First time broody hen gets fertilized eggs...some advice for the road ahead please

[Mo'sMenagerie]

I have a dark brahma hen (her name is Apple Bottom) who just went broody for the first time. She's sitting on a handful of fertilized eggs I got from a neighbor. She's had the eggs for one day now...
Questions
1-when should I move her to her own space? Does it need to be indoors or can it be a little chicken tractor designed for 1-2 birds outside?
2-How do I ensure she is getting good enough nutrition?
3-When will I know if the eggs are "growing" little chicks?
4-What do I feed the hen and the babies once they are born?

Thanks so much! I'm a nervous little chicken mama

 

[Ridgerunner]

1-when should I move her to her own space? Does it need to be indoors or can it be a little chicken tractor designed for 1-2 birds outside?

I don't move mine, I let them hatch with the flock. Still, plenty of people isolate them. The ideal time to move them is before you give them fertile eggs. That way if they break from being broody you still have the eggs. But you are where you are in the process. You can try to move her now or wait a week or so.

It can be indoors but as long as that nest in the tractor stays dry that sounds tremendous. There is no one way to do this, lots of different ways work. What you want is an area that is predator-proof with a nest that stays dry. You need enough room for food and water. A little extra space for her to go poop wouldn't be bad. She should know by instinct to not poop in the nest but that does not carry over to food and water so you need access for cleaning.

I don't know what your facilities look like but if you can put that tractor in the run she will not loose total contact with the other chickens. That could make reintegration a piece of cake.

2-How do I ensure she is getting good enough nutrition?

What do you normally feed, Layer of something else? She is no longer laying eggs so she does not need the extra calcium in Layer. Basically you can feed her anything from a Grower to a Flock-Raiser or Chick Starter. Why it is not that important is that before a hen even starts to lay eggs she builds up a reserve of fat. I butcher females as well as males and the difference is obvious. This excess fat is mostly what a broody hen lives off of so she can stay on her eggs instead of spending a lot of time looking for food.

She should come off the nest and eat and drink some, she will come off the nest to poop. I've seen a broody hen come off the nest twice a day and spend an hour or longer each time. I've seen a hen come off once a day for about 15 minutes. Often I never see one of the nest but since she is not pooping in the nest I know she is coming off.

If you are feeding the others anything low calcium other than Layer I'd feed her whatever you have on hand. She would probably be OK with the extra calcium in Layer for that time period, she probably won't eat much of it anyway. It's not what is in one bite, it's total grams of calcium eaten per day over a period of days. But you might grab a bag of Chick Starter and feed her that.

3-When will I know if the eggs are "growing" little chicks?

You can candle them but I never do under a broody hen. The logistics aren't good for me to candle them plus it has nothing to do with helping them hatch. It's just to satisfy my curiosity. I know the eggs are growing when I here peeping under her or see little heads poking out.

If you can't stand to wait you can try candling after day 7. If the eggs aren't too dark shelled you should be able to see veins then.

4-What do I feed the hen and the babies once they are born?

Are you going to keep them isolated or let her raise the chicks with the flock? If the chicks are with the flock they will eat what the other hens are eating. The excess calcium in Layer can be harmful to growing chicks, how harmful depends on how much calcium they eat. I have juveniles with my flock almost all the time. The entire flock eats Chick Starter or Grower with oyster shell on the side. The hens that need the calcium for egg shells tend to know to eat the oyster shell. The ones like the chicks and broody hen that don't need it seem to know to not eat enough for it to be a problem.

The broody hen can eat whatever the chicks eat. She will be fine.

 

[AquaDuck]

Moving a broody hen is possible, but there's a risk she'll leave the nest. If she sits a place where the other hens are bothering her, or it's potentially dangerous for the newborn chicks, I'd risk it. If you choose to do so, move her quickly and in the dark.

She must have access to high quality chicken feed all the time. That's pretty much it. No need to try giving her treats or anything. Just let her do her once-a-day feeding without bothering her too much.

You'll want to candle the eggs at around day 10-15. If there are any infertile, these must be taken out, as they're rotten and putrid.

