Is incubation time for eggs the same when they're under a broody hen as when they're in an incubator

[Roxannemc]

I see you 2 have ongoing replys to each other for months but wondered if I might ask a question about chicks hatching under broodies
.
Ive incubated for 1 1/2 years but have just had 2 broody hatches so far and my third coming up today or tomorrow
My first broody 2 monthsago hatched 3 chicks the 4th hatched a day or 2 later When I saw him seemed to have his whole skin on his skull bloody and gone. Mom hen was over him didn't look like she was pecking but i removed him Later had to culled sadly didn't look like that bad it could heal and he couldnt stand .
Also later after that found a 1/2 hatched chick from an egg i put under her ...it was dead too.
Figured it smothered while hatching under her so removed the one other egg due the next day or 2 into my bator and it hatched successfully inside

Question... these babies .....do I need to take the babies out whenthye hatch? The nest shes in is in a tractor coop I made for them to lay eggs to eat never though about broody hens
I have a door to reach in but they are on the bottom of a 2 story thing so just barely can get an egg from the nest reaching .Nor sure I can wrestle under her to get any hatched chicks that she has they are due today I think or tomorrow
Been wondering if taking the eggs to the incubator now would be best rather than chance them dying.
I do have them sold already so don't want to chance loosing them.. Last she had were 2 babies and she was a good mom IF its the same hen I have 2 alike so not sure She never getsw off thenest though so so far good.
Ideas? .comments?

 

[DuckiesGarden]

Yeah, that crate is one of those dog crates. The ones you use to take your dog to the vet or whatever. A bix plastic box with vents along the top sides and a metal door that has a latch. I've got a bunch of them but never use them for the dogs so that's why I use them for the chicks. I made one for the cats too, I put their blankets and stuff in it. I find them used all the time real cheap, if you try and but them new they're EXSPENSIVE! Look around at yard sales or a thrift store if you want to find one. I took some pics of the chicks next to the chicken run so you could see how close they are. They were right up next to the fence like you said but I moved them over this morning for some fresh ground. It's been pretty easy to move them, I just shut the door on the crate after they all go in(after treats) then I pick it all up and move it over then open the door back up. I put firewood around the fence so they can't squeeze underneath. .. I had to put Rico in with the chicks after all! Biddy wasn't doing a very good job being mama! I heard peeping all the way in the house so I ran out to check and poor Rico was all alone on the floor of the coop crying. He stopped as soon as I picked him up. I put him with the others and he's doing great now. He's eating and drinking and scratching around just like the others. I had to show him the little box house last night when it got dark but he stayed in with the others after I showed him. He's half their size but they aren't being mean or anything to him so I think it's for the best.He's the little one in the pics. There's 2 other black chicks but you can tell he's definitely the smallest one in the pics. I'm worried about the eggs she still had in the nest tho. I candled them and at least 2 have baby chicks started in them and she isn't sitting on them like she was. I don't have an incubator of course. I'm hoping she gets back to it before it's too late!I'm going to look around in my junk and see what I've got to make an incubator in case Biddy doesn't get back to sitting.

Tweetie's a cute name!

Oh no! I'm sorry about the new babies!

I wish I could help with the sick one! I know you feel bad about not having time to take care of it but maybe it's best to just let it do what it's going to do. If it's weak now it probably wouldn't make it even if you tried to help it. I'm glad you moved the other eggs since the other two mamas aren't getting it right! At least the other 3 are ok! Your to do list just keeps on growing! You just got the other coop done and now you have to make another! Well, I hope the rest of the eggs hatch out with no problems!

Maybe you can use that cage you made for Midnight and Tweetie for the new chicks until you can figure out something else?

