Getting ready to set and hatch with a broody, 1st timer with questions!

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

Howdy all,

I apologize if this isn't right forum to put this question. If there is a better place, please advise.

I am getting ready to have our Silkie girls finally be able to get their wish... sitting on eggs with a hopeful outcome (not the big mean human who takes all my eggs away... every day!).

So, here is our situation. My husband is coming home from a long distance business trip in 2 days where he is picking up 9 combined Silkie, Frizzle, Showgirl hatching eggs for us and driving home with them about 6 hours. Yes, He loves me just that much! I presently have 2 Silkies who want to do nothing but sit in their nests and 1 Buff Orpington that seems close behind and a Black Australorp close behind her. Hoping one of these gals will be more than happy to sit for us. We presently have 5 nest boxes for 22 girls to share. My plan was to put a nest box in our our built in brooder box with food and water for whatever hen will be the mama. We are planning to keep 2 of the hatch and selling the rest. I am curious about a couple of things:

1. What is the best way to get our broody to accept the eggs? Do I just slip them under her any time of the daytime hours? And if so, would I let her accept them in the nest box she chooses and then move her to the broody box location?

2. If more than 1 girl wants to sit, will it be hard to only have 4 out of my 5 boxes available for actual egg laying?

Any other tips and suggestions are welcome. I'd definitely like to hear from experienced broody hatchers. I have included our present nest boxes for reference as well as my thought about the built in brooder set-up.

 

[chickenmeadow]

My 1st time broody "Blue" just hatched the 4 viable eggs starting 1/28/18. I usually incubate, but wanted to try this & the broody was a champ at it. Only did this once so far as a planned effort & lucked out; had to keep other nosey hens out of her nest by sectioning just her nest off towards the end (with food & water); moved her & eggs when 1st chick hatched at 21 days to a dog crate nest in a separate section inside the coop (so they'd be socialized with the flock & she could get up & move around when needed); am still in that section waiting for hen to want to get away from them & chicks will be raised there till old enough to fit in with the mean hens out there (to be seen).

Pic is of inside my coop, with hen & chicks on bottom left out of their protected area to stretch with my supervision (another mean hen tried to eliminate the chicks about a week ago, broody & I got her away from chicks & they survived, so now I stand by & watch out). Other than that, it has been a wonderful experience for all & learned a lot for the future. So, have fun, it'll be great for you!

For lots of experienced advice try
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/hatch-a-longs.16184/

 

[lazy gardener]

Unless you have a hen who has been on the nest for 3 days and nights without break in the "broody routine", you will not likely have success getting someone to "go broody" just because there are eggs that need to be hatched. Are either of your silkies spending all day AND night in the nest???

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

Unless you have a hen who has been on the nest for 3 days and nights without break in the "broody routine", you will not likely have success getting someone to "go broody" just because there are eggs that need to be hatched. Are either of your silkies spending all day AND night in the nest???

I've had to pull out both Silkies and put them on the roost bar last night. So, I will let them stay there for the next 3 nights.. My Maple girl would happily live in her box if I let her!

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

@lazy gardener at bedtime tonight both of those Silkies were flat as pancakes in nest boxes again! So, I left them where they were... I could almost hear them thinking.. “it’s about time, you crazy chicken lady!”

 

[rebrascora]

I would move the silkie that seems most committed and her nest box to the brooder area before the hatching eggs arrive. That gives her a couple of days to hopefully settle in that location as moving them can upset them. It might be worth giving her a few of your own flocks eggs just to keep her happy, then swap them out when the hatching eggs arrive. There should be no problem swapping the eggs over. If she is properly broody she will not care which eggs are under her.
As regards giving some of the hatching eggs to another broody, that might not be a bad idea, so that if one proves fickle and gives up half way through, you have a back up mother that you can give the eggs to. That nest where the silkie is currently would do for your other one. You could always barricade it off like you have done with the brooder part or mark the hatching eggs and remove any extras each day. When you get close to hatching day, you could just place a cardboard box with holes punched in it over the nest to prevent other hens climbing in whilst the chicks are hatching if you decide not to create a second brooder pen or don't have time.

