Help With Hatching Chicks and Broody Hens!!

[HannahL]

Hi all,

So I recently added a rooster to my flock. He’s absolutely wonderful and very sweet. Really a great roo. Sweet with the hens and a total cuddle bunny with people. He’s about a year old and I’m thinking about letting one of my hens go broody in the spring. However, I already have a flock of six and don’t wanna end up with 15 chickens So, I’m wondering how many chicks a broody hen can realistically hatch. I’ve got a Buff Brahma, Lavender Orpington, Barred Plymouth Rock, Partridge Olive Egger, and Golden Laced Wyandotte for hens. The Barred Rock and Olive Egger are the smallest so I’d probably let them go broody over the others since they’ll hatch fewer chicks. But I’m not convinced the Olive Egger would be a good mother, so right now I’m stuck between the Barred Rock or Orpington. Even if they were to sit on 10 eggs or something, how many would realistically end up hatching? And if they were to sit in a nest with other hens’ eggs, would they be able to tell the difference if they hatched? And do hens go broody naturally if the eggs are fertilized or do you have to sort of help them along? Sorry if these are self explanatory questions. I’ve never hatched chicks before so I’m very new to the whole thing! Thanks so much in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond!

 

[aart]

I’m thinking about letting one of my hens go broody in the spring.

Do you mean letting one set and hatch?
Because they decide whether to go broody or not.

However, I already have a flock of six and don’t wanna end up with 15 chickens

You don't need to let any of them set and hatch if one does go broody.
You can break their broodiness.
It's totally up to you.

 

[HannahL]

Do you mean letting one set and hatch?
Because they decide whether to go broody or not.

You don't need to let any of them set and hatch if one does go broody.
You can break their broodiness.
It's totally up to you.

Yes, I have some hens that continually try to go broody but I’ve always broken it. So I’m thinking about letting one of them continue the broodiness this spring. So yeah letting them set and hatch

 

[MountainWoman73]

Brainstorming: You could control the number of eggs in her nest by marking the ones you want her to keep and then removing any fresh eggs laid after that. Or you could wait and remove some after candling if there are too many. Or you could let her try to hatch as many as she wants and sell/give away the extras. But be prepared to end up with lots of roosters....

 

[HannahL]

Brainstorming: You could control the number of eggs in her nest by marking the ones you want her to keep and then removing any fresh eggs laid after that. Or you could wait and remove some after candling if there are too many. Or you could let her try to hatch as many as she wants and sell/give away the extras. But be prepared to end up with lots of roosters....

That’s a good idea! I think I’ll probably let her make her nest and collect any eggs that accumulate after that. Then I’ll do some candling and see if the number is alright. If not, I’ll just remove a couple. I’ll probably try and keep her clutch limited to around 6 eggs, especially since I know all of them probably won’t hatch anyways. And yeah, I’m getting myself ready for some more boys! I hope that my current roo isn’t too hard on the poor things