Once the chicks are born, you can move them to their own space or let them go with the rest of the flock if your coop is chick-friendly (easy floor access to the outside, no dangerous drops etc). The chicks should have chick starter. I usually crush the crumble the first days so I'm sure it's small enough for them. Mom needs high value feed as well, to build up muscle and fat reserves.

Good luck!

 

[Stacyoung13]

When the babies are ready to come out, I put a piece of fencing in the corner of my run with chicken wire on top,

and put the babies food in there, Babies can get in but adults can’t. It’s also a safe place to escape to.

These ones are a month old in pic, and been using this since a few days old. I showed them the food and water once and they knew.

 

[Mo'sMenagerie]

1-when should I move her to her own space? Does it need to be indoors or can it be a little chicken tractor designed for 1-2 birds outside?

I don't move mine, I let them hatch with the flock. Still, plenty of people isolate them. The ideal time to move them is before you give them fertile eggs. That way if they break from being broody you still have the eggs. But you are where you are in the process. You can try to move her now or wait a week or so.

It can be indoors but as long as that nest in the tractor stays dry that sounds tremendous. There is no one way to do this, lots of different ways work. What you want is an area that is predator-proof with a nest that stays dry. You need enough room for food and water. A little extra space for her to go poop wouldn't be bad. She should know by instinct to not poop in the nest but that does not carry over to food and water so you need access for cleaning.

I don't know what your facilities look like but if you can put that tractor in the run she will not loose total contact with the other chickens. That could make reintegration a piece of cake.

2-How do I ensure she is getting good enough nutrition?

What do you normally feed, Layer of something else? She is no longer laying eggs so she does not need the extra calcium in Layer. Basically you can feed her anything from a Grower to a Flock-Raiser or Chick Starter. Why it is not that important is that before a hen even starts to lay eggs she builds up a reserve of fat. I butcher females as well as males and the difference is obvious. This excess fat is mostly what a broody hen lives off of so she can stay on her eggs instead of spending a lot of time looking for food.

She should come off the nest and eat and drink some, she will come off the nest to poop. I've seen a broody hen come off the nest twice a day and spend an hour or longer each time. I've seen a hen come off once a day for about 15 minutes. Often I never see one of the nest but since she is not pooping in the nest I know she is coming off.

If you are feeding the others anything low calcium other than Layer I'd feed her whatever you have on hand. She would probably be OK with the extra calcium in Layer for that time period, she probably won't eat much of it anyway. It's not what is in one bite, it's total grams of calcium eaten per day over a period of days. But you might grab a bag of Chick Starter and feed her that.

3-When will I know if the eggs are "growing" little chicks?

You can candle them but I never do under a broody hen. The logistics aren't good for me to candle them plus it has nothing to do with helping them hatch. It's just to satisfy my curiosity. I know the eggs are growing when I here peeping under her or see little heads poking out.

If you can't stand to wait you can try candling after day 7. If the eggs aren't too dark shelled you should be able to see veins then.

4-What do I feed the hen and the babies once they are born?

Are you going to keep them isolated or let her raise the chicks with the flock? If the chicks are with the flock they will eat what the other hens are eating. The excess calcium in Layer can be harmful to growing chicks, how harmful depends on how much calcium they eat. I have juveniles with my flock almost all the time. The entire flock eats Chick Starter or Grower with oyster shell on the side. The hens that need the calcium for egg shells tend to know to eat the oyster shell. The ones like the chicks and broody hen that don't need it seem to know to not eat enough for it to be a problem.

The broody hen can eat whatever the chicks eat. She will be fine.

1-when should I move her to her own space? Does it need to be indoors or can it be a little chicken tractor designed for 1-2 birds outside?

I don't move mine, I let them hatch with the flock. Still, plenty of people isolate them. The ideal time to move them is before you give them fertile eggs. That way if they break from being broody you still have the eggs. But you are where you are in the process. You can try to move her now or wait a week or so.

It can be indoors but as long as that nest in the tractor stays dry that sounds tremendous. There is no one way to do this, lots of different ways work. What you want is an area that is predator-proof with a nest that stays dry. You need enough room for food and water. A little extra space for her to go poop wouldn't be bad. She should know by instinct to not poop in the nest but that does not carry over to food and water so you need access for cleaning.

