Letting a hen hatch them....

[LulaBell]

I have a hen that appears to be going broody. I want to let her hatch the eggs but I have no idea how to go about this...the do's and don'ts...does anyone out there have a process?? Thank you for the help

 

[MGG]

@CluckNDoodle ?

 

[plum14]

If you have a separate place to put her move her and her eggs at night to that spot. Then let her do the rest! She'll come off the eggs once a day to drink, eat and poop so make sure there is water and food she can access. I've got a bantam gold laced wyandotte sat on 7 eggs right now - I moved her last night

 

[PioneerChicks]

I'm newish to hatching. I've done a couple hatches in an incubator, and am in the middle of my first broody hatch. I've had broodies before but this is the first time I've ever encouraged them. I've read a lot on the subject and just studied my chickens in general and I think I can help.


First off, do you have a rooster or fertile eggs? Not sure how much you know about this subject, but if you only have hens in your then the eggs from your hens won't hatch. You either need a rooster to fertilize the eggs or to buy hatching/fertile eggs from a hatchery.

Read these articles for more info:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-letting-broody-hens-hatch-and-raise-chicks.65989/https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hatching-eggs-with-a-broody-hen.75254/
(Also, I didn't do the test to see if my hen would stay broody. I know that she might quit half-way or something, but it is only for fun so it doesn't really matter to me. You might feel differently.)

Please tell us how it goes!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Great advice being offered! I would add that if I want to move my broody hen to a broody pen I always do it with fake eggs if she isn't already sitting on fertilized eggs. My reason for this is because every broody hen is going to be a little different and I've had a handful of broody hens that are attached to the box they selected regardless of where you put the eggs! I left my most recent broody hen in the broody pen with her fake eggs for 24 hours (I moved her at night like I always do) and she paced by the door until I let her out and she ran right back to her EMPTY box to sit. She's the second broody hen I've had do this, so it's a personality thing. Where sometimes they're just rattled for a little while and then settle down. OR they don't care one bit and are happy to sit wherever the eggs are.
When I have a hen like this, I will often move the broody to the broody pen once the chicks are hatched and they will be perfectly happy to move once the chicks are present.

I've also allowed broodies to hatch chicks in the main coop with the flock from day one. There is a lot more to consider when doing this. First of all, you definitely want to mark each egg that is under her because not only will other hens continue to lay eggs in the box with her but she will also steal more eggs from other boxes, lol. I've had it go great several times but I had one bad experience when leaving the hen in the main flock, that was enough for me to always want to move my hens to the broody pen at least for a few days while the chicks get their land legs about them to reduce chances of an incident.

Another thing to mention, I actually have never kept a broody separated completely. My broody pen is side by side with the main run so she doesn't completely lose her standing in the flock pecking order. I also open the broody pen after about 3 days to a week (depending on the broody, some are my proven broodies and I don't worry about them at all) to allow the broody hen to integrate her chicks with the flock.

Here's a picture of posturing you may see while the broody hen is warning the other hens not to pick on her babies, this is normal and as long as you don't see pecking, you're good!

 

[LulaBell]

I'm newish to hatching. I've done a couple hatches in an incubator, and am in the middle of my first broody hatch. I've had broodies before but this is the first time I've ever encouraged them. I've read a lot on the subject and just studied my chickens in general and I think I can help.


First off, do you have a rooster or fertile eggs? Not sure how much you know about this subject, but if you only have hens in your then the eggs from your hens won't hatch. You either need a rooster to fertilize the eggs or to buy hatching/fertile eggs from a hatchery.

Read these articles for more info:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/guide-to-letting-broody-hens-hatch-and-raise-chicks.65989/https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hatching-eggs-with-a-broody-hen.75254/
(Also, I didn't do the test to see if my hen would stay broody. I know that she might quit half-way or something, but it is only for fun so it doesn't really matter to me. You might feel differently.)

Please tell us how it goes!

Good morning! I am semi-knowledgeable about the process. We do have roosters so the eggs *should* be fertilized. More specifically I was wondering things like...do I need to separate her and the eggs, do I need to label them, should I be candling them?

 

[KiwiandPeachthePigeons]

I’ve always hatched with broody hens, but I started my first eggs in an incubator on Saturday!

 

[KiwiandPeachthePigeons]

Anyway, put her in a quiet, dark place by herself, and she should do the rest!

 

[LulaBell]

Great advice being offered! I would add that if I want to move my broody hen to a broody pen I always do it with fake eggs if she isn't already sitting on fertilized eggs. My reason for this is because every broody hen is going to be a little different and I've had a handful of broody hens that are attached to the box they selected regardless of where you put the eggs! I left my most recent broody hen in the broody pen with her fake eggs for 24 hours (I moved her at night like I always do) and she paced by the door until I let her out and she ran right back to her EMPTY box to sit. She's the second broody hen I've had do this, so it's a personality thing. Where sometimes they're just rattled for a little while and then settle down. OR they don't care one bit and are happy to sit wherever the eggs are.
When I have a hen like this, I will often move the broody to the broody pen once the chicks are hatched and they will be perfectly happy to move once the chicks are present.

I've also allowed broodies to hatch chicks in the main coop with the flock from day one. There is a lot more to consider when doing this. First of all, you definitely want to mark each egg that is under her because not only will other hens continue to lay eggs in the box with her but she will also steal more eggs from other boxes, lol. I've had it go great several times but I had one bad experience when leaving the hen in the main flock, that was enough for me to always want to move my hens to the broody pen at least for a few days while the chicks get their land legs about them to reduce chances of an incident.

Another thing to mention, I actually have never kept a broody separated completely. My broody pen is side by side with the main run so she doesn't completely lose her standing in the flock pecking order. I also open the broody pen after about 3 days to a week (depending on the broody, some are my proven broodies and I don't worry about them at all) to allow the broody hen to integrate her chicks with the flock.

Here's a picture of posturing you may see while the broody hen is warning the other hens not to pick on her babies, this is normal and as long as you don't see pecking, you're good!

View attachment 2054817

This hen does not want to leave a specific nest box. When I try to reach under or around her she fluffs up and will peck at me. I'm not sure what would happen if I moved her, I'm afraid it would mess things up. Is it ok to leave her where she is? The other issue is the nest box is a few feet off the floor. I'm assuming if she does manage to hatch the eggs that is the point I should move her and the chicks to a separate pin?

As far as the eggs that she is currently sitting on, how should I mark them, with a date? What is the point of this?

Sorry for so many questions, just trying to get a handle on all this

 

[PioneerChicks]

Good morning! I am semi-knowledgeable about the process. We do have roosters so the eggs *should* be fertilized. More specifically I was wondering things like...do I need to separate her and the eggs, do I need to label them, should I be candling them?

Okay, so you do know about fertile eggs. Sorry, lots of people don't know about that stuff (not blaming them, it's not they're fault! It's great to have room to learn) and I wasn't sure how much you knew.

I'm not separating my broody, and probably won't unless problems arise. My best set-up for a broody is in that coop, and she seems to be getting along with the other hens just fine. What you do here depends on your set-up and preferences.

I am marking mine so I can tell which ones she is hatching and which ones the other hens snuck in. Whenever she get off the eggs to eat and drink (so once a day) I slip in and take away the extra egg. I Mark mine with a circle, but really any marking is good. I use sharpies.

Some people candle their broody's eggs but I probably won't do mine. I've heard that sometimes the hen will push eggs out if they are developing wrong, so I'll just go with the flow. This is really your decision.