How many just let your broodies do the work? Update post #32 Pictures!

[Kiwibird]

I do not lift broodies off eggs or chicks any more, as I have found that mine will sometimes hold eggs or chicks under them, so they lift these as well. These can be hidden out of sight by the puffed out feathers. I am concerned about the risk of dropping them, and breaking eggs or harming newly hatched chicks.

You mentioned two false starts to sitting with your broodies. My original broody hen, who has been reliable in the past, hopped off the nest this year after sitting on expensive bought eggs for five days. It took me 24 hours to buy another broody and get her onto the eggs. Unbelievably, more than half of them still hatched! The miracle of life can be wonderfully tenacious, it seems!

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

She is still on the nest. Flatter then ever.
All you see is a pile of feathers, with a beak and two beady eyes peaking out one end.
Unless she got up in the night, the only movement I have observed, is her making 1/4 turns every 5-6 hours.
She is seriously burrowed into the hay

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Here she is. She blinked when I snapped the photo

 

[krzybo]

How sweet mother nature is. Love the photo.

 

[hunt4meat]

I was worried about my hen(s) last year when they were not getting off the nest, but eventually they got hungry.

I had 2 hens sitting on the same nest/same eggs back in the summer. This is what turned out:



5 chicks out of 12 eggs made it to now (2 1/2 hatches, 4 non-fertiles, and 1 drowned in the water bowl), 2 roosters, and 3 hens.

I am waiting on them to start setting again this spring and I will let them do their magic again. Even if it does take them both to hatch 'em out.

 

[Shared Acres]

I'm getting rid of my incubator to let my girls do all the work--I have Silkies & Showgirls so they are always broody!

I have had them broody in my bathtub before and I would pick up momma take her outside and put her on the grass and she would do her business and then I would either let her eat grass for a minute or put her back in the tub where food would be waiting.

 

[IggiMom]

I had an odd experiene last year when I let a broody hatch out two little Serama chicks. It was cute, because she was a Jersey Giant.

But, she really made a pain of herself. She did a good job of raising the chicks, but she was so protective of them that she wouldn't let anyone else eat.

The whole coop went around in terror of her.

Also, just for the heck of it, apparently, she chased another broody off her eggs.

She was one aggressive bird.

Right, right, I know she shouldn't have been in with anyone else, but it was a BIG room, and just her and that other broody. I lost the eggs under the other one.

Then, it was when I let her out with her new babies, that she went happily around terrorizing every other bird in the coop.

Phooey.

I may, possibly, brood some this summer. I'm not sure. Besides the above, I had a couple other bad experiences with broodies, and I am just not sure I want to do it again.

Catherine

 

[LaSombra]

I agree with the others in that she'll know when to get off the nest and such.

My broody orpington sat on the nest for 5 days straight before she took a break. I was getting worried for her and brought her little sips of water, which she did take from a little 1/4 cup measuring cup. Then she started getting off the nest every morning for a break when I let the chickens out. She does it every morning now

Love the pic of your momma hen. She looks great!

 

[MrRoy]

I just got 6 fertile eggs for my broody BO today from a neighbor. She has been broody since her sister mysteriously died on the nest last week. I let her set on her last egg until I got the fertile ones. We'll see how it goes. A question I have is; should I take the chicks away if/when they hatch? If so, at what age? 2-3 days? I will obviously have to give them thier own food and water.

 

[IggiMom]

If I do hatch chicks out with a broody, I like to let her do the work of raising them. It is nice, though, to put them in a separate place, if you have one.

Catherine