In Coop Broody Hen

[chickens802]

Hi Everyone, I currently have an in coop broody sitting on 8 eggs and she is about 12 days in. I am a first-time broody hen hatcher. So I have read lots and I know there are lots of people that really believe in separating the broody completely however that is not very practical for me. So here is the thing I have heard people say they just let their broody hatch chicks from the nesting box and go about amongst the flock no problem. However, I have also heard people say they have to section off a part of the coop and put the broody and their chicks in that area so the rest of the flock can't get to them for the first few days. Should I just let the hen figure it out on her own and keep watch for any trouble or should I section of an area of the chicks and momma for a while? If I section them off how long should I keep them separated?

 

[PippinTheChicken]

You don't have to section them off if you don't want to. I never do. The mama will protect her chicks if she's a good mama. It depends on how much run space you have.

 

[chickens802]

UPDATE:
UPDATE: Yesterday was hatch day (day 21) and I found that another egg had gone missing! However this time there was evidence, there was dried on yolk on 3 out of the 4 remaining eggs but there were no shells or any other evidence. Last night around dark I couldn't resist and I decided to examine the remaining eggs.

One I found had a circular spot of cracking like what you would see when you go to crack an egg to eat, and a line crack coming off of it. The other 3 showed no signs of cracking that I could see.

This morning when I was doing coop chores one of my other hens flew up onto the nest with the mom (Now named Momma Patty). At first, she was just clinging to the edge and pecking at the bedding in the front. Then she reaches over to the back of Momma Patty and started pecking there. At that point, I had had enough and kicked her out of the coop.

I am not sure that she was going for the eggs but I think it could be likely. I am not sure that the cracked egg was cracked because of a hatching chick I think it is likely that it was the other hen or a lack of bedding maybe. Momma Patty does not seem to like having a lot of bedding under her. I use nesting pads made of a fake straw mat I buy them on amazon. Momma Patty tore through the nesting pad in the box on the very first day when she was making her nest and threw most of it out onto the floor. Every time I check on her I try to add more bedding but it is almost all gone or pushed to the sides by the time I get back to her.

This morning there were no signs of progress that I could see.

A thought has just now occurred to me, was it bad for me to mess with the eggs yesterday if they are close to hatch. I have read a little bit about shrinkwrapping when the humidity changes in an incubator near hatch time. Could this happen when I take the eggs out from under her? I do know that Momma Patty was off her nest around 4:30 pm yesterday... Do broody hens stop getting off their nests when hatching is starting, say to avoid humidity and temperature changes to the egg? She is a first-time momma, however.

When do you think it would be a good idea to abandon the eggs? I was thinking that if they don't end up hatching I could get a few chicks from my local feed store to put under her. Should I try candling the eggs again... I was thinking I might tomorrow night if there are still no signs of progress but again is it bad to handle/turn the eggs if the chick is ready to hatch?

Thanks so much for reading, BYC is always my first stop for any chicken questions I have. Any advice is extremely appreciated.

 

[chickens802]

Update: I just candled under the cover of darkness. One egg had definite movement. Two others had no movement that I could see. They had the air cell, then a pretty much solid dark blob throughout the rest of the egg, I could see lots of veins on both. The last egg the one I thought might be cracked had an air cell then a less solid blob with lighter spots. Is it safe to say that the last one is no good and should be thrown?

I also didn't see any pipping.

This is my second time candling eggs so I don't know much but I have watched a few youtube videos and read a lot here on BYC. I think that the 3 "good eggs" had larger air cells than they should've...

When do you think that I should expect the hatch?

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

I can't tell you when they will hatch although it sounds like it will be soon. I tend to seperate my first time broodies as I don't know what kind of mothers they will be, but I only seperate them via a see don't touch plastic mesh fence. I would recommend that, as first time mamas can be a bit overzealous in keeping all the other hens away from their chicks, and chicks can get caught in the kerfuffle. It is easy enough to move the hen after the chicks have hatched, I wouldn't recommend moving her before they hatch since they're so far along.

 

[chickens802]

I can't tell you when they will hatch although it sounds like it will be soon. I tend to seperate my first time broodies as I don't know what kind of mothers they will be, but I only seperate them via a see don't touch plastic mesh fence. I would recommend that, as first time mamas can be a bit overzealous in keeping all the other hens away from their chicks, and chicks can get caught in the kerfuffle. It is easy enough to move the hen after the chicks have hatched, I wouldn't recommend moving her before they hatch since they're so far along.

Yes, I was planning to move her the first night that all chicks are hatched. I build a brooder space in the coop under the nest boxes (pic below). It is not overly big so I think I plan only keeping her and the chicks in there for the first week or so until babies a strong but if you have advice on that too I would be grateful.

I was wondering if I could still add some chicks under her once the others hatch especially if its only one that hatches. I have some chicks that hatch in the incubator about 3 days ago, 4 days old now but I don't know how old they will be on the actual hatch. Do you think that I could still introduce those to her with the younger ones or is the age difference not good?

Thanks again for helping me out!