Does anyone hatch the old-fashioned way any more?!?!?!

[shelleyd2008]

soap&eggs :

i prob. have more broody hens then most..summer will bring at least 15-20 any given day.my biggest problem is they never stop and i dont try and make them quit....my best broodies are banti cochins...,,mutts,, &..banti cochin crossed with silkie....the ones who hide nest , under goats shed..in garage..in hay barn..come off with at least a dozen chicks to most 20 chicks..ones inside coop in nest boxes, have less chicks..but all are excellent mothers. depending on season, and breeds hatched..i usually keep moms and babies in seperate nursery pens. not to protect from other chickens, moms do that job very well..but they drown in duck pond, or get seperated & get lost at lock up. i incubate in house Jan 1 to May 1...by then i have had my fill of every weekend of hatchings..and hens are filling pens up fast. right now in N. Wisconsin i have 2 broody seramas and 2 standars setting on eggs. when their chicks hatch will remove and bring inside house..hens normally will keep them warm but this year differnt kind of winter..very deep snow.wont risk the babies dying out there.

I don't make mine quit either...saves me from needing to hatch them

I think the most I had at one time last year was 19 hens on eggs but there were others that were with chicks at the same time...I have waaaaaaay too many birds! My best broodies are OEG and OEGB but the bantam cochins do pretty good. The silkies love to go broody but they aren't all that great at hatching. I had 2 sisters last year that always went broody together so I think the eggs got fought over a little bit. One of the sisters passed this winter though, so maybe the other one will have better luck this year.​

 

[chicks4kids]

My hens hatch for me as well. If I had an incubator, not only would I be a nervous wreck, but I'd be hatching ALL of the time! I enjoy it when my hens go broody. To me, it's kinda like winning the chicken lottery when they decide conditions are right and safe enough for them to hatch babies! Plus, my kids play such an active roll in the care of the chickens and babies it's totally worth it.

 

[Chihuahuamom444]

I agree, you have to get that light off her, she's gotta be SO hot

 

[key west chick]

I usually let one of my key west hens sit on eggs. She goes broody 3 or 4 times a year. I just tried to let a first time broody hatch but she kicked the first chick out, it died so I pulled the other 2 eggs from her. 1 was a dude,and the other is pipping in my bra for the second day in a row. No room in my incubator for it.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Same with me. 'Old School' is the only way.

 

[andalusn]

Agree on the light, it looks too intense with no way to get away if she is too hot. When a hen gets broody I let her be and set where every she has taken up camp. When the chicks hatch she brings them out on her own. One prefers to stay away from the coop while the little ones are small. I put a wooden box with hay close to the coop but still in my aisle way of their area in the barn and she brings them out to feed with the others but beds down away where I guess she feels safer. Within the first week she has them with her in the barnyard within 10 or 20 feet of the building. Hens are hard wired for this job so I stay out of it. Setup a feeding station of chick food away from the main feeder so my hoglet hens don't eat all the baby food and let them be. The last batch (16) was hatched just before thanksgiving and now I have a roving band of juvenile delinquents hanging out

From this

To this, just before she gave them the boot...

They are roosting on my brooder box that I use when I hatch the Brabanter eggs since they don't go broody

 

[suebee]

Broody hens are the only way I've ever hatched. I don't even own an incubator. The only thing my broody silkies want to do is become mothers, so how could I ever deny that?

 

[ChickadeeMom]

i recently purchased 4 dozen hatching eggs and for some reason incubators hold an odd number of eggs when it comes to buying in dozens!! so i now have 41 in my bator, 2 in my mini dome top (i know "they suck" but im gonna prove everyone wrong on that lol) and the rest went under my broody.

however... i have multiple broodies!! every day i havew a different one in my box! its like they take turns...its actually pretty weird. i have 3 nest boxes and for some reason they refuse to lay in 2 of them. one day i came in and had 4 bantam hens shoved in my little 12X10 laying box. and there isnt even any roosters so i finally gave in and gave them all one egg out of my last batch and sadly it was unfertile but they sat every day one it up until day 30 when i pulled it and realized it was a dud!! and they often sit without anything is the box.

SO... this time they got 8 eggs to fight over. hopefully they hatch!! the supplier i got them from was a bit shady...thats why my good eggs are in my bator. and the iffy ones went to the mini bator and the broodies.

 

[chikeemomma25]

We just had 2 of 3 eggs hatch today or yesterday, not really sure. I heard peeping this morning when I went to collect eggs. So exciting! We hatched 1 chick a few months ago under a great broody hen and it was so sweet to watch her take care of her little chick. But, something got them both while they were free ranging.

This is the only way we have hatched any eggs. I can see where an incubator would be helpful if you needed to hatch a lot of eggs and had no broodies. We have 2 of our 9 hens broody right now. I had to kick one out of the nest box LOL. She was NOT very happy with me!! We just don't need more babies right now! She will get her turn! Good luck with your hatch! It is super exciting!!

I am a little confused on the yellow chick. All of our chickens are black! The rooster is a RIR, all of the hens are either Dominique, BR, Australorpe, or a cross between BR/CCMarans.

 

[KirkKoop]

"Flash" and her new chicks - 3 were hatched by her and 6 were adopted from the feed-store. This is her first time at mothering and she is doing a wonderful job...I have the scars to prove it!

Can you find the little orange chick "Peanut" hiding out under her skirt?!