I don't know what your facilities look like but if you can put that tractor in the run she will not loose total contact with the other chickens. That could make reintegration a piece of cake.

2-How do I ensure she is getting good enough nutrition?

What do you normally feed, Layer of something else? She is no longer laying eggs so she does not need the extra calcium in Layer. Basically you can feed her anything from a Grower to a Flock-Raiser or Chick Starter. Why it is not that important is that before a hen even starts to lay eggs she builds up a reserve of fat. I butcher females as well as males and the difference is obvious. This excess fat is mostly what a broody hen lives off of so she can stay on her eggs instead of spending a lot of time looking for food.

She should come off the nest and eat and drink some, she will come off the nest to poop. I've seen a broody hen come off the nest twice a day and spend an hour or longer each time. I've seen a hen come off once a day for about 15 minutes. Often I never see one of the nest but since she is not pooping in the nest I know she is coming off.

If you are feeding the others anything low calcium other than Layer I'd feed her whatever you have on hand. She would probably be OK with the extra calcium in Layer for that time period, she probably won't eat much of it anyway. It's not what is in one bite, it's total grams of calcium eaten per day over a period of days. But you might grab a bag of Chick Starter and feed her that.

3-When will I know if the eggs are "growing" little chicks?

You can candle them but I never do under a broody hen. The logistics aren't good for me to candle them plus it has nothing to do with helping them hatch. It's just to satisfy my curiosity. I know the eggs are growing when I here peeping under her or see little heads poking out.

If you can't stand to wait you can try candling after day 7. If the eggs aren't too dark shelled you should be able to see veins then.

4-What do I feed the hen and the babies once they are born?

Are you going to keep them isolated or let her raise the chicks with the flock? If the chicks are with the flock they will eat what the other hens are eating. The excess calcium in Layer can be harmful to growing chicks, how harmful depends on how much calcium they eat. I have juveniles with my flock almost all the time. The entire flock eats Chick Starter or Grower with oyster shell on the side. The hens that need the calcium for egg shells tend to know to eat the oyster shell. The ones like the chicks and broody hen that don't need it seem to know to not eat enough for it to be a problem.

The broody hen can eat whatever the chicks eat. She will be fine.

1-when should I move her to her own space? Does it need to be indoors or can it be a little chicken tractor designed for 1-2 birds outside?

I don't move mine, I let them hatch with the flock. Still, plenty of people isolate them. The ideal time to move them is before you give them fertile eggs. That way if they break from being broody you still have the eggs. But you are where you are in the process. You can try to move her now or wait a week or so.

It can be indoors but as long as that nest in the tractor stays dry that sounds tremendous. There is no one way to do this, lots of different ways work. What you want is an area that is predator-proof with a nest that stays dry. You need enough room for food and water. A little extra space for her to go poop wouldn't be bad. She should know by instinct to not poop in the nest but that does not carry over to food and water so you need access for cleaning.

I don't know what your facilities look like but if you can put that tractor in the run she will not loose total contact with the other chickens. That could make reintegration a piece of cake.

2-How do I ensure she is getting good enough nutrition?

What do you normally feed, Layer of something else? She is no longer laying eggs so she does not need the extra calcium in Layer. Basically you can feed her anything from a Grower to a Flock-Raiser or Chick Starter. Why it is not that important is that before a hen even starts to lay eggs she builds up a reserve of fat. I butcher females as well as males and the difference is obvious. This excess fat is mostly what a broody hen lives off of so she can stay on her eggs instead of spending a lot of time looking for food.

She should come off the nest and eat and drink some, she will come off the nest to poop. I've seen a broody hen come off the nest twice a day and spend an hour or longer each time. I've seen a hen come off once a day for about 15 minutes. Often I never see one of the nest but since she is not pooping in the nest I know she is coming off.

If you are feeding the others anything low calcium other than Layer I'd feed her whatever you have on hand. She would probably be OK with the extra calcium in Layer for that time period, she probably won't eat much of it anyway. It's not what is in one bite, it's total grams of calcium eaten per day over a period of days. But you might grab a bag of Chick Starter and feed her that.

3-When will I know if the eggs are "growing" little chicks?