 

[annanimal]

I think it is best to leave the eggs under her or take them out and put fake eggs and bring those eggs to your incubator and when they hatch take the fake eggs out and put the chicks because if you take all eggs away from her she might panic and leave the nest.
If you do leave the eggs under her than i think you should take all the hached chicks out from under her even if it is hard because i bet you read what happened to me today, she squished one of the chicks and it died.
I say the best thing to do is put fake eggs under her and bring her the chicks when they hatch!
Good Luck, tell us how it works out for you!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

I see you 2 have ongoing replys to each other for months but wondered if I might ask a question about chicks hatching under broodies
.
Ive incubated for 1 1/2 years but have just had 2 broody hatches so far and my third coming up today or tomorrow
My first broody 2 monthsago hatched 3 chicks the 4th hatched a day or 2 later When I saw him seemed to have his whole skin on his skull bloody and gone. Mom hen was over him didn't look like she was pecking but i removed him Later had to culled sadly didn't look like that bad it could heal and he couldnt stand .
Also later after that found a 1/2 hatched chick from an egg i put under her ...it was dead too.
Figured it smothered while hatching under her so removed the one other egg due the next day or 2 into my bator and it hatched successfully inside

Question... these babies .....do I need to take the babies out whenthye hatch? The nest shes in is in a tractor coop I made for them to lay eggs to eat never though about broody hens
I have a door to reach in but they are on the bottom of a 2 story thing so just barely can get an egg from the nest reaching .Nor sure I can wrestle under her to get any hatched chicks that she has they are due today I think or tomorrow
Been wondering if taking the eggs to the incubator now would be best rather than chance them dying.
I do have them sold already so don't want to chance loosing them.. Last she had were 2 babies and she was a good mom IF its the same hen I have 2 alike so not sure She never getsw off thenest though so so far good.
Ideas? .comments?

Now I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, I can only comment based on what I've experienced so far(I've only had two hatches from a broody hens so far) but...If it were me, I'd go ahead and take the eggs out since you've got an incubator. And since the babies that have hatched have not had good luck maybe they should come out too. Do you have a brooder you can put them in? If you don't and the weather is warm you could give them thier own little pen as long as they have a warm, dry place at night to cuddle up in. Maybe the mama isn't the good one. If your selling them I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'd rather be safe than sorry anyway based on what's happened so far. Maybe you could build a broody ward for any that decide to set in the future. That's what I did with my banties that went broody and it worked out pretty good. Or make a new door in your chicken tractor house that gives you more room to get to the nest and any eggs/chicks that are in there.What kind of chickens do you have? Maybe you could put the chicks with the "good" mama hen. Some breeds of chickens seem to make better mamas than others I've noticed. My hen that just hatched a chick a couple days ago did a great job sitting on the eggs but didn't do so hot when it came to actually taking care of the chick she hatched. Sorry I can't be more help, but I'm new to hens going broody. I've had chickens for more than 5 years now and this spring was the first time any of mine have ever set so I'm still learning! Best of luck, I hope all goes well!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

I didn't notice her post! Listen to her! She knows more about this than I do! I hadn't thought about fake eggs! Good idea!

 

[annanimal]

Listen to both of us, we both have good ideas and i am no expert either!

I live in Greece on a little island, we dont have yard sales or thrift shops, if we did i would be there all the time looking for goodies.
The cats seem interested in the chicks, uh oh.

Oh yeah, they are very close to the chicken coop but the chickens cant really see them, they can only see the crate, what if you turned it the other way so that they could see the whole run?
Its to bad that Biddie wasnt a good mother but it is ok because you had the other chicks, good thing they are getting along or you would have a pretty big problem!!
I love the new extension to the coop, it is very nice, dont they jump in their waterer though and/or poop in it?
I love Ricos name, i think it suits him, he is very cute, he looks kind of like Midnight when he was little!
All the chicks look extremely happy!
I think you better set up a homemade incubator, Biddie probably wont go back to the eggs, or you could send me the eggs and i could put them under my broodies, if only we lived closer...
I have had the same thing happen with other chicks, i think the eggs arent good or the mom stepped on them when they came out or they just havent formed right, i have tried helping them before but they died anyway and i know that that is going to happen to this chick too but i always feel bad if i dont try, i will send you a pic if i get time and if it still alive of what i mean, it looks like it has spraddle leg but its legs are fine, it just looks like that...
Well i will probably get my to do list done soon because i have a whole week off starting next Monday!!!

I am still using the cage for Midnight and Tweetie, i lock them in there at night because i am worried something might get them, even tough i know deep down that they are going to be fine.
Anyway that cage is to small for a broody hen i think...W
Well i have got to go, talk to you soon!
I will be sure to send some pictures, i promise!
Coop spot, chickens, new chicks, right?

