My first broody hen!

[ChickenRisa]

I was really hoping one of my hens would go broody so my kids could get to see her hatch some chicks. A couple days ago I noticed my French copper Marana sitting in the nesting box, so I kept my eye on her and sure enough, the feathers on her chest came out and she started sitting in the box full time and squawking up a storm whenever I took the eggs out from under her. I was kind of bummed it was my young hen that I wanted to lay eggs (I have two older hens I was hoping would be the ones to go broody) but I didn't want to waste the opportunity! She's been sitting on the nest for three days day and night, even through the other hens laying their eggs under her and kicking her out of the nesting box a few times. I read through some of the broody hen thread (didn't make it through all 500+ pages) and decided she sounded like a good egg! I don't have a rooster, so I got some fertilized eggs from my mom and last night I moved the broody hen Bertha into my chicken shed where she would be separated from the rest of the hens. I used a sock on her head like I read someone suggested, and when I put her in her new location (she was in a box so I was able to move the whole box into her new spot) she settled right down and tucked all the eggs under her!

Pics!



This is Bertha in her original nesting box. I finally zip tied some chicken wire to the front because one hen just would not leave her alone



She looked pretty silly with a sock on her head.



The morning after and she is still happily settled on her clutch in her new area. She's got food and water and some room to hop out and stretch if she wants to. The area was their winter roosting area, so after the chicks hatch I can open up the door to the regular house and the chicks will have a ramp to run down into the big area.

I'm assuming mama Bertha will protect her and they can all run around in the pen with the rest of the chickens (I only have seven total). It will be nice if this works and I can add a few hens to my flock or a few roosters to my freezer.

My one question is, I remember reading that I will need to candle the eggs at some point to make sure they are developing, but I can't remember when that is?

 

[luvmypets]

Candle at Day 7, 14, and 18 trust me its worth the wait

 

[Shellz]

I had 3 broodies last year all at the same time. I let them brood in view of the flock. I feel this is important for an easier transition when chicks hatch. Candle day 7 to see development.

Best of luck! Sounds like a good broody so far.

 

[ChickenRisa]

Adorable photos, luvmypets!

Shellz, I didn't think about the transition afterwards, thanks for the tip. I would love to build a brooder adjacent to the coop, but for now this was the best option. I thought about leaving her in the nesting box with the fencing over, but there really wasn't room to put food and water and for her to get out and poop.

 

[kittydoc]

Congratulations! Do candle (there are tons of good websites, best ones often are mentioned here or end in .edu) about once a week. No point in starting before Day 7. You will learn a lot candling this first clutch. I candled my first clutch--none of which survived to hatching (boo), but I saw a lot of what looked WRONG and only a little of what looked RIGHT (only at the beginning). The second time I used that same incubator with locally purchased fertilized eggs, it was a lot more fun because I saw what I wanted to see, and kept seeing good stuff! 6 of 7 hatched. The one that was a dud was obvious on Day 7 so out it went. The color of the egg shell matters in how easy candling is. If the eggs are white or light brown, it's not hard. If they are Marans, good luck seeing anything through that chocolate brown! If you aren't sure, you can let them go until about Day 10-14, but if there is no sign of life by Day 14, better to throw them away. If one explodes, it will scare your broody, plus contaminate the other eggs and possibly kill them.

By the way, all I did to make a candler was wrap a piece of a cut up paper folder (like elementary kids use, in a dark color), roll it into a cone and tape it so the small end fit the large end of the egg nicely, and put a 13W (60W equivalent) CFR or LED lightbulb in a utility fixture at the wide end. If you use a regular 60W bulb, you have to worry more about the heat (and setting the paper on fire!). The heat can kill the embryos. If you use a 13W that is 60W equivalent, there is very little heat, and you can study the eggs longer.

 

[Shellz]

Adorable photos, luvmypets!

Shellz, I didn't think about the transition afterwards, thanks for the tip. I would love to build a brooder adjacent to the coop, but for now this was the best option. I thought about leaving her in the nesting box with the fencing over, but there really wasn't room to put food and water and for her to get out and poop.

There are other variables to consider when letting a broody do her business within the general population. Are the other birds docile? Will the broody be a good mom post hatch & protect her young from the flock? Some things you may never know unless you try. With your birds out of sight though, the flock may consider them strangers after the hatch & be on the defensive. Your set-up is fine for now.

 

[ChickenRisa]

Bertha is still looking good on her eggs! I actually pulled her off this morning because I could tell she had not eaten or anything, and she did eat some corn feed and drank some water and then hopped back on her nest and settled right back down on the eggs. If her mothering traits are anything like her broody traits, I think she will be a good mother indeed.

Thanks for the info kittydoc! I'm really excited for this whole experience, it will definitely be a learning one! The fertilized eggs I got from my mom are all lighter, the rooster is a French copper Maran, but three of the eggs had Americauna hens and then two light brown eggs and one white egg who we're not sure exactly who the hen was (my mom has a lot of different breeds). It will be fun to see if they hatch what they all are! And it will definitely be cool to see the babies growing in the egg. I'll have to see if I can figure out a way to take pics of them when I try to candle them.

I will definitely make a better set up if I get to have another hen go broody. Maybe I can repurpose a rabbit hutch in my coop. Bertha was one of the top hens in the flock, so perhaps she will integrate back into the flock decently enough. She's a pretty feisty girl, so if she does stick with her babies like I'm hoping I have no doubt they will be well protected.

 

[luvmypets]

This is our broody setup!

Its the broody box and its a two by two wooden box with wooden bottom with lots of straw and a wire top to keep out predators. We have sucessfully raised two broods and we are on our third right now. Its a cheap way to protect the chicks and let mom feel safe! We just used old plywood ...

 

[ChickenRisa]

Nice! I'm assuming it's on the floor? Have you ever had a problem with rats going in and bothering mama or the eggs/chicks? I have several good sized rats that are constantly getting in my coop and was wondering about that if I were to put a broody area on the floor.

 

[luvmypets]

Yes on the floor and we dont have problems with rats