You can candle them but I never do under a broody hen. The logistics aren't good for me to candle them plus it has nothing to do with helping them hatch. It's just to satisfy my curiosity. I know the eggs are growing when I here peeping under her or see little heads poking out.

If you can't stand to wait you can try candling after day 7. If the eggs aren't too dark shelled you should be able to see veins then.

4-What do I feed the hen and the babies once they are born?

Are you going to keep them isolated or let her raise the chicks with the flock? If the chicks are with the flock they will eat what the other hens are eating. The excess calcium in Layer can be harmful to growing chicks, how harmful depends on how much calcium they eat. I have juveniles with my flock almost all the time. The entire flock eats Chick Starter or Grower with oyster shell on the side. The hens that need the calcium for egg shells tend to know to eat the oyster shell. The ones like the chicks and broody hen that don't need it seem to know to not eat enough for it to be a problem.

The broody hen can eat whatever the chicks eat. She will be fine.

Oh my goodness! This is great information and super-duper helpful. Thank you @Ridgerunner! I only have four full grown chickens at this point, and 4 more in the brooder that are 3 weeks old. Should be interesting integrating all the age groups and new mama when the time comes.

The chicken tractor is secure and located in the run. I have Scratch n' Peck(SNP) chick starter (fermented) I'm using for the 3 week olds in the brooder now. I feed the adults SNP layer fermented. I always keep oyster shell around too.

Think I'll attempt to move her (in the dark) this evening to the tractor. It's safe and dry.

1-when should I move her to her own space? Does it need to be indoors or can it be a little chicken tractor designed for 1-2 birds outside?

I don't move mine, I let them hatch with the flock. Still, plenty of people isolate them. The ideal time to move them is before you give them fertile eggs. That way if they break from being broody you still have the eggs. But you are where you are in the process. You can try to move her now or wait a week or so.

It can be indoors but as long as that nest in the tractor stays dry that sounds tremendous. There is no one way to do this, lots of different ways work. What you want is an area that is predator-proof with a nest that stays dry. You need enough room for food and water. A little extra space for her to go poop wouldn't be bad. She should know by instinct to not poop in the nest but that does not carry over to food and water so you need access for cleaning.

I don't know what your facilities look like but if you can put that tractor in the run she will not loose total contact with the other chickens. That could make reintegration a piece of cake.

2-How do I ensure she is getting good enough nutrition?

What do you normally feed, Layer of something else? She is no longer laying eggs so she does not need the extra calcium in Layer. Basically you can feed her anything from a Grower to a Flock-Raiser or Chick Starter. Why it is not that important is that before a hen even starts to lay eggs she builds up a reserve of fat. I butcher females as well as males and the difference is obvious. This excess fat is mostly what a broody hen lives off of so she can stay on her eggs instead of spending a lot of time looking for food.

She should come off the nest and eat and drink some, she will come off the nest to poop. I've seen a broody hen come off the nest twice a day and spend an hour or longer each time. I've seen a hen come off once a day for about 15 minutes. Often I never see one of the nest but since she is not pooping in the nest I know she is coming off.

If you are feeding the others anything low calcium other than Layer I'd feed her whatever you have on hand. She would probably be OK with the extra calcium in Layer for that time period, she probably won't eat much of it anyway. It's not what is in one bite, it's total grams of calcium eaten per day over a period of days. But you might grab a bag of Chick Starter and feed her that.

3-When will I know if the eggs are "growing" little chicks?

You can candle them but I never do under a broody hen. The logistics aren't good for me to candle them plus it has nothing to do with helping them hatch. It's just to satisfy my curiosity. I know the eggs are growing when I here peeping under her or see little heads poking out.

If you can't stand to wait you can try candling after day 7. If the eggs aren't too dark shelled you should be able to see veins then.

4-What do I feed the hen and the babies once they are born?

Are you going to keep them isolated or let her raise the chicks with the flock? If the chicks are with the flock they will eat what the other hens are eating. The excess calcium in Layer can be harmful to growing chicks, how harmful depends on how much calcium they eat. I have juveniles with my flock almost all the time. The entire flock eats Chick Starter or Grower with oyster shell on the side. The hens that need the calcium for egg shells tend to know to eat the oyster shell. The ones like the chicks and broody hen that don't need it seem to know to not eat enough for it to be a problem.

