From incubator to broody hen: when to transition

[fisherlady]

Just please remember, not all hens are ready for chicks until after they have sat for a while, be very observant of her behavior when they hatch, some hens will flat out refuse chicks until they have sat for a couple of weeks...there is just no way to tell until you try. And staggering chick ages is risky to the young ones, so be prepared to rescue them and raise them in a brooder if they struggle to keep up.

 

[Miss Guinea Longtail]

Hi everyone it’s been ten years since I hatched, but I tried it and it’s going well got 13 out of 29 on my 21st day ( yesterday ). And more Eggs are still hatching baby’s are doing great, but I have a question my Cozy Coop Heater does not arrive till end of day tomorrow, UPS
can I keep my baby’s in the incubator that long it will be approximately 48 to 50 hours from the very first chick that hatched, and if so should I put food and water in with them just to be safe,?

 

[Redhead Rae]

Hi everyone it’s been ten years since I hatched, but I tried it and it’s going well got 13 out of 29 on my 21st day ( yesterday ). And more Eggs are still hatching baby’s are doing great, but I have a question my Cozy Coop Heater does not arrive till end of day tomorrow, UPS
can I keep my baby’s in the incubator that long it will be approximately 48 to 50 hours from the very first chick that hatched, and if so should I put food and water in with them just to be safe,?

You can keep them in the incubator for up to 72 hours without food/water if necessary. Honestly, a cozy coop heater probably won't work well for baby chicks. If I remember correctly it is oriented vertically not horizontally. You need a heater plate or a Heating pad cave (others on here call it a Mama Heating Pad or MHP) for your chicks. Something that is oriented in a horizontal direction so the chicks can crawl underneath of it (like they would a mother hen) and touch their backs to it to get warm. If you can go to a drug store and get an electric heater pad that has an option to turn the auto-off feature off, that is your best bet for keeping your chicks warm. Just drape it over a wire frame and wrap it to make sure a chick cant get stuck between the frame and the pad.

 

[Miss Guinea Longtail]

You can keep them in the incubator for up to 72 hours without food/water if necessary. Honestly, a cozy coop heater probably won't work well for baby chicks. If I remember correctly it is oriented vertically not horizontally. You need a heater plate or a Heating pad cave (others on here call it a Mama Heating Pad or MHP) for your chicks. Something that is oriented in a horizontal direction so the chicks can crawl underneath of it (like they would a mother hen) and touch their backs to it to get warm. If you can go to a drug store and get an electric heater pad that has an option to turn the auto-off feature off, that is your best bet for keeping your chicks warm. Just drape it over a wire frame and wrap it to make sure a chick cant get stuck between the frame and the pad.

Thank you Redhead Rae I made one last week ( a Mama Heating Pad) and questioned myself if I should not go homade this time” so I purchased one, ( cozy coop ) sometimes I over think things lol, ya maybe I’ll go find all the mama stuff again and get it set back up in the Brooder. Again thanks for assuring me I’m ok I get So nervousness this time around must be my age I don’t remember being so worried 10 years ago.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Redhead's suggestion of the heating pad cave is an excellent one.
If you will be hatching frequently, I highly recommend the Premier 1 heat plates.
I made my own Ohio Hover brooders that can take care of up to 100 chicks but for smaller batches I have a small and an extra small heat plate.
https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/heating-plates-and-covers
Before finishing the second brood of chicks they will already pay for themselves in electric savings over using a heat lamp.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Redhead's suggestion of the heating pad cave is an excellent one.
If you will be hatching frequently, I highly recommend the Premier 1 heat plates.
I made my own Ohio Hover brooders that can take care of up to 100 chicks but for smaller batches I have a small and an extra small heat plate.
https://www.premier1supplies.com/p/heating-plates-and-covers
Before finishing the second brood of chicks they will already pay for themselves in electric savings over using a heat lamp.

I have a medium and and extra large of the premier plates and LOVE them. They are even great for outdoor brooders in temps in the teens (as low as i've tested them).

