First time letting broody hen hatch eggs - advice please

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Thanks Barbara for the advice.I will do the water test you described.They were all layed the same day by different hens but I didn't candle them at any stage of the game.I was too afraid of upsetting the hen I pretty much let her be.I've given the hen food and water in the laying box but can't think of a way to leave water there without risking her spilling it and messing up the nest.

 

[rebrascora]

In a more natural situation (when not confined to a coop and run), a hen would make her own secret nest somewhere out of the way in a dark, quiet spot, lay an egg a day into it, until she has a clutch size that she is happy with (12-14 seems to be an average size) and then she goes into full broody mode and starts to incubate them. So you see, it doesn't make any difference what day the eggs were laid (there can be 2 weeks difference between the first and last laid egg), the important thing is that the broody starts incubating them all at the same time as oppose to other hens adding extra eggs to the clutch during the incubation period ie several days or even a week or more later, causing a staggered hatch. If you put all the eggs under her the same day and marked them so that you could see when others were added and remove those extras, then they should all hatch within 24-48hrs of each other.

If it's possible that there could have been a mix up and extra eggs have been added to the nest at a later date, then an incubator is needed to finish them off. If there was more than 1 chick hatched, you could remove the chicks and leave the broody on the eggs, but I hate to take chicks away from a broody and with just one chick, it would be very lonely in a brooder on it's own.

I use a small jam jar for water and fill it with pebbles and wedge it in the front corner of the nest box. You could loop a little strap (cable tie) around the neck of the jar and attach it to the lip of the nest box with a staple, so that it just rests around the neck of the jar but can be lifted off to clean and change the water....if you are particularly worried about it getting tipped over.... or just make a wet mash with the chick crumb so that very little extra water is required. It's surprising how little water they need if you give them moist food and unlike being in a brooder where the heat can be quite dry, the warmth provided by a broody hen is quite a humid environment, so there is less chance of dehydration than in a brooder.

Good luck

Barbara

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

So on Friday morning my broody hen had one hatched chick. I kept checking throughout Friday, Saturday and into Sunday and still no more hatches. Consulting with online experts(Barbara) I performed the series of tests on the remaining eggs determined that there was no signs of life. I went to Tractor Supply and talked them into letting me buy three 5-day-old chicks (they usually have a 6 chick minimum).
i wasn't sure my hen would accept the new chicks. When I returned home I placed one chick in front of her in the nest box and watched carefully. The hen stared down at the chick, looking almost predatory and the chick stared up at the hen, almost beak to beak. They held this pose, frozen in place for almost 15 seconds, me standing poised to snatch the chick away if Momma attacked. Instead she finally lifted her chest and the chick dove under her and disappeared.
I repeated this this with almost exactly the same routine with the other two purchased chicks. It was almost like a dialogue:
"Are you going to cause me trouble?"
"No Ma'am"
"Are you going to follow house rules?"
"Yes Ma'am"
"OK. You can come in."
So even though they were hatched in an incubator and raised under a heat lamp, the chicks know a good thing when they see it.
So far everyone seems to be doing fine. I removed the remaining eggs (all duds) and the high sided nesting box and Momma has taken her new family out of the nest to the feeder.

 

[peopleRanimals2]

Nice! Pictures are always appreciated

 

[rebrascora]

Shame there was just the one viable egg hatch.
Really pleased the adoption went so well. As you are aware it could have gone horribly wrong and it must have been a little nerve wracking watching such a show down like that. Really impressed that the chicks knew by instinct to go under her, especially if they had been under a heat lamp at the store. Not sure I would have tried it at all. For your information, single chicks do fine with a broody hen, so there was no necessity to get more unless you particularly want to increase your flock.
Hope they all turn out to be pullets.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Shame there was just the one viable egg hatch.
Really pleased the adoption went so well. As you are aware it could have gone horribly wrong and it must have been a little nerve wracking watching such a show down like that. Really impressed that the chicks knew by instinct to go under her, especially if they had been under a heat lamp at the store. Not sure I would have tried it at all. For your information, single chicks do fine with a broody hen, so there was no necessity to get more unless you particularly want to increase your flock.
Hope they all turn out to be pullets.

It could have gone horribly wrong, Iknow there was no guarantee the hen would adopt the store-bought chicks, but two days in everyone looks good. This hen is such a sweet girl. Two of he chicks are Cornish Cross, which have been raised for many generations for meat. They don't reproduce naturally, so it makes it even more amazing that they adapted so quickly to life with a Momma.

I don't know why only one egg hatched but I fear my rooster is not closing he deal with all of the hens. One looks really "over used" with missing feathers and bald patches but most don't. He's young though? Perhaps more success next spring.

I didn't know single chicks do fine with a broody hen..Thanks for the information.

