Incubating eggs with a broody and incubator and giving broody all pullets

[Redhead Rae]

This coming year, I want to work on increasing the number of layers I have as well as grow some roosters for freezer camp. I have my own stock and will be separating out breeding groups for hatching eggs. Ideally, I would like to raise the pullets with the flock and raise the cockerels separately as broilers so I can keep detailed records. I was originally going to hatch "Indian River Broilers" (Delaware roo over New Hampshire hens) but that would give me all white chicks that I can't sex at hatch. So I've decided to do the reverse cross (New Hampshire roo over Delaware hens) to give me red pullets and white cockerels.

To accomplish my goal of raising the pullets with the flock and the roosters as broilers, I was thinking I could give a dozen eggs to a broody and set another dozen in an incubator at the same time. At hatch I would take the roosters that the broody hatches and give her the pullets that the incubator hatches and raise the roosters separately as broilers. Does that sound like it is a workable plan or will that stress the hen out too much?

 

[Redhead Rae]

I changed the title to make it more clear what I want to do.

 

[sdm111]

Should work I've hatched many with incubator and broodies but use broodies exclusively now. If I were to do what you want I would start the incubator eggs a day or two earlier. Imo it would be better to have chicks a couple days old than waiting for them to hatch and dry while the broody potentially would have already hatched her chicks. Incubators have so many variables aswell. I would also switch them at night so it's less stressful on the hen and by daylight it'll be like they were always hers.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When I set eggs under a broody I usually put some in the incubator as well. All the chicks go to the broody to raise. I've had a broody raise 15 chicks this way, another 16. Most broods are more in the 12 chick range. Time of year has something to do with it. In warmer weather the hen doesn't have to be able to cover all he chicks after just a few days and they grow pretty fast. I've had snakes eat eggs out from under a broody a couple of times plus I want a certain number of chicks fairly early in the year. I don't keep any to brood myself if I have a broody hen.

How well do you know your incubator? Even if you calibrate the thermometer and carefully tweak the incubation temperature it often takes a few hatches before you are fairly confident of the actual hatch date. It's not that unusual for the actual hatch to be a couple of days early or late. To make it even more complicated it's not that unusual for the eggs under a broody hen to hatch a day or two early or late. My broody hens consistently hatch one and quite often two full 24-hour days early. It's pretty rare that one goes a full 21 days. My incubator is the same. Hatch is normally a couple of days early but sometimes not.

Sometimes my hatches are over within 24 hours of the first one hatching. Sometimes my hatches drag on for over two full 24-hour days. That can be under a broody hen or in the incubator. People like to think there is something magical about 21 days but it's just a target. Often you don't hit the bull's eye.

I've had to scramble a few times but this uncertainty has only caused me a problem one time. A few eggs hatched a couple of days early under a broody and all the chicks were red. She took the chicks off the nest the next day. The incubator hatch was pretty much on time and included a coupe of black chicks. When I gave the broody the incubator chicks she accepted the red but rejected the black ones. I had to broody them myself. That same hen had raised a brood earlier in the year that had both red and black chicks. That time she just imprinted on the red ones.

How I give her the chicks depends on the timing of both hatches. If the incubator hatch is finished before the hen brings her brood off the nest I put the incubator chicks with her at night. That's always worked. If the broody brings her chicks off the nest before the incubator hatch is finished I leave her alone until I'm ready to add the incubator chicks. I have a shelter inside my electric netting run that I lock the hen in and I collect all her chicks an the incubator chicks in a shoebox. I dump that shoebox full of chicks in that shelter in the middle of the day. Other than the time one rejected the black chicks that has always worked.

What you are talking about is very workable. You are dealing with living animals so of course you'll have issues and moments, but you should be able to handle them. I don't see where your plan would stress the hen at all.

 

[Redhead Rae]

I've only had two broody hatches, I don't even have an incubator yet (which one to get for 1-2 dozen eggs is probably a topic for another thread). Both my broody hatches happened on day 20. My latest got her eggs late Sunday evening three weeks ago and they all hatched yesterday. I won't be doing this until early spring at least because the pullets I want to use for this project just started laying and I need their eggs to get bigger before attempting this.

