Help with broody hens!!

[Jferlisi]

Ok so if the hen is sleeping in the box and is in there for a few days and not laying. She is broodie. Silkies tend to be among the group that go broodie the most. So once you know she is broodie, you can either let her sit on fertile eggs, which will take 21 days to hatch. Or you can get some day old chicks and put them under her at night, this method doesn't always work, it just depends on the hen. You can keep her where she is or put her in a "brooder" which is a pin where she can sit on her babies and they can grow up till mixing them it the main flock. It all depends on what you want. When she is sitting you will want to have food and water close at hand so she doesn't have to go far. I like to go out there and put the food and water infront of her so she can eat and drink while sitting and then i move it back to where it is in here brooder. If you have her in her own little brooder then you will want to take her out about ever day so she can do her business. Like has been stated make sure you mark if you dont split her since others will mostlikely add to her clutch. Also broodieness is a hormonal think so you cant force them and its on there schedule. You can candle them to see if anything is growing but dont do it to much cause you can damage them. They will sit on anything also, from fake eggs to golf balls. Hope this helps you.

Oh when the chicks hatch you will want to give them starter feed.

 

[Cowgirl71]

Just wanted to add that I've had Orpington hens hatch out turkey eggs, guinea eggs, and duck eggs, in addition to chicken eggs.

 

[PrestonSloan08]

So how many eggs can a silkie sit on?

 

[Jferlisi]

Quote:
I have read 6 LF eggs but im afraid to put more than 4 under mine.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If the eggs are fertile(good rooster and appropriate roo/hen ratio) I get 100% success with a broodie.

 

[PrestonSloan08]

Haha what does LF mean?

 

[cwalsh2]

I have hatched a lot of chicks under broody hens. 100% hatches are the norm. If your broody hen is a gentler breed, you can move her almost anywhere to another nest of eggs at night. My mother showed me how when I was around 10 years old(50 years ago). She would pick the hen off her nest at night (very gently), Spin her in a circle 4 or 5 times so she can't tell she has been moved. Set her on the prepared nest of eggs in another location. If they are not in a pen they may(10% or less) move back on the original nest, but this is rare. I tried to set them in a small pen with food and water nearby. Give her some corn(free choice) in addition to her regular feed, and in 21 days you should have 12 baby chicks. If she pushes an egg out from under her, toss it. She will inspect her eggs every day and push out any that smell bad. Once she leaves the nest with her chicks, she recognizes every one of them. If you try and slip another one under her she will kill it. At least my game chickens always did. It is best to let them set byoody for 4-5 days so they are seriously broody. A hen will usually go broody within a week if you keep a dozen eggs, golf balls,ceramic eggs etc. in the nest. When I used bantams or Aracaunas for broody hens everything I tried worked. Even hatching ducks. My games on the other hand were very intelligent. I tried hatching ringneck pheasants under one and she killed them all because she could tell they were not hers. Another time I had eggs from a BB red and eggs from a grey, under a grey hen, and she killed the red chicks and raised the greys. Good Luck Cal

 

[PrestonSloan08]

So If I put some eggs in her nest, will she eventually sit on them?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Probably not.
Firstly it needs to be a breed that tends to be broody.
Then they need to have the urge to raise a family.

 

[cat1994]

If it is a Silkie hen it may work, I would use fake eggs or golf balls that way you don't have to worry about them getting old or smashed that could work but it is really up to what the hormons of the hen.