 

[DuckiesGarden]

You may not think your an expert but you've got LOTS of experience and that's just as good as far as I'm concerned!

No yard sales???

I would have thought even on your island there'd be people setting stuff out for sales! What in the world do you do with all the stuff you don't want anymore? Oh the fun everyone is missing out on not getting to poke thru other peoples junk!

LOL. Well you just need to start a yard sale trend too, on top of the chicken zoo, bags of ducks, and guard llamas.

You know why the cats are hanging out around the chicks don't you? Food! The vultures are waiting for the chicks to toss bits of food out of the wire so they can see if it's something they want! They don't want to eat the chicks, they want to eat what the chicks are having! The eggs and potatoes part at least, not the bugs!

I had the chick run right up next to the fence like you said but they'd already tramples all the grass and clover so that's why I rotated them around. When they trample this patch I'll turn them around to the other side of the fence. I figure I'll just keep moving them back and forth so they always have fresh grass and dirt. When they all get a bit bigger I'm going to go ahead and move their spot into the big run but I need to get some more wire wrangled up so I can make em a bigger spot when they go in there. I want to make something good and sturdy that I can use over and over whenever I need to have a separate run for chicks. I want to do a smaller "chick" version of the house with a fence around it like that pic I drew for you. I want to make it closed off on the top tho so the big hens can't just jump over the fence into it and defeat the whole purpose of separating them!
Yeah, I'm kinda dissapointed Biddy didn't do a better job but I kinda expected it. She is back on the other eggs tho so that's good! Ginger and/or Georgie have laid 5 eggs so far and I've been slipping them into Biddy's nest but I don't want Ginger and Georgie to wonder where the heck their eggs are going so I think any more they lay I'll leave alone. They made a nest of the grass hay on top of the box Biddy's in. I've been thinking on the incubator dilema and I might have found a solution...I found an old coffee maker that still works and I thought I could use that for an incubator. I thought I could put a piece of towel in the bottom of the glass pot for the eggs to sit on and then set it back on the warmer and maybe it'll be warm enough to incubate them? I can sprinkle a little water on the towel for the humidity. I could probably fit 4 or 5 eggs in it and still have room for when they hatch. I'm going to plug it in with the towel in it and see how warm it gets. What do you think?

Sometimes they run thru the water if they're chasing each other and sometimes they flip peices of food in it but for the most part they've kept it pretty clean. I think it's because there really isn't enough room for them to actually get in it all the way. I dump it and change the water everday anyway so even if they were being as messy as some chicks...not to mention any names...Midnight and Tweetie!...LOL...It doesn't stay dirty long.
I thought Rico looked like Midnight too! I noticed Rico has a fuzzy white butt now to go with that bit of white under his chin. I'm glad I put him with the other chicks, he's fitting in with them like he's always been with them. I didn't have to show him to go in the box house last night, he went right in and snuggled up with the others all by himself.
I feel bad for your poor little chick. Do you think the funny leg is all that's wrong with it? Or is it acting puny all around?
Oh boy! A whole week off! What have you planned? I get a few days "off" next week too. I'm taking the girls up to my mom's on Sunday and she's going to keep them for a few days. Peace and quiet!!!! I'm hoping to get some stuff done around here while I have the chance to do it without interruptions! I'll probably cry when I drop them off tho even tho I'm excited to have a few days to myself. We onl;y do this once a year in the summer and all the rest of the year I'm with them ALL THE TIME. They drive me crazy but I know I'll miss em. Last year my mom told me to quit calling and checking on them cause I kept calling and texting her like every few hours.

It's like you with Midnight and Tweetie, you know they can handle themselves but...you can't help but still worry!
I wasn't thinking of the cage being big enough for the broody hen too...I guess your to do list did get longer! I've got so much stuff around here that you could use it's too bad that we don't live closer!

You'd have your list done in no time!
You don't have to be in a hurry to take pics! I know your super busy! I post so many just because my camera is easy to hook up to the computer! I don't want you to think you always have to worry about taking pics when you've got so much other stuff you need to get done!

 

[annanimal]

Let my week off start, i didnt know where to start from so i decided that i will do the easy part first, post pics!

Let me reply to your post and then i will post the pics!
First, did you bring the girls to their grandma if you did than stop worrying about them and enjoy your time off!