 

[Morrigan]

You could have your broody sit on fake eggs, hatch everything in the incubator, and then slip the pullet chicks under her (best done at night, and I have found it helps to put a broken egg shell or two in there at the same time). That way you don't have to worry about synching the broody hatch with the incubator hatch.

When I let the broody sit on some eggs, and put some in the incubator, I had the incubator eggs hatch first. The broody adopted all the incubator chicks, but then abandoned her nest. I had to put "her" eggs in the incubator and then, when they hatched, she didn't want them. I had to separately brood them, which was a bit of a hassle.

 

[Redhead Rae]

You could have your broody sit on fake eggs, hatch everything in the incubator, and then slip the pullet chicks under her (best done at night, and I have found it helps to put a broken egg shell or two in there at the same time). That way you don't have to worry about synching the broody hatch with the incubator hatch.

I gave my most recent mama fake eggs to see how serious she was about being broody. She settled down some, but was still laying eggs and getting up 15 min at a time 5-6 times a day. Once I gave her real eggs, she settled in, stopped laying her own eggs and I had to remove her from the nest once a day so she would eat and drink. There was only 2-3 times she got off the nest herself. I was amazed that she noticed the difference. Although, maybe she didn't think she had enough in the nest. I only had 5 fakes in there and I gave her a dozen real eggs. She is a good mama. Out of the 10 eggs that survived the first week (two broke because of thin shells) all of them hatched.

 

[Feather Fanatic 2000]

I think what you are suggesting is very doable. I think the brinsea octagon can support the numbers you are talking about with the reliability you need. (The chicken-chick talks about it a lot on her blog) Hens are generally more reliable and typically hatch their eggs a little sooner, so I would put the eggs in the incubator one day before giving the others to the hen. From what I've read, there are two important factors for giving chicks to broody hens.
(1) The hen accepting the chicks. The hen needs to be willing to accept more babies, and most things I've read generally tell you to give them to her at night. Also, if the incubator eggs hatch first, make sure to wait until after most of the broody's eggs have hatched or at least started, that way she doesn't feel incline to leave her nest.
(2)The chicks accepting the hen. Although it isn't as common, chicks sometimes won't imprint on their adoptive mom. You can usually avoid this as long as they are still very young.

I think you have a great idea, and I hope you have lots of luck!

 

[lazy gardener]

I like your idea. RR has given you excellent advice, and I agree with all of her points. I like your outside-the-box thinking. It's great that you have the breeds that you can use to create sex links. Have you read the "sex linked information" thread? That first post is IMO one of the most valuable posts of all time here on BYC.

Setting up a bator with eggs at the same time you set eggs to your broody is a wonderful plan, and if I ever have a broody choose to set when I'm willing to deal with chicks, that would be my plan also. Even better yet, to pull her cockerels, and slip more pullets under her!

This paragraph is long winded, please feel free to skip it.
On the reverse side of the above statement, I am hoping against all hope that I will have a spring pullet. My current avatar roo will be 4 years old this spring. I am trying to integrate a BE cockerel into the flock, but he's not catching on to dating etiquette. My fear is that Jack (the older EE roo) will not be able to successfully sire the next generation. So, I'm left with the undesirable option of maintaining a separate bachelor pad through our long winter simply to keep a back up roo. Either Jack or the BE will give me the sex links with small combs that I want, but Jack throws the blue egg gene... a very desirable trait for me. So... the end of this very long winded paragraph is: I want a broody raised cockerel in the spring.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I want a broody raised cockerel in the spring.

I know broody raised and all that gets a lot play on the forum, but I think you'll find that a cockerel raised with the flock much like you do counts much more than whether or not his first few weeks were spent with a broody hen. Don't get me wrong, I really like my broody hens but I am happy with a cockerel raised with the flock, whether or not a broody is involved.