Need advice...Had to move hen/eggs after 1st chick hatched.

[aart]

She settled in, so fingers crossed.

Whew!!

 

[BDutch]

Sounds great Hippyfrog.

I am probably very guiding when it comes to incubating a nest with chicks. I try to make the conditions as good as possible so that the chicks can get an optimal start and to avoid as much misery as possible with the knowledge and experience I have so far.

Time: spring
Number of eggs: max 7-8
Location: quiet place that is safe / suitable for chicks and where other chickens will not settle down or disturb. Well in sight of the other chickens.

To achieve that , I have to move the hen in the beginning of the proces together with the (fake) eggs. First I cut the bottom of a with 2” on the sides).
Then I put the bedding, eggs and hen, in this cardboard box in the same spot.
The next evening I move the hen complete with box, bedding and the fake eggs after sunset. If that goes well, she will get fertilized eggs.

If a hen is broody and I don’t want chicks I break her broodiness. But I am lucky to have chickens who likely go broody in spring as soon as there are > 4 eggs in the nest for > 24 hours.

 

[Hippiefrog]

Sounds great Hippyfrog.

I am probably very guiding when it comes to incubating a nest with chicks. I try to make the conditions as good as possible so that the chicks can get an optimal start and to avoid as much misery as possible with the knowledge and experience I have so far.

Time: spring
Number of eggs: max 7-8
Location: quiet place that is safe / suitable for chicks and where other chickens will not settle down or disturb. Well in sight of the other chickens.

To achieve that , I have to move the hen in the beginning of the proces together with the (fake) eggs. First I cut the bottom of a with 2” on the sides).
Then I put the bedding, eggs and hen, in this cardboard box in the same spot.
The next evening I move the hen complete with box, bedding and the fake eggs after sunset. If that goes well, she will get fertilized eggs.

If a hen is broody and I don’t want chicks I break her broodiness. But I am lucky to have chickens who likely go broody in spring as soon as there are > 4 eggs in the nest for > 24 hours.

Thank you for the great info! I tried to moving her twice but, she threw fit both times, even under the cover of darkness. So,I just let her sit and babysat during the day, to make sure other hens weren't trying to join her in the nest. Lol Next time ill try the fake eggs first vs letting her sit on what she had already. I'm not sure what caused my hens to go broody, in the fall. Maybe the warmer days? We had another that just hatched 2 chicks, two weeks ago. Are they likely to go broody again, in the spring? And if you break them of their broodiness, will this turn them off from being broody, in the future? I don't want to scare them from being broody bc they're both really good moms and we could always use more chickens! Lol

 

[gimmie birdies]

I will move a chick to a brooder while she is hatching out more eggs, then when all are hatched I return the chicks in the night. I try not to move a hen. They get stubborn. If I had to it would be at night.

 

[Hippiefrog]

The baby chick hatched!!! He/she is the little gray one with the gold face. We have 4 baby chicks, so far! Just two more to go! This is so exciting!!

 

[gimmie birdies]

cute-I have one with a gold face also..
.

sorry it is blurry- OE/BA

 

[Hippiefrog]

cute-I have one with a gold face also..
.View attachment 2406053
sorry it is blurry- OE/BA

Oh my goodness! How adorable!! And so pretty! Ours is a Welsummer(Dad) × Blue Plymouth Rock(mom) cross

 

[BDutch]

Thank you for the great info! I tried to moving her twice but, she threw fit both times, even under the cover of darkness. So,I just let her sit and babysat during the day, to make sure other hens weren't trying to join her in the nest. Lol Next time ill try the fake eggs first vs letting her sit on what she had already. I'm not sure what caused my hens to go broody, in the fall. Maybe the warmer days? We had another that just hatched 2 chicks, two weeks ago. Are they likely to go broody again, in the spring? And if you break them of their broodiness, will this turn them off from being broody, in the future? I don't want to scare them from being broody bc they're both really good moms and we could always use more chickens! Lol

If you break a broody in nesting, she will try again a few months later. My black and ‘partridge coloured’ Dutch get broody about 3 -4 times each year even without leaving eggs in the nest. The older the harder to break their broodiness. In general this starts at the end of winter and ends early autumn. A pyle Dutch and the Tournaisisses didn’t get broody until now. Maybe they are not ‘allowed’ being lower in the pecking order .
Next spring I want new chicks and bc I don’t have a rooster I need to buy fertile eggs somewhere. I haven’t decided yet what breed I will buy. Maybe bantam Auracana or Bielefelder.

 

[aart]

The baby chick hatched!!! He/she is the little gray one with the gold face. We have 4 baby chicks, so far! Just two more to go! This is so exciting!!

Congrats!
You really got lucky moving her.
So glad it worked out!

 

[gimmie birdies]

I am going with Isbar eggs.