Natural breeding thread

[fluffycrow]

I could use some help with my first broody! She's sitting on 7 eggs and we are on Day 15. I'm confused about what to do next. She's in the favorite nest box and other hens continue to push her out. I've read that's bad... I'll move her tomorrow.

I candled the eggs with a flashlight and decided to get an egg candler, I'll check them again tomorrow.
A few questions:
Can I use an extra large dog pen in the coop for the broodie & eggs?
Should I move them all inside when they get close to hatching or keep them in the dog pen?
Also, is straw a good bedding for the new chicks or something else?
View attachment 4073688

May I suggest a different and admittedly, more time-consuming (on your part) approach?

Since you do not have more than a week of incubation left, you could try blocking off the nest, so that the other hens won’t try and get in. This does mean that the broody is trapped inside, which is why you are needed to open the nest once a day for the broody to get out, eat, stretch, drink, dust bathe, preen, and get back.

Knowing your broody, and when she likes to go out, how often, and for how long really helps. Some broodies might get really stressed from being trapped, especially when they want to get up, so it’s still a risk.

Letting them get on with it as they have so far is the other proposed solution that I agree with. It’s not abnormal for hens to break their brooding cycle in this type of situation, but since yours is on day 15, I think it’s relatively safe to say that she’s committed enough to see it through.

What should be avoided is hens coming in the nest box during the hatching process. That does not end well, in my experience

 

[fluffycrow]

The other hens continue to push out my broody Polish

In the photo, I see two birds. Which one is the broody one?

 

[wrathsfarm]

May I suggest a different and admittedly, more time-consuming (on your part) approach?

Since you do not have more than a week of incubation left, you could try blocking off the nest, so that the other hens won’t try and get in. This does mean that the broody is trapped inside, which is why you are needed to open the nest once a day for the broody to get out, eat, stretch, drink, dust bathe, preen, and get back.

Knowing your broody, and when she likes to go out, how often, and for how long really helps. Some broodies might get really stressed from being trapped, especially when they want to get up, so it’s still a risk.

Letting them get on with it as they have so far is the other proposed solution that I agree with. It’s not abnormal for hens to break their brooding cycle in this type of situation, but since yours is on day 15, I think it’s relatively safe to say that she’s committed enough to see it through.

What should be avoided is hens coming in the nest box during the hatching process. That does not end well, in my experience

I've done this and may need to do this now with the BA I mentioned above. She's getting bullied out of the nest.

 

[OzarkNana]

You risk that she abandons her nest if you move her. This happened to me in an early stage of broodiness. Maybe this chance is less if she is nearer to hatch day.

If you have the possibility to isolate her from the flock? That’s better imo. I have done so a few times, I can split my coop and used a divider.

Hens laying more eggs in the nest is not a big problem. Just take the new eggs out.

If you do move her, at least move her with the crate to another spot where she’s not bothered. If she can stay in her current nest to a better spot, and move her after dark, you have a good chance this will work. I have done this 2x with success.

I don’t know if a dog pen is okay. She needs to have the possibility to get out to eat, poop and take a dustbath daily.

I have a large coop that will fit the dog pen in the same area she's sitting. Most of the hens are laying elsewhere, it's just the one Nekid Neck that keeps pushing her out. She takes her break first thing in the morning to eat/drink/run around. I can open the crate at night and then close up in the morning after she goes back in. I would still add food/water inside the crate for her.
By isolate do you mean so she can't see the others? The crate I'd like to use is wire and definitely see-through.

 

[OzarkNana]

In the photo, I see two birds. Which one is the broody one?

The Polish is the broody one... waiting patiently -- she fluffs her feathers occassionally and gets close but doesn't fight the laying hen.

 

[OzarkNana]

Like Perris is saying.
Every hen is different and every setup/coop is different. Therefore it’s impossible to give a one suits all advice. Add flock dynamics and you get an unpredictable cocktail.
I presume you need a lot of space or reasonable natural circumstances for a successful hatch without any interfering.

I could split bc I had an extra opening/door and had other nestboxes available for the other hens.

Some broodies are more committed than others. Some are easy to break, others are almost impossible to break. If your broody was easy to break in the past it’s probably more risky to move her.

I end up with two or three broodies on one nest if I let them. And it bothered me too that hens were laying extra eggs in the same nestbox. Perris is right about most aspects and I probably interfered too much. Chickens probably know better on most aspects. But they don’t seem to bother if they have a staggered hatch and just leave the vital eggs to die that are due to hatch later. Same about the early birds who go away to explore and cant find their way back to the broody. For me it doesn’t feel right to let go and do nothing to prevent casualties.

I'm sure every circumstance is different and I'm looking for ideas and help. This broody is very committed! Which is why I decided to let her hatch some on her own. Being at Day 16, I'm mostly worried about the new chicks and their survival. The nest area doesn't seem safe for the babies and I'm not sure how well this little Mama will be able to protect them. I can keep them in the same area, just with a pen around them.

 

[TOMTE]

I'm sure every circumstance is different and I'm looking for ideas and help. This broody is very committed! Which is why I decided to let her hatch some on her own. Being at Day 16, I'm mostly worried about the new chicks and their survival. The nest area doesn't seem safe for the babies and I'm not sure how well this little Mama will be able to protect them. I can keep them in the same area, just with a pen around them.

This will be a great learning experience for you! Trial and error. I'm willing to bet most first time broody hatches aren't going to be 100% successful. Please do share what you end up doing, and how it goes!

 

[Merc_smallFarms]

I once had a broody chicken and she hatched a few eggs most were roosters so I sold them and she sadly passed after. It’s been a long time and I now have a couple of hens all laying but wish to hatch again. None of them are broody, one of my hens I’ve had for years and she’s never been broody. The others started laying about three months ago and shown no signs of broodiness. Can you get a hen to become broody? medicine, keeping her in a nesting box? Should I just get an incubator?

 

[Perris]

Being at Day 16, I'm mostly worried about the new chicks and their survival. The nest area doesn't seem safe for the babies and I'm not sure how well this little Mama will be able to protect them.

no chick here has been harmed by another bird here. Broodies are perfectly capable of frightening off over-curious flock members and even defending their chicks from predators. This is a kestrel that I had to rescue from a broody; she had it on its back, feet in the air, trying to defend itself from her, and was stunned enough that I could swoop it up and pop it in a dog crate to recover its composure enough to fly away when released about an hour later.

And that broody was the smallest hen in my flock.

You might find this useful
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...y-the-good-the-bad-and-the-indifferent.79643/

 

[wrathsfarm]

I move most all of my broodys just before hatch and have never had one break. There's a first for everything of course but I haven't experienced it.
I do this to get them down to the floor and isolated (see, no touch) to care for the chicks one on one without interference.
My routine is to move the next box within the week of hatch. I have 2 brooders set up under poop boards and have also attached a nest box to a dog cage. I wait for her to come off the nest to relieve herself and then move it, removing all fake or real eggs in any other nests to deter her from other nest boxes. When she comes back into the coop I direct her to the nest and they've always taken to it.
Here's my setups. Notice in the pic the nest box is situated close to the brooder door. She's still sitting and I can maintain the nest and watch the hatch. After hatch at some point I move the nest box back allowing full use for her and chicks.