Hatching eggs

[lauren212]

I have a hen that went broody and I let her keep 4 eggs to try and hatch. It’s 8 days in and I checked last night with a flashlight and looks like all 4 of them are developing. I hear a lot of people let the hen raise them within the flock. Right now the nest box is 5 inches off the ground. The eggs are marked and the other 4 hens still lay in that box. Do I wait for them to hatch then move them to the ground area or should I do it a few days before. I was thinking of building a cage area with the front open so the hen can still mingle with the flock. Any ideas this is my first time hatching.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You'll find that we do this all sorts of different ways. I personally let my broody hens hatch with the flock and raise the chicks with the flock. For their own reasons some people isolate their hens during incubation, hatch, or even when the hen is raising them.

I mark my eggs and check under the broody hen every day after the others have laid to remove any that don't belong, these are still good to eat as long as you remove them every day.

I've seen a broody hen get a brood down from a 10 feet high hay loft. Mama flew down, said jump,and they did. Then they popped up and ran to Mama. The nests mine typically hatch in are 2 to 3 feet off the coop floor. I don't worry about how high the nest is off the floor but I do have a warning. One time a hen hatched in a cat litter bucket with a top of 7-1/2" x 11-1/2". That 7-1/2" dimension was too small and the top was wide open. Some early baby chicks like to crawl up on Mama's back while they are waiting for the last eggs to hatch. The hen was sitting so close to the side of the nest that when the chicks fell off they missed the nest and fell about 4' to the coop floor. Four different times I picked chicks up from the coop floor and put them back in her nest. They were not hurt by that fall and I retired that bucket nest when that hatch was over. The height of the nest doesn't bother me nut how close the hen is sitting to the side of the nest could.

I never think of moving a broody hen and her chicks from the nest to the coop floor. Don't believe that all eggs hatch in 21 days. That's a good target but even under a broody hen the eggs can hatch as much as two full days early or late. When a chick internal pips it starts peeping and talking to Mama. She knows when on is on the way, even before an external pip. I've had some hatches under broody hens and in incubators that were totally over within 24 hours of the first one hatching. I've had some hatches with broodies or in my incubator that drag on for over two full days. I've had broody hens bring their chicks off the nest within 24 hours of the first one hatching, I've had broodies wait until well into the third day to tell them to jump down. Since she knows better than I do when the hatch is over I let her make the decision of when to tell the chicks to hop down.

The way my hatches typically go is that I remove the unmarked eggs daily until the hatch starts. I've never had another hen lay an egg in the nest once the hatch starts, others probably have. You will find there are exceptions to everything but that's one I've never experienced. Once the hatch starts I leave the hen alone but make sure food and water is on the coop floor so a chick can get to them. That's all I do until the hen brings the chicks off the nest. Then I clean out the nest and put fresh bedding in.

Once the chicks are on the coop floor I do one of two things. I may just leave them alone. Usually the hen keeps the chicks in the coop for a couple of days before she takes them outside. My pop door is about a foot off the coop floor and I stack pavers to form a stairway so the chicks can hop up and down, inside and out. If she had an easier way to get them in and out she might leave earlier. Our coops and set-ups are all different so we get different results. Once she starts taking them out she keeps them out all day, but brings them back inside to sleep at night. I have food and water inside and out, plus a lot of grassy area for them. If I had a bare run and the food and/or water was only inside she would probably bring them back in during the day. As I said, different set-ups.

At night my broody hens do not take their chicks to a nest. They settle down on the coop floor, often but not always in a corner. Since your nest is so close to floor she may take them back there to sleep. Those chicks can easily hop up 5".

When my coop is getting pretty crowded, instead of just leaving them alone after she brings them off the nest I may put the broody and her chicks in a shelter in my area fenced in with electric netting. I leave them locked in that shelter for two nights, then open the door an let her take the chicks out with the rest of the flock. They return to that shelter every night so I can lock them up for predator protection. That's basically it, in either case the broody raises mine with the flock. Others do it differently for their own reasons but I'll let them tell you about that.

Another warning. Baby chicks like to crawl up under the hen's feathers, including wings. If you pick up a broody hen be careful. I once crushed and killed a chick that had crawled up under the hens wings when I picked her up. Trust me, that is not a good feeling. I still pick up a broody when I have a need to, but I don't do it unnecessarily.

Something I think worth mentioning. My coop is large. My outside area is much bigger than that 10 square feet in the run that is often mentioned on here. If your chickens are shoehorned into a tiny area, isolating the hen may be a good idea. Of course if you are that tight you will likely have trouble integrating the chicks later. But we have differences that may make one way work better than other ways. What works for me may not work for you. That's one reason I consider it a good thing for others to tell you how they do it. It's not that one way is right and other ways are wrong, it's more that many different ways can work but circumstances may point you in a certain direction.

