broody hen

[redstars]

I have one hen out of 10 that went broody about a week ago.
My questions are if I were to get some fertile eggs and place them under her would she hatch them?
Also would I need to separate them from the other 9 after they do hatch?

 

[Amyable]

She might stay broody, she might not. Go ahead a try a couple eggs. Your broody should have a separate area for herself to not be bothered by the other hens. If you get some chicks to hatch, it might be a good precaution to keep them away from the others for a while, some hens can get nasty toward babies.

 

[pgpoultry]

Separate her from the others.

I very rarely have a hen who hatches her own eggs. I usually give her eggs I want her to hatch. My broody hens tend to want to steal and sit on any and every egg that they find. I would suggest that, if she is determinedly broody(sitting on a nest overnight) she is very likely to hatch whatever she is given by way of fertile eggs,

Good Luck,

Sandie

 

[Chickapooh23]

My broody hen was broody for a week before I put eggs under her (that are hatching today, Yeah 7 already). The big thing is if you don't separate her then you also run into the other hens laying more eggs into her nest and breaking eggs you want to hatch and then they may kill the chicks as well. Even if you just put her into a large box with some nesting material that would be OK. I have a brooder box my son made me where I keep my chicks for the first month that I put her in and she has done great. Good luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

They are living animals and you can never say exactly what they will do. If she has been broody about a week, the odds that she will hatch some chicks for you if you get fertile eggs are very good.

Hens have been hatching eggs with the flock for thousands of years. I personally like to isolate the hen while she is setting on the eggs to where the other hens cannot get to her nest, but plenty of people successfully do it both ways. There are risks and benefits both ways. This link may help you decide which way is best for you in your situation, which is different to my situation and most others on this forum in some ways. If you decide to leave her with the rest of the flock, be sure to mark the eggs so you can check under her every day to remove any new ones you find in her nest. That and other details are covered in the link.

Isolate a Broody? Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=213218

Hens have been successfully raising chicks with the flock for thousands of years. I personally like the hen to raise the chicks with the flock. I think the benefits of Mama handling the integration issues for the chicks by itself is worth the other risks, but as usual there are benefits and risks both ways. I think how much room you have makes a lot of difference in which way is best for you, but it is a personal decision. And I have a link that discusses that.

Raise with flock? thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=215937&p=1

Good luck whichever way you decide. I think you will enjoy the process.

 

[henney penny]

You can do what I did,I keep her on golf balls to make sure she would stay broodly then after three weeks or so I got some baby chicks and put them under her at dark time and when she woke up the next morning her golf balls had hatched into four babies,she was a great mother and I kept them in a cage for a week then put then in with the rest of the flock and believe me nothing could get near them

babies.I did put a big dog crate in the run and she took them there at night untill they were big enough to go in the big girl coop.This is them in the big girl coop last week

 

[kassy68]

I had my first broody this spring. I left her in the nesting box where she had picked up until I heard peeps... Once I heard the peeps I took her and put her in a dog crate with a little food and water and she stayed until all chicks where out , then I moved her to her own side of the coop and all did fine..