Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[michaelinnc84]

I would remove them if they have no movement on day 25.

 

[HHandbasket]

That's what I figured 'cuz that's what I do in the bator. Thank you!

This is only day 22, so we're good.

Besides, who knows what I'm going to find in the nest when I get out there this morning?? Hehehe.

 

[Fuffy]

If momma hen has started taking the babies out of the nest, then you can get rid of the unhatched eggs ASAP.

If not then I would probably cut my losses...you want the live ones to be healthy and if there is something dead in a nice porous egg in the nest with them....

 

[gritsar]

I just found this thread and figured I'd add my two cents.

I have 3 year old LF brahmas. Not a broody in the bunch. A couple of them maybe thought about it in their second year, but in the end decided they liked their food much too much to go long without it.

Then in June of last year I ordered a variety of chicks - EEs, SFs, turkens, SS and just to be sure I got a broody, two silkies. Plus, a neighbor "gifted" me with 19 meat bird culls at the same time. My first broody was a meat bird of all things. She made it to day 15 and then just walked away. Then one of the salmon faverolles named Doe decide to go broody. I now have 3 beautiful chicks from her running around. They are 6 weeks old. During all the broody madness both silkies went broody, but quit on their own halfway through; after I'd gone through the trouble of getting them eggs shipped in.

Now Doe's (SF) sister "Ray" is broody. She's on day 7. She has 9 brahma eggs. Yesterday I had to remove an EE egg out from under her. Not sure how she came up with that one. Also, as of yesterday, the third SF sister "Me" is hanging out in the nestbox a little too much for my liking. I had a nightmare last night that it's always going to be this way, first Doe, then Ray, then Me; over and over again.

I did not remove Doe from the coop. Instead I moved her to a large dog kennel within the coop, locked her in the first few days while she settled, then locked her in again when the chicks were due to hatch. About three days after the chicks hatched she was ready to take them out to meet the flock. We had an accident involving one of the chicks and a meat bird, but once the meat birds were removed from that coop, all has been well. The chicks have seamlessly fit into the flock. I haven't locked Ray in yet. She's doing fine at keeping the other birds at bay. I have had to remove a few random eggs she has somehow acquired. I intend to get her dog crate cleaned up and ready this week, but won't move her until she's close to hatch. I'll just continue to check for added eggs while she's out for her daily constitutional. Doing it this way worked well for Doe, so I don't intend to fix what ain't broke.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I think that the best way to move a broody is to do it well after dark, try to make the move with as little change/disruption to the hen, and shade the new location for at least a few days afterwards so it's dim & dark there. Some hens won't tolerate any kind of change, others could care less. But doing it after dark helps minimize their awareness of the change, as does keeping their nesting material/container intact. And like Fluffy says, it helps to do it after they've had a few days to get into the project, then wait a few more days before replacing the "falsies" (I like that term!) with the eggs you want the hen to hatch.

I don't think it's harsh to break a hen's broodiness when it's not convenient for you. Some hens can be more easily persuaded than others. But if you have a hen that is repeatedly going broody and is difficult to break, I think you should either let her brood eggs for you or someone else, or swap her to someone who needs a good broody.

I too will remove any unhatched eggs once the hen takes her chicks for their first outing. Once she has hatchlings to tend she should not be distracted with eggs left behind. It's also not good for any new chicks to hatch to share the nest with big fluffy chicks who may peck or eat them. I just bury them deep under a bush, but some folks will try to get them to hatch in an incubator & try to reintroduce them later.

Keep in mind that when you have chicks hatching you will need a plan for all the extra cockerels you're sure to get. Since I learned to process chickens for my table I no longer fear seeing those little combs growing large & red.

 

[phasianidae]

Quote:
Yes, once she leaves the nest with her chicks then you can take them away. Sometimes hens wont give up on the unhatched eggs and will stay on the nest, if she remains on the nest for 12 hours since the last chick hatched then I will remove the unhatched eggs.

 

[HHandbasket]

Olga and her babies tolerated the move to the dog crate *fairly* well. I was able to finally get a final determination of how many chicks hatched... my girl hatched 8 out of 10! The two still in the nest were "sloshy", so she did well. 80% hatch rate... good girl!

 

[Myabcs3]

Quick update from a few weeks back...my broody hen was sitting on 8 eggs - 2 hatched on Monday, 2 hatched on Tuesday (one didn't make it). I didn't know what to do with the unhatched eggs - had differing advice. So I let them ride for a few more days. On Thursday, 2 days after the last hatch, I picked them up to throw them away and they chirped. We had 2 more end up hatching. 2 never hatched and were disposed of.

On the excellent advice offered here, dear hubby built a series of ramps to the elevated nesting box where Mamma hen had the hatched the chics. This has worked wonderfully. With a bit of help here and there, Mamma hen proudly takes them up and down daily to parade around the coop and the chicken yard. This weekend, she even took them out free ranging with her. Note that she is very protective and most of the other hens watch respectfully but stay out of the way. Note that we put a small waterer and feed in her nesting box so she didn't have to leave to the nest to care for her chicks. With the temps here in Kansas swinging very widely, I think it really helped the first couple days after hatch that everything was within her reach.

This has been a great experience! We did not remove her from the coop or move her while she was broody. We did mark her eggs, and remove eggs that were laid on/with her each day. In the last week prior to hatching, she was fairly fierce and we did not have any new eggs show up in her box. I fully expect this experience to vary with a different hen, that is not as high up in the pecking order as the current one is, but not moving her worked well for us. The added benefit is I don't have to worry about reintergrating her and the chics to the flock.

 

[Pharm Girl]

I need expert broody advice. I have a SLW sitting on 6 eggs in my old coop. She has the coop to herself. The others have been moved out. Here is a picture. It has the type of ramp that drops the whole front floor down. She's very comfortable in the dark back in her favorite nesting box.
I have two choices.

Choice One: leave her up there in which case I would take out the wood part of the nesting boxes leaving her on the nest without the wood walls. The wood surround of the boxes simply lifts out leaving the floor and back walls untouched. It won't disturb her nest at all and the babies will be able to get in and out easer. I'd have to close the ramp and cover it with cardboard or something since there are large perilous gaps that would swallow a chick.

Choice two: Move her to the under side of the coop on the bottom floor where she could have more room to walk around and get the chicks outside for a walk in the nicer weather. When they are a few weeks old they should be able to navigate the ramp.
I have a domed cat litter box I could use as her nesting area on the bottom. It was so windy last night, it scares me to have her a bit more exposed, but I still have the plastic siding up on three of the four sides.

What would you do? More room to roam and access to outside, but a less cozy nest -or- cozy nest, less room to roam and no real access to outside until the chicks are old enough to navigate the ramp?

That is providing they even hatch after she jumped off of them the other day and got on the wrong nest! Ey ey ey.

 

[phasianidae]

I would wait until they have to move her.