Good luck! It can be stressful, especially the first time, but you will probably enjoy seeing a broody and her chicks.

 

[lauren212]

You'll find that we do this all sorts of different ways. I personally let my broody hens hatch with the flock and raise the chicks with the flock. For their own reasons some people isolate their hens during incubation, hatch, or even when the hen is raising them.

I mark my eggs and check under the broody hen every day after the others have laid to remove any that don't belong, these are still good to eat as long as you remove them every day.

I've seen a broody hen get a brood down from a 10 feet high hay loft. Mama flew down, said jump,and they did. Then they popped up and ran to Mama. The nests mine typically hatch in are 2 to 3 feet off the coop floor. I don't worry about how high the nest is off the floor but I do have a warning. One time a hen hatched in a cat litter bucket with a top of 7-1/2" x 11-1/2". That 7-1/2" dimension was too small and the top was wide open. Some early baby chicks like to crawl up on Mama's back while they are waiting for the last eggs to hatch. The hen was sitting so close to the side of the nest that when the chicks fell off they missed the nest and fell about 4' to the coop floor. Four different times I picked chicks up from the coop floor and put them back in her nest. They were not hurt by that fall and I retired that bucket nest when that hatch was over. The height of the nest doesn't bother me nut how close the hen is sitting to the side of the nest could.

I never think of moving a broody hen and her chicks from the nest to the coop floor. Don't believe that all eggs hatch in 21 days. That's a good target but even under a broody hen the eggs can hatch as much as two full days early or late. When a chick internal pips it starts peeping and talking to Mama. She knows when on is on the way, even before an external pip. I've had some hatches under broody hens and in incubators that were totally over within 24 hours of the first one hatching. I've had some hatches with broodies or in my incubator that drag on for over two full days. I've had broody hens bring their chicks off the nest within 24 hours of the first one hatching, I've had broodies wait until well into the third day to tell them to jump down. Since she knows better than I do when the hatch is over I let her make the decision of when to tell the chicks to hop down.

The way my hatches typically go is that I remove the unmarked eggs daily until the hatch starts. I've never had another hen lay an egg in the nest once the hatch starts, others probably have. You will find there are exceptions to everything but that's one I've never experienced. Once the hatch starts I leave the hen alone but make sure food and water is on the coop floor so a chick can get to them. That's all I do until the hen brings the chicks off the nest. Then I clean out the nest and put fresh bedding in.

Once the chicks are on the coop floor I do one of two things. I may just leave them alone. Usually the hen keeps the chicks in the coop for a couple of days before she takes them outside. My pop door is about a foot off the coop floor and I stack pavers to form a stairway so the chicks can hop up and down, inside and out. If she had an easier way to get them in and out she might leave earlier. Our coops and set-ups are all different so we get different results. Once she starts taking them out she keeps them out all day, but brings them back inside to sleep at night. I have food and water inside and out, plus a lot of grassy area for them. If I had a bare run and the food and/or water was only inside she would probably bring them back in during the day. As I said, different set-ups.

At night my broody hens do not take their chicks to a nest. They settle down on the coop floor, often but not always in a corner. Since your nest is so close to floor she may take them back there to sleep. Those chicks can easily hop up 5".

When my coop is getting pretty crowded, instead of just leaving them alone after she brings them off the nest I may put the broody and her chicks in a shelter in my area fenced in with electric netting. I leave them locked in that shelter for two nights, then open the door an let her take the chicks out with the rest of the flock. They return to that shelter every night so I can lock them up for predator protection. That's basically it, in either case the broody raises mine with the flock. Others do it differently for their own reasons but I'll let them tell you about that.

Another warning. Baby chicks like to crawl up under the hen's feathers, including wings. If you pick up a broody hen be careful. I once crushed and killed a chick that had crawled up under the hens wings when I picked her up. Trust me, that is not a good feeling. I still pick up a broody when I have a need to, but I don't do it unnecessarily.

Something I think worth mentioning. My coop is large. My outside area is much bigger than that 10 square feet in the run that is often mentioned on here. If your chickens are shoehorned into a tiny area, isolating the hen may be a good idea. Of course if you are that tight you will likely have trouble integrating the chicks later. But we have differences that may make one way work better than other ways. What works for me may not work for you. That's one reason I consider it a good thing for others to tell you how they do it. It's not that one way is right and other ways are wrong, it's more that many different ways can work but circumstances may point you in a certain direction.

Good luck! It can be stressful, especially the first time, but you will probably enjoy seeing a broody and her chicks.

Thanks so much. That was the best information I could have received. My coop is small but they free range in the day in about 1/4 acre of space so it shouldn’t be an issue. Right now I only have two nest boxes and they all use the one she is in. Only have 4 other hens. Should I put a divider in between these two or will they just sort it out when the chicks are born. Thanks again