First time with a broody! Help!

[PeachygirlGA]

I have tried reading the broody hen thread, but so far cannot really find the answers I am looking for. 900 plus pages is a bit much! lol!
Ok, this hen is a couple years old and had tried to be broody a couple times before but I never let her hatch any eggs. I recently lost a hen and one last year, so I decided to give it a try since my last attempt at incubation was not successful.
I want to just let her hatch the eggs in the laying box where she is currently on day 2. Can I just leave her there and let her raise the babies there? Is it necessary to move her before the hatch or even after the hatch? I do have a separate little coop that I use for baby chicks. I have heard that the mother hen will protect the babies. However, this chicken has a crooked beak and even though I have seen her try to peck other hens at times, she really can't do much with the crooked beak. Any help you can give me is much appreciated!!!

 

[GitaBooks]

I have 3 broody hens right now, and I've had plenty of others in the past, so I hope I can answer your questions.

Here is what I do with my broody hens:
They sometimes go broody in a nest box, and usually they don't want to move off of them. If I try to move them they freak-out. So, instead, I try to prevent other birds from getting into the nest and laying eggs in the nest or breaking the eggs already in it. Bantams can be blocked partially in with a small opening to slip out of, but standard hens may need a full cover and then let out once a day for 5-20 minutes for eating, exercise, drinking and using the bathroom. If other hens don't bother her you don't have to change anything.
I usually move the hen and her chicks after they hatch, or at least after most of them hatch. I take the chicks, slip them into a basket, and then carry her into the pen. I put the chicks in first, and then set the mother down in the pen/crate and they quickly reunite. The pen is set up with a nest area that is protected and feels safe, food on a plate (young chicks do better with a shallow dish then a large feeder) and some water. I then leave them alone to bond. Any eggs that haven't hatched we keep until they are hatched, as the mother would get off of them otherwise.
The crate I put them in is about 4 ft long and 2.5 ft wide and is practically predator proof. They are kept in here the first few days to a week and then let out into a larger, chicken tractor sized pen where they stay for the next 3-4 weeks of life, until they are strong enough to take any attacks the other chickens may have towards them (rare) and not to drown in the deep water dishes I have. If your chickens aren't aggressive and the waterers aren't dangerous you could let them out much earlier.
A mother doesn't have to peck to protect her chickens, she actually leaps at anyone trying to hurt her babies, spreading out her wings and growling. The other hens may chase chicks away from food and water, but they usually aren't mean (I've only had one mean hen). Just make sure the chicks get starter food when young (the mother can eat it to) and aren't bullied away from it by the bigger chickens.

I hope this helps. Best of luck with your broody!

Pip with her four "dalmatian" chicks, in a smaller dog crate


Princess with her chicks (I think 5) in the crate


Sandy, a leghorn, with her three chicks in the crate


Susie, the dalmatian chick seen above all grown up with her own chicks, inside the crate

 

[PeachygirlGA]

Thank you! You have been a big help!
My other hens are getting in there to lay their eggs, so I marked the 5 that she is laying on and remove the others. I will plan to let them hatch in the box and then move to the other coop. I wanted more than 5, but that is all I had at the time. If this works I may let her hatch again! She is a really sweet hen and follows me around the yard and lets me hold her. She will let me move her around and look at the eggs with usually just a little light growling noise. I'm going to try and take a picture tomorrow.

 

[bobbi-j]

I do things a bit differently. I separate my broodies while they're incubating and reintegrate them when the chicks are a week or two old while the hen is still fiercely protective. My rooster also breaks things up when the other hens try to start something. Other experienced chicken keepers here on BYC just leaves the broody right in with the flock without any problems. I did that a couple of years ago with a broody that absolutely would not stay where I tried to put her. It worked just fine.

 

[PeachygirlGA]

Hmmm, you mean don't move them at all? I'm just wondering how my chicks will get food and water. The box is not real big. The coop that I was going to move them to is adjoining.

 

[bobbi-j]

The mama will teach them to eat and drink. You can put in a couple of chick waterers for the flock to share. In my opinion, broody raised chicks are much healthier and smarter than people-raised chicks. What usually happens is, the hen will stay on the nest for about a day or so when after the chicks start hatching. She'll leave the nest with them once she feels they're all hatched. (The chicks can go for about 72 hours without food or water because they've absorbed the yolk sac.) If they are in a nest off the ground, you may want to take them out after you think all that are going to hatch have done so, and put them on the floor. Mama will take over from there.

 

[PeachygirlGA]

Ok, thanks! Well, I went out this morning to check and 2 of my 5 eggs were broken. Darn it! Now I don't know whether to start over or let her continue with the 3 left that are on day 3. I have noticed our egg shells have been a little on the brittle side lately, so maybe they are not even good for hatching?

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm sorry to hear that.
If its only on day three I would probably start over. You could let her keep some of the eggs and add new, but then they will hatch at different times. Choose eggs that are normal in shape, have a firm, normal shell that isn't too thick or too thin. Collect all the eggs you want over the next day and then slip them under her in the evening.

 

[PeachygirlGA]

I got 7 eggs today, so I am thinking of just replacing the 3 with 6 more. Can we still eat the 3 eggs that she has been sitting on for 3 days?

 

[GitaBooks]

I wouldn't suggest you eat them, since they have developing chicks in them.