that said, the record I've read on here for a hatch under a broody is 25 days after incubation started. I trust the lady that reported that to both count the days right and to be sure a late egg was not added to the brood. So while 24 days may be unusual it is not a record.
   
   The way I understand it you candled that egg before incubation started. What made you think it was fertile? I don't know of any sign that candling can tell you that an egg is fertile until a few days after incubation started.
   
   Now, what to do. Some of that depends on your set-up and your plans for raising the chick or hopefully chicks. Are you planning on letting the hen raise them with the flock or will you isolate them? What does the nest look like? My broody hens hatch in nests 2' to 4' above the coop floor. The broodies don't have any problems getting their chicks to jump to the coop floor but the nests are high enough that the chicks cannot get back in so at night she just squats on the coop floor to take care of them. If your nest is low she might take them back there at night. In any case once she brings them off the nest clean it out and put fresh bedding in it.
   
   My broody hens raise them with the flock so I let my broody decide when to bring the chicks off the nest. As Perris said, they don't have to immediately eat or drink since they absorbed the yolk. The hen may bring the chick off pretty soon after it dries off or it may take 2 or 3 days. The only preparation I do is to have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it when she brings them off. I don't know what your feeder or waterer look like. If my other chickens see food in a new spot they immediately wipe it out even if it is the exact same feed they are eating. They can be a pain so you may have to work through that. If the waterer is big enough that they can get in it I put rocks in it so they can walk over it without falling in. They will poop in the water and clean water is important so clean it out daily.
   
   This will depend some on what your coop looks like. My broody hens tend to keep the chicks in the coop for a couple of days before they take them outside. After they take them outside once they generally take them out every day all day to forage. At night they bring them back inside the coop to sleep. You need to be down there at bedtime to make sure everything is OK. Sometimes a chick has trouble getting back inside the coop and you have to help. But pretty soon they get all that worked out.
   
   I don't isolate mine but the only thing I'll mention on that is to make sure they are isolated. You do not want a chick to be able to escape to where Mama cannot protect it. If it can escape it is in danger.
   
   One other warning. I killed a chick by picking up the broody hen. Chicks sometimes crawl up under the hen's feathers, especially under the wings. I crushed a chick when I picked the hen up. That is not a good feeling. So if you pick her up just be careful.
   
   Good luck and let us know how it goes.

   Thank you for the effort it took you to wrote this brilliant advice, I really appreciate it. I'm new to chickens I originally bought four 'hens' (wyndotte cross sussex approx 20 weeks old), I lost one to a fox so had three chickens. Their hen house is a 10 foot by 10 foot summer house and there's an approx 30 foot grass run attached, however I let them out into the main (very large garden) during the day. They all came back in and all good. I lost a chicken to I think a fox (it just disappeared), so I went and bought two silkies which I put a hedgehog house inside the main gen house for them to be able to get away and they both happily sleep in there of a night and all was well. Then low and behold, one by one, my wyndottes started crowing and one of the silkies also started crowing! Turns out they're ALL cockerels except one silky! I've re-homed one cockerel to a friend and I'm looking for new homes (reluctantly) for the two wyndotte cockerels, but hoping to keep the silky as its crow is quite little and cute and my neighbours have all expressed their fine with the crowing (may change in the Spring!). Today I separated half the shed off for the new mum, the silky cockerel and obviously the chick, as I'm concerned the large cockerels may harm baby. But they can all still see each other and once the big cockerels go out in the morning I will let the others out to have the whole run of the place to themselves until the big boys come in a out 4pn for their tea. They all do seem happy, in fact the big boys come into my house and crow for grapes etc., I love it! Now with a new chick I'm just doing what I think is in all of their best interests a d the two big cockerels also seem to be ok with the silky cockerel when I let him free range today with my supervision. So the mum and chick are in the hedgehog house a d the silky cockerel sleeps in their in the night. It is at floor level, that's just where they decided to sleep when I first brought them home and she made that her nest. Hope I've explained properly and any advice would be great. Thanks again for your reply x

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Did you candle them at any point?

How sure are you they were fertile?

@azygous @Wyorp Rock they know about this

 

[Perris]

she will probably work it out for herself in due course, if you don't want to break her. I think the smell of a rotting egg would drive her off - I've had that happen once. Also, the repeated cooling off from rolling the eggs out of the nest could have slowed the incubation process and you may get a hatch up to 4 or 5 days after the 'due' date of 21 days for a normal incubation, so I don't give up till the broody's given up.

 

[Loopy lou]

she will probably work it out for herself in due course, if you don't want to break her. I think the smell of a rotting egg would drive her off - I've had that happen once. Also, the repeated cooling off from rolling the eggs out of the nest could have slowed the incubation process and you may get a hatch up to 4 or 5 days after the 'due' date of 21 days for a normal incubation, so I don't give up till the broody's given up.

Thank you So much for your advice.

 

[Loopy lou]

she will probably work it out for herself in due course, if you don't want to break her. I think the smell of a rotting egg would drive her off - I've had that happen once. Also, the repeated cooling off from rolling the eggs out of the nest could have slowed the incubation process and you may get a hatch up to 4 or 5 days after the 'due' date of 21 days for a normal incubation, so I don't give up till the broody's given up.

Sorry what do you mean if you don't want to break her?

 

[Loopy lou]

breaking a broody is caging her without a nest, as you discuss in the last post, or employing other methods to try to turn off her broody hormones. But you don't have to break her; she will give up the nest sooner or later anyway, when she thinks that the eggs are not going to hatch.

Thank you for your advice, it is very much appreciated.

 

[Perris]

Thank you for your advice, it is very much appreciated.

you're welcome; happy to help

 

[rosemarythyme]

How long do I broody break her for and do I leave the cage inside the chicken house during the day or let her out? Sorry for long post!

You break them for as long as it takes to lower their hormones enough that they stop trying to go back to the nest.

Cage can be inside the coop or run, wherever you have space and adequate predator and weather protection. I don't let broodies out for the first 48 hours, then, depending on their behavior, I'll let them out to test whether they go back to the nest or not. If they do, lock them back up for another 24 hrs or more before testing again.

 

[Loopy lou]

You break them for as long as it takes to lower their hormones enough that they stop trying to go back to the nest.

Cage can be inside the coop or run, wherever you have space and adequate predator and weather protection. I don't let broodies out for the first 48 hours, then, depending on their behavior, I'll let them out to test whether they go back to the nest or not. If they do, lock them back up for another 24 hrs or more before testing again.

Can't believe it, this morning I took her off the eggs to eat and drink and put her in the outside run (for 10 minutes to go toilet etc) and let her back in and there was an egg chirping away!!!absolutely delighted and surprised!!! Any advice on what to do I would really appreciate it and luckily don't have to broody break her now! Thank you for your advice, I really appreciate it.

You break them for as long as it takes to lower their hormones enough that they stop trying to go back to the nest.

Cage can be inside the coop or run, wherever you have space and adequate predator and weather protection. I don't let broodies out for the first 48 hours, then, depending on their behavior, I'll let them out to test whether they go back to the nest or not. If they do, lock them back up for another 24 hrs or more before testing again.

 

[Loopy lou]

So glad to hear this - so how many days was it in the end?

Just leave her be now while they hatch; she will show them to you tomorrow, or the day after. They don't need anything for a couple of days - the absorbed yolk will feed them - then chick feed and a shallow water dish with marbles or suchlike in it so they can't drown. The broody can and will eat the chick feed too.

Thank you so much for your advice. I will go buy some chick feed today. It was 21 days on Wednesday so 24+ days (can't wait to see if they've hatched overnight). Such a clever little girl, couldn't be prouder