 

[lizswope]

Hi everyone! I've just learned so much from this thread. Thank you! I am getting fertile eggs for my broody Bantam Cochin mix today, as she has not given up on the nest despite all my efforts to dissuade her. My issue is that all 5 of my hens only lay in one box (where broody currently is) and they have multiple boxes to choose from. In this situation, should I try to simply place broody and fertile eggs in a different box? Or isolate her completely? I'd love to keep her with the flock if possible, but I'm willing to do anything. She is relentless about her nest. All the girls free range during the day and get closed in the coop at night. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I've attached a couple pics of the current set up and my sweet broody.

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[lizswope]

 

[rebrascora]

@lizswope

Hi

Bantam cochins and crosses of them are wonderful broodies. I have 3 of them broody right now, but my flock size is at capacity, so I'm trying to resist setting eggs! I would set your broody up with a separate nest box, within the coop but away from the communal boxes. You could just make a free standing one with a roof and place it in a corner facing a wall with a gap between it and the wall so that she can climb in and out, but it is still quite dark and secluded. The advantage of this is that if the other hens start laying in it, you can easily move it closer to the wall so that they can't get in and she can't get out, then slide it back and let her out once a day for food and water and poop and move it back up to the wall to block her in once she returns. I find this system works very well for me. The broody sits in a trance in the dark undisturbed until you move it back and let the light in. Usually that is enough to trigger her to get up and have a broody break, but sometimes you have to lift her off and encourage her to eat by scattering some scratch or meal worms. I do chores whilst she is having a break which is 15-30 mins and then fasten her back in, knowing that she is secure with her eggs for the rest of the day. The problem with communal boxes is that broodies sometimes get pushed out of their nest or go for a break and another hen gets in there to lay and then she can't get back in. If they are in the nest box a while, she may go to an adjacent nest box to wait and then go into a broody trance and forget she hasn't got back into the correct nest. If her nest is in a slightly different location to the communal nest boxes and looks different, it helps to home into it better, but it may take several days for her to reprogram to a new nest site, so best to move her and get her settled for a few days before you set the fertile eggs.

Do make sure to dust the nest with whatever you use to treat mites and ensure that she has access to a dust bathing area when she takes her broody break.

For info, a strong cardboard box with a hole cut in the side and inverted over the nest and a piece of plywood placed on top to weight it down and stop hens dropping through when they climb on it, can be sufficient to act as a nest box. Then it can be easily lifted off when you want the broody to get up and take a break and put back over the nest once she has got out. Of course you can also construct a small nest box with timber and ply but make sure it is covered and just has a small entry hole or curtains. Obviously the nest box needs to be in a secure place to keep her safe from predators. I don't know how secure your pen in the photos is, but if it is secure I would put the nest box in the far left hand corner behind the dust bath? with the entrance facing towards the wall and leaving a 5-6 inch gap between it and the wooden wall. You might need to keep it snug up to the wall when you first put her in it until she settles, but if you give her some eggs to keep her happy, she should settle pretty quickly.

I hope that gives you some simple ideas as to how to manage the situation. I'm a firm believer in keeping the broody with the flock as much as possible, but she also needs privacy, so setting her up with her own nest away from the communal nest boxes but still within the communal area is a good compromise.

I have an old cupboard that I use. I drilled a few holes in the door to let in a little light and provide ventilation. I keep the cupboard in the hen house and I have a smaller drawer (from a bedside cabinet that was being scrapped) that I dust with DE, add nesting material, usually damp shaving in the bottom and hay on top, another dusting of DE into the hay, then place the eggs in. Place the drawer in the location that the broody is currently sitting and transfer her to it, then move the drawer with nest, eggs and broody altogether into the cupboard at night when it is dark and there is no chance of her moving. Once a day, I open the door and then feed chickens and muck out etc. Broody comes out and eats with the flock and then when she is ready to return to her nest I keep an eye on her and if she goes back to the old location, I wait for her to settle and then move her to the nest in the cupboard and fasten her in. After 2-3 days, she gets the hang of it and goes back to the cupboard nest herself....(it helps to remove eggs from all the other nests) You can put a little container of food and water in there for her or I just put a little pot of fermented feed in there, so there is no risk of water getting spilt and she will not get thirsty because the food is moist. She probably doesn't need that food, but it makes me feel better locking her up if I know she has something there if she wants it. In reality, she doesn't mind being locked up.... or more likely, is unaware that she is locked up. Occasionally I will find her keen to get out on a morning, but it is usually when she hears the other hens getting excited about being let out and that stirs her from her trance.

Good luck with your girl and I hope it all goes well for you.

Regards

Barbara

 

[lizswope]

@rebeascora

Thank you for the wonderful advice! I greatly appreciate it. My husband and I are are going to start construction later today! I will hopefully be able to show you some chick pics in a few short weeks!
Thank you so much, Barbara!

Liz