Well we do have something like a yard sale every winter, people just bring all their junk and put it out on tables and other people buy it but it is only once a year and there is never anything good there...
Hahahaha.

I will be known as the craziest girl on the island but yard sales are not a bad idea!
Do the cats ever get any luck, i am sure with all the goodies the chicks are eating they wouldnt mind sharing a bit with the cats, would they?
Wow, i never expected Biddy to go back on the eggs, did any hatch yet?
Ok, while we are talking about eggs let me share my news and then i will reply to the rest.
I separated the one broody that had hatched the chicks and the other decided that she would sit on the eggs a bit longer so i gave her back the eggs that i had given the other one and one of the eggs hatched, i went out to check and i heard peeping so i lifted her up and there was an egg piping a hole, so cute, so i went out about an hour later and it hadnt done anything more so i guessed that it was taking a rest and then i had to go to work and when i got back i went to check again and the chick was still asleep but in the morning there was a little fluffy chick it was yellow and so cute, it is doing really well and mama is still sitting on the eggs so fingers crossed some more hatch!

Now for the one with the four chicks, yes four the little sick one is all better, whenever i had a chick like that it never survived but this one did, i am so happy and so is mama, she is very protective of her babies, i made a cage quick for them, not the best but it works, i have taken a picture of that as well.
When i was out picking figs, because it is their season, finally, i saw a mama hen with 3 chicks, two yellow and one yellow with a hint of grey, she was easy to catch because she was not used to being in the fig trees, i guess she just wanted to be broody there, so she came back to the main "area" and i was able to catch her easly, she is such a good mom, i decided that i didnt have time to make her a cage so i put her in my old guinnea pigs cage that i had in the garage.
The other broody with the four eggs under her has not hatched out any chicks yet but hopefully she will soon and i will build her a cage while i have time.
The other broody that now doesnt have any eggs under her is quite upset so i am thinking of getting her some eggs, i dont want to put ordinary eggs under her so i am looking for some other eggs, i am not going to order from that site because i think it will take to long...
Are Ginger and Georgie showing any signs of becoming broody again?
Wow, the coffee maker idea seems pretty good, i never thought of that, you wont be able to fit many eggs in there, like you said but i dont think that matters...
What have i planned for my whole week off, let me see, basically what i have planned in one word is : chickens, that is it, that is all i have time for and i will feel much better if i can get my whole to-do list done so i can make a new one and not feel like everything is pilling up on me, you know what i mean?
I dont think me and my chicks are the same as you and your daughters, they are similar but not the same!

Picture time:

 

[annanimal]

I hadnt realised how blury the pic is, oh well you get the point, this is the one that is still sitting on the eggs, ever since she hatched the one chick and i let her keep it i have moved her to a new nest.

As you see i couldnt get all four chicks in the same pic, i changed all their water after i took the picture, the last picture is the outside, not as nice as yours but it works...

I didnt feel like getting all poopy so i took the picture from the outside, these are the older chicks, all 11, i am quite satisfied with their little coop, i will take a pic some other time of the inside...

This is the one from the fig tree that is in the guinea pigs cage.

Did i tell you, mama left these ones...
They are Tweeties siblings.
Those are the pics for now, hope you enjoyed!!

 

[DuckiesGarden]

I loved seeing the great pics!

I like your coop! It looks all shady and cool! Ypu've made up some nice little spots for everyone! It looks like you do the same thing I do! Use whatever you've got and make it work! LOL! You sure have some pretty chickens! Tweeties siblings look just like Tweetie! How are you going to tell em all apart? And that chicken you've got in the guinea pig cage looks like my Misty Dawn! I like all the rocks in the cages. Is that to block the fence bottom? I do the same thing but I use firewood since I don't have extra rocks.
I'm so glad the little sick chick is OK!

That's great! And you had another hatch out! What a fun surprise to come home to! I've been out checking Biddy's eggs(which she is still sitting on very diligently) to see if any more have hatched but so far not yet. There's one in a green egg that has to be getting close and some of Ginger and Georgies eggs that Biddy's sitting on have tiny chicks started in them! We'll both keep fingers crossed for luck with hatching!

I've got a bunch more to say but I have to go for a bit! I'll be back!