Helping a broody, Need advice

[mopsee2000]

I did not take the eggs out and put them in a brooder as I just found out that these things existed. I am researching brooders to buy for the next time.

 

[farnorth]

Just a suggestion. Next time one of your hens goes broody give her 10 eggs all at the same time on the same day. Mark them and do not add any after that day and if the other hens lay any in her nest remove those. Then they will all hatch at the same time within about a day of each other and you would not need to use a brooder as the hen would raise all the chicks for you.

If those eggs hatch tomorrow you will want to be carefull, the older chicks who are about 3 weeks old could possibly hurt them, peck them, trample them....they will also compete with them for food etc while they are newly hatched and vulnerable. That is why it's better to have them all hatch together and be the same age.

 

[mopsee2000]

I put another hen in with the eggs and she is laying on them. I let the babies and the mother out into the flock. They are sticking close to mom but the other chickens are taking them in and treating them good. I hope I made the right decision but the eggs are blocked off with an Easter Egger sitting on them. The mother and 2 chicks are roaming like it is their home. I cannot wait until tomorrow. I wont get my hopes up as they went hours at a time not being laid on. One day was at least 8 hours. Now the EE is on the eggs full time since about 4 am. Who am I kidding. My hopes are UP UP UP UP

 

[Pyxis]

I would just give the EE fresh eggs. You said the eggs were two and half weeks old already, right? So about 17-18 days? That would mean if they were going to hatch you'd have chicks in about three days. I wouldn't get your hopes up though. Since she wasn't really sitting on them chances are they haven't really developed and are dead.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hens recognize their chicks. A new chick piping 17 or 18 days later will often meet a cruel fate at the beak of its own mother. If you desire chicks, and want a hen to hatch them, collect the eggs 1 or 2 times per day until you have 15 eggs and store them like they should be stored, then put them under your sitting or broody hen, preferably in the dead of the night removing any eggs you found in the nest when you gave her the eggs you want incubated. If a hen can recognize chicks she sure can't recognize her own eggs from those of another hens' Be sure to mark all the eggs you want incubated with a lead or graphite pencil so that three or four days later you can remove all the eggs not among the original 15.

Also provide a secure place for your setting hens to set in peace, quite, and seclusion. Seclusion goes a long way to insuring a successful hatch. Two or more hens attempting to lay eggs in or trying to hatch biddies in the same nest usually ends in disappointing results. Even the accidental breaking of one weak shelled egg or the explosion of a rotten egg can be enough to kill every embryo in the nest.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I put another hen in with the eggs and she is laying on them. I let the babies and the mother out into the flock. They are sticking close to mom but the other chickens are taking them in and treating them good. I hope I made the right decision but the eggs are blocked off with an Easter Egger sitting on them. The mother and 2 chicks are roaming like it is their home. I cannot wait until tomorrow. I wont get my hopes up as they went hours at a time not being laid on. One day was at least 8 hours. Now the EE is on the eggs full time since about 4 am. Who am I kidding. My hopes are UP UP UP UP

Like I have said here before... "A mother hen with new chicks will do all her baby chicks' heavy fighting for them until the chicks are old enough to either fight or flee with or from their own flock members.."

 

[mopsee2000]

Thank you for all the advice. I feel like I am back in college only I don't have to pay tuition. One more question. I am thinking of buying a few more hens for the coop. I looked at several but one was a silver laced wyandotte. Now I looked at efowl's description. It say infrequently broody and further on it reads, "excellent mother.' I thought that's what broody meant. How can you not go broody but be an excellent mother?

 

[mopsee2000]

my biggest mistake was not being more diligent about learning. There were a bunch of eggs under her so I took them to make an omelet. She snapped at me. This was the first to peck me for taking eggs. So I left 2 eggs behind. The two eggs hatch on April 25. When I noticed my first two kids, I mean the chicks, she had about 7 eggs under her. Eggs were added until May 1. That was the last added. By then there were 20. I took 2 to candle. I saw nothing. It was my first time and I messed up. I thought there was nothing but upon hatching there was a chick and according to the chart it was on day 18. I killed it. My candling days were over. The other egg, I dropped and it looked like about day 6 or 7 day old. E.G. a little fetus. Her and the kids were free to roam the flock yesterday but when I tried to return them to the barn to lay on the remaining eggs, I could not catch the kids. So what I thought was just leave the mother behind but she yelled and screamed from the barn and the kids yelled from out side the door. No one laid on eggs. When I tried to capture the chicks again, they ran away. And they were fast. So I let her out and put another hen in with the eggs. So I have a chart now. I write everything down. Wish I would have done that sooner.

 

[farnorth]

my biggest mistake was not being more diligent about learning. There were a bunch of eggs under her so I took them to make an omelet. She snapped at me. This was the first to peck me for taking eggs. So I left 2 eggs behind. The two eggs hatch on April 25. When I noticed my first two kids, I mean the chicks, she had about 7 eggs under her. Eggs were added until May 1. That was the last added. By then there were 20. I took 2 to candle. I saw nothing. It was my first time and I messed up. I thought there was nothing but upon hatching there was a chick and according to the chart it was on day 18. I killed it. My candling days were over. The other egg, I dropped and it looked like about day 6 or 7 day old. E.G. a little fetus. Her and the kids were free to roam the flock yesterday but when I tried to return them to the barn to lay on the remaining eggs, I could not catch the kids. So what I thought was just leave the mother behind but she yelled and screamed from the barn and the kids yelled from out side the door. No one laid on eggs. When I tried to capture the chicks again, they ran away. And they were fast. So I let her out and put another hen in with the eggs. So I have a chart now. I write everything down. Wish I would have done that sooner.

A chart is a really good idea.

Yes once they have chicks they are really hard to keep track of and to get them to do what you want. I have a hen with seven 6 1/2 week old chicks and the little brats run everywhere when I want to get them inside.

 

[farnorth]

Thank you for all the advice. I feel like I am back in college only I don't have to pay tuition. One more question. I am thinking of buying a few more hens for the coop. I looked at several but one was a silver laced wyandotte. Now I looked at efowl's description. It say infrequently broody and further on it reads, "excellent mother.' I thought that's what broody meant. How can you not go broody but be an excellent mother?

LOL not sure on that one. My Silver Laced Wyandotte died early this spring when she was about 7 months old so I never got to see if they go broody.

Maybe they only go broody once in a great while but when they do they are really good at it? LOL

My best broody breeds are Buff Orpington and Black Australorp.

I can be hard to add hens to your coop though. I tried it and it didn't work out very well. The hens all fought and I eventually had to get rid of most of them and start over with chicks that were raised together....others have better luck at it than I do.