Good luck with your eggs and broodies. It is a wonderful experience to be part of and witness.

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

Ok, so the nest boxes are screwed into wall so they are semi permenant. Since I’ve never done this part before, I’ve got ideas that might not be feasible. My original thought was put Silkie and eggs in new nest spot in brooder... sounds like that isn’t too swell of an idea. Maybe I should leave the box in the brooder as an extra box for hens to lay during the whole process and move them up there if I observe any meanness after the hatch?

I know the nest box on the bottom (floor) is only used by my Silkie, Maple. Others might explore it, but she only lays in it. The other Silkie uses the top boxes with the other girls. I think I will split up the eggs, that sounds like a good back-up plan. I’m so excited to do this, but I feel the pressure is on to do it “right”!

 

[rebrascora]

Your problem in brooding in communal nests is that other hens may come in to lay in them and climb on top of broody and eggs. This can lead to eggs getting broken (less likely with small eggs like these will be) or chicks getting crushed as thy hatch. If the nest boxes are screwed to the wall, either unscrew one and move it down or place normal or fake eggs in the one in the brooder and move the broody down onto them after dark. You want her moved and settled for a day or two before you give her the hatching eggs.

 

[Little Coop on Salt Creek]

Your problem in brooding in communal nests is that other hens may come in to lay in them and climb on top of broody and eggs. This can lead to eggs getting broken (less likely with small eggs like these will be) or chicks getting crushed as thy hatch. If the nest boxes are screwed to the wall, either unscrew one and move it down or place normal or fake eggs in the one in the brooder and move the broody down onto them after dark. You want her moved and settled for a day or two before you give her the hatching eggs.

ok, so putting the eggs under her and THEN moving her and the eggs is backward thinking, right? I have another box just like the one she has claimed, so I could move her and that nest into the brooder and just replace it so we aren't down a box.. I'd have to check to see how easy it will be to remove. It was much easier when I thought I could just set her on the eggs of my choice in the location of my choice and she'd stay put!

 

[rebrascora]

If you move her and give her the hatching eggs, she might stay put, but she may not settle and your hatching eggs could spoil so it is better to get her moved to the brooder location for a couple of days before you give her the hatching eggs, just to make sure it all goes smoothly with the important eggs.
If you already have a nest made in the brooder, put some ordinary eggs in it and lift your broody onto them at night, when it is dark as she will be more likely to settle in the dark. If she stays on that nest for the next day or two, you can then swap the eggs out for the hatching eggs. The thing with broody hens is that they cannot tell one egg from another or count for that matter to know how many there are. But what they do know is where their nest is, so moving their nest is a much bigger deal than swapping eggs. In a more wild environment, they would make a nest away from other chickens and lay an egg into it each day until they have a clutch and then start to incubate them. Each day they come off the nest to eat, drink, poop and dust bath for 20 mins or so and then return to the nest.... so it is the nest site that is imprinted on them and some hens panic when they are moved from the nest site they have chosen and are desperate to get back to it and will not settle.... others are just happy to have a nest of eggs under them but if they are not confined they may return to the wrong nest after their daily broody break, especially if another hen has climbed onto their nest to lay in it whilst they were taking a break. They will sometimes climb into an adjoining nest box and then go into their broody trance and not get back onto the eggs when the other hen vacates the nest.
You have to understand how a broody hen works in order to give your hatching eggs the best chance. So many people who brood in communal nests find that the hen has abandoned the eggs or eggs have been broken or kicked out or chicks have been squashed and blame the broody when it is their poor set up and lack of understanding of broody hens that caused the problem.

If I were you, I would make a nest in the brooder, put 3-4 normal eggs in there and lift your most committed broody onto it at night and fasten her in. Check the next day to make sure she is still settled and swap out the normal eggs for the hatching eggs the following night or 2 nights later (depending on when you receive the eggs), if she is happy with the new set up. Bear in mind that eggs need humidity to hatch so completely dry bedding is not ideal. ... chickens are naturally ground nesting and a sod of earth turf, cut and turned upside down in the nesting box (ie dirt up) was the traditional nesting material given to a broody hen.