The broody hen can eat whatever the chicks eat. She will be fine.

Oh my goodness! This is great information and super-duper helpful. Thank you @Ridgerunner!

My chickens are very much on the pet-level, and we really enjoy their eggs too I only have four full grown chickens at this point, and 4 more in the brooder that are 3 weeks old. Should be interesting integrating all the age groups and new mama when the time comes.

The chicken tractor is secure and located in the run. I have Scratch n' Peck (SNP) chick starter (fermented) I'm using for the 3 week olds in my brooder now. I feed the adults SNP layer (fermented). I always keep oyster shell around too.

Think I'll attempt to move her (in the dark) this evening to the tractor. It's safe and dry. Food for the broody-mama will be the same as I'm feeding my chicks.

 

[Mo'sMenagerie]

When the babies are ready to come out, I put a piece of fencing in the corner of my run with chicken wire on top,View attachment 1768218 and put the babies food in there, Babies can get in but adults can’t. It’s also a safe place to escape to.
View attachment 1768220
These ones are a month old in pic, and been using this since a few days old. I showed them the food and water once and they knew.

Great photos! And fantastic idea. I'll try this for my 3 week olds when they get integrated and for the potential new babies if my brahma-mama does indeed hatch these babies.

 

[Mo'sMenagerie]

Moving a broody hen is possible, but there's a risk she'll leave the nest. If she sits a place where the other hens are bothering her, or it's potentially dangerous for the newborn chicks, I'd risk it. If you choose to do so, move her quickly and in the dark.

She must have access to high quality chicken feed all the time. That's pretty much it. No need to try giving her treats or anything. Just let her do her once-a-day feeding without bothering her too much.

You'll want to candle the eggs at around day 10-15. If there are any infertile, these must be taken out, as they're rotten and putrid.

Once the chicks are born, you can move them to their own space or let them go with the rest of the flock if your coop is chick-friendly (easy floor access to the outside, no dangerous drops etc). The chicks should have chick starter. I usually crush the crumble the first days so I'm sure it's small enough for them. Mom needs high value feed as well, to build up muscle and fat reserves.

Good luck!

Understood. I think i would prefer to risk moving her now than find a nest full of dead chicks later. I'm pretty sensitive to my chicken's well-being, and i think that would scar me for life. Thanks!

 

[AquaDuck]

Understood. I think i would prefer to risk moving her now than find a nest full of dead chicks later. I'm pretty sensitive to my chicken's well-being, and i think that would scar me for life. Thanks!

I usually move them too. Easier to control and safer for the chicks. Have the new nesting site ready to go before moving. The smaller the space around the nest, the safer she'll feel. Have it dark and restrict her movements around the nest (so she won't run off). Move the eggs first, and then put her gently right next to the new nest and leave her alone. If all goes well, she'll just lay down on the eggs and keep brooding.
Good luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

You'll want to candle the eggs at around day 10-15. If there are any infertile, these must be taken out, as they're rotten and putrid.

I have to disagree with this. Fertility has nothing to do with whether an egg goes rotten or not. What causes an egg to go rotten is that bacteria gets through the porous shell's defenses. The material inside the egg is a perfect food for many bacteria, egg is often used in labs to grow cultures. Incubation temperature is perfect for most bacteria's growth.

If bacteria get inside an infertile egg it will grow and turn the egg putrid. If bacteria gets inside a developing fertile egg the bacteria will grow, kill the developing embryo, and turn the egg putrid.

Rotten eggs are horrible. They stink to high heaven. They can ooze a fluid through the porous shell or even build up enough pressure to explode. If that stuff gets on another egg it can and probably will infect it, whether it is fertile or not.

I probably average three broody hens a year. As I said, I never candle eggs under a broody. In a 10-year span I had one broody hen have this problem, that's when a thin-shelled egg broke in the nest and coated some other eggs. That egg material on the outside allowed bacteria to enter and the entire hatch was lost.

 

[chickens really]

I always move my Broody Momma Chickens into a Brooder pen with great success. I set everything up and build the nest. Then get the eggs into the nest. I place Momma down in front of the nest and walk away for about half an hour. Always the Hen is on the eggs when I go to check.