Broody hen

[michaelf]

Has anyone ever had eggs in there incubator and put them under a broody hen? My brother has a buff orpington that has been broody for a couple of weeks. She keeps stealing other hens eggs to set on. (No rooster) He keeps removing tge eggs but that has not stopped her. I was doing a fertility check on my eggs and an incubator test run to make sure it's still dialed in. Getting ready for the NYD hatch. Any ways we came up with the idea of using her to finish incubating them. The eggs have around a week left. It was also neat to watch her situate the eggs under her
Watching her keep looking down towards the eggs like she knows they are in there is really awesome. A God given instinct! It is like she knows they are in the eggs. Do the chicks move inside the eggs like a child inside the mother? Is she feeling them in there? Has anyone had any luck doing this? This is an experiment for us. I think it will be very neat for her to hatch them out and take care of them. I have heard of people using a broody hen to incubate eggs. But eggs already 2/3 incubated? Thanks Michael

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Yes I have done it. It is good to do it that way with eggs that are valuable to you to make sure the hen means business and won't leave the nest. I don't trust a hen who has only sat for a few days.

Make sure she doesn't leave the nest and mistakenly go onto another nest leaving your eggs cold. Also you need to mark your eggs with pencil so you know which ones are the ones she is supposed to be setting on.

I believe they do feel the chick moving around in there, and the chicks can hear the mama cluck to them- and she can hear them peeping when they peep.

 

[Becci]

I've done this as well. Didn't plan on it, but the eggs were two weeks in and the power went out. It actually stayed out for 3 days. Luckily I had a broody hen. I do agree on marking the eggs, also. If the hen is around other hens, often times an egg will be laid, then rolled underneath the broody. Not a problem at first but when you've got a bunch of different aged live eggs, it's not easy to just throw them out. They do move inside the egg, have you ever candled an egg around 14 days into incubation? They're usually dancing! Not sure if mama can feel them during incubation but she can definitely feel them during hatch! She does know that they're in there, though. Watching a hen care for her eggs is so interesting.

Becci

 

[michaelf]

Thanks. Yes we did mark the eggs. He lives in a city so he does not have a rooster. So his eggs are infertile. I have a redstar rooster over RIR hens. Awesome match I must say.He is the best rooster I have ever had. He takes care of his ladies. We have hatched their eggs about 6 weeks ago and my brother is brooding them( they are spoiled). I have ordered some eggs for the NYD hatch. I need my incubator ready to go so we took the eggs I had and put under her. I used a small cooler used wash cloths with warm water in plastic bags, a warmed water bottle, and a self heating pad to keep the eggs warm on route. He live about 30 miles away. The temp remained right at a 100. She took the eggs. He said she is even more protective of them now. I think she will be a good momma. She is a big ol buff orpington. She has not left her spot in about 2 weeks. So this will be good for her that the eggs are about 2 weeks also. Will keep posted on how it is going.
Michael

 

[michaelf]

Update on operation broody hen. Somehow she cracked and egg and it started to bleed. So she is down to 4 of them now. She is even more protective now. Makes noises and pecks at other chickens when they come close. So we are going to put the door up so they can not get near her. She is going to be a good momma. Has about a week left.

 

[Chickengirl47]

I need a broody hen! I can't wait until my silkies get older!

 

[michaelf]

Operation broody hen is succeeding. There is pipping under her. going to be great to are some little chicks under the surrogate mother hen.

 

[TweeTea]

Yay!! Congratulations.

 

[michaelf]

We have 2 chicks so far 1 black and 1 white. Where in the world the black and white are coming from has been a mystery
to us. We hatched some earlier with same results. Parents are rooster is red star and hens RIR. Should be good layers anyways
2 more eggs to go.

 

[Spangled]

We have 2 chicks so far 1 black and 1 white. Where in the world the black and white are coming from has been a mystery
to us. We hatched some earlier with same results. Parents are rooster is red star and hens RIR. Should be good layers anyways
2 more eggs to go.

I could be wrong, but it is my understanding that if your Red Star rooster was made by a cross between a RIR (or New Hampshire or Production Red) rooster and a Delaware hen, then you could have grandbabies from that cross that could be black or white. And that would be my guess. A Delaware is a specialized cross between a Barred Rock and a New Hampshire. That little black chick could end up being barred also instead of solid black. Time will tell.

Yes, should be good layers. And cute, too! Congratulations!