I just suggested the heating pad because they are easier to get, and cheaper.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You're right. You can just go to the drug store and 'voila', a brooder.
I'd say the heat plates are easier to clean than an electric blanket.
I definitely recommend the plastic dome cover though. Otherwise chicks will roost on them.
The legs can get brittle over time and break. They are hollow and almost impossible to glue if they break. Since you have two and use them, I highly recommend you call premier and order some extra legs. They have to order them so if one beaks, you would have to wait a while for a replacement. That wouldn't be great with baby chicks to keep warm. Mine were already out of warranty when the legs broke.
ETA
I just went to their website and they have the legs listed in stock. They're $3.80 each.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hello! I have 5 eggs in my incubator that about 14 days in. I had my BEST broody mama go broody on a handful of eggs (not sure if they are fertilized or not, due to a recent rooster injury). My question is, when should I move the eggs from the incubator to my broody hen?

My hen is the best broody hen I have ever heard of! She has successful hatches every Spring. Last year, she disappeared for a few weeks and came back with 16 chicks in tow!! I have no idea how she did hat, but I'm telling you she is very skilled! For this reason, I think she will adopt the 5 eggs and continue to sit on the others the extra weeks until they hatch. So my question is wrestling whether to move them out to her day 18 and day 1 out of their hatch? Any experience with this? TYIA

You've gotten some good input from others, but I'd thought I'd still chime in since you specifically asked me.

It is always risky to move precious eggs from an incubator to a brooding hen no matter how faithful the hen. If those eggs are irreplaceable, and you have good incubator skills, then hatch them in the incubator.

A hen generally needs a week to really settle into a good brood. I have pushed a very faithful Silkie into accepting mostly developed eggs and hatching within the first week of her brood. She stayed to the task, but she did fledge those chicks the earliest she ever fledged any chicks. Her hormone levels simply weren't as high as they normally would be.

It does take time for the hormones to build in the hen, which are increased by a pressure point in the breast bone. The hen also bonds with the chicks as she hears them move in the eggs. So forcing a newly brooding hen into early motherhood does have its risks.

Some hens are so nearly broody any given moment that they'll take anyone at any time. They are truly super broodies and deserve a star in the broody hall of fame.

I hear you are especially anticipating this batch of chicks, so with that in mind, as much as I prefer to brood with hens, I think you may be happiest to let them hatch in the incubator.

At that point, you can decide if you want to replace the developing eggs now under the hen with the freshly hatched chicks. Most likely she will accept them, but you can intervene if she does not turn to mothering immediately.

I would not attempt to let the hen sit on the current eggs with integration of the incubator chicks. You have too much age difference (what 2 weeks or so?). You will very likely end with a stressed hen who is confused as to whether she should sit or mother chicks. That ends in either abandoned eggs or neglected, or worse hazed, chicks.

Very, very few broodies can accomplish a split hatch with ease. For those, I think they have foot prints on a walk somewhere in Hollywood?

My thoughts. Good luck with your hatches
LofMc

 

[ChxLadyCass]

Just please remember, not all hens are ready for chicks until after they have sat for a while, be very observant of her behavior

Thank you! This is wise advice as well!

You've gotten some good input from others, but I'd thought I'd still chime in since you specifically asked me.

It is always risky to move precious eggs from an incubator to a brooding hen no matter how faithful the hen. If those eggs are irreplaceable, and you have good incubator skills, then hatch them in the incubator.

A hen generally needs a week to really settle into a good brood.
Very, very few broodies can accomplish a split hatch with ease. For those, I think they have foot prints on a walk somewhere in Hollywood?

My thoughts. Good luck with your hatches
LofMc

Thank you for this advice! I have learned a lot from this thread and hope others do as well! I think that if I had more time, I could have helped her get into broody mode. However, when I checked on her yesterday, she was up on the roost and no where near interested in the frozen eggs in the nest. She was not ready to brood just yet!

So, the incubator will indeed finish the job and I will move the new chicks to the brooder this weekend upon success! I think that she may have accepted the baby chicks as her own, but I am not going to risk it at this time!

It is a delicate balance to weighing the pros and cons of raising chicks myself vs. letting an experienced Mama take care of them! For example, knowing I am leaving town for 4 days and not wanting to rely on someone else to care for my new babes!

Again, I hope this helps others as well! Thank you all and I will let you know if I try this again in the future!

 

[aart]

However, when I checked on her yesterday, she was up on the roost

That pretty much ends any broody plans.