Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[bobbieschicks]

My dear little 21 week old EE/WL mix pullet Sunny has laid 7 beautiful blue eggs since she started.

Today she was hanging out in the nest box for quite awhile after laying. I went into the coop to check on eggs and she growled that lovely broody growl. Great - I don't need any more chicks! Plus it's almost a 100F today - so I took her egg and removed her carefully from the nest. Usually when I put them down on the ground they get right up and rush off. Well, not little Sunny - she just sat there like the other two broodies would do when I took them off their nests to poo each day. All I can say is she better be on that roost tonight! I DON'T NEED ANY MORE CHICKS! Although if they were as pretty as she is and laid such beautiful eggs...

Here are her eggs - lovely little pullet ones.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Hey, broody hen peeps! LOVE seeing all the hatching action and hearing the stories...so sorry, JR, about your lost hatchlings and the lone confused chick.

That's heartbreaking!

I've got 9 eggs under a silver penciled rock that are due to hatch Saturday and Monday (last 2 eggs were added before I had the original ones marked). This hen is 5 and has never been broody before; she's been off the nest for longr than she should have been several times, but it's also been extremely hot these last few weeks. So, I'm just not sure whether I'll get any chicks or not this weekend! I also have a broody Jersey Giant female that seems pretty persistent...I may go ahead & give her some eggs this weekend if she continues.

I'll post some pics of my silver penciled on her eggs tomorrow morning if she'll allow me to get some pics tonight!

Welcome - can't wait to see those pics! Sounds beautiful

 

[Wynette]

Thanks, bobbie! I have been contemplating discontinuing with the silver penciled rocks for more than a year now, and got myself to a point where I NEEDED more stock as my current stock is 4-5 years old. Time SO flies! And I kept wondering why they weren't laying as well this year. Sheesh, they're old ladies now!

 

[vmdanielsen]

My dear little 21 week old EE/WL mix pullet Sunny has laid 7 beautiful blue eggs since she started.

Today she was hanging out in the nest box for quite awhile after laying. I went into the coop to check on eggs and she growled that lovely broody growl. Great - I don't need any more chicks! Plus it's almost a 100F today - so I took her egg and removed her carefully from the nest. Usually when I put them down on the ground they get right up and rush off. Well, not little Sunny - she just sat there like the other two broodies would do when I took them off their nests to poo each day. All I can say is she better be on that roost tonight! I DON'T NEED ANY MORE CHICKS! Although if they were as pretty as she is and laid such beautiful eggs...

Here are her eggs - lovely little pullet ones.

Bobbieschicks,EE/WL? Easteregger/White leghorn?

 

[JakRat]

Who is going to have the chick? let one of the mamas have the chick the other the eggs. I have had a hen take care of one chick it will be okay. you don't want to lose this chick.

Well thats the thing of it. They are both fighting over it. Its annoying. I took matters into my own hands (and against my husbands wishes) and brought them into the basement and set them up in the kiddie pool. I am not sure why the other two died, but I think it might have been from the other girls stepping on them, or the heat. Either way today I went to Agway and got three little chicks. I took them down into the basement, turned off the lights and placed them under then hens and I have left the lights off for now. I went down to check and everyone is sitting nicely on the babies. Hopefully this little experiment will work. I threw the dud egg out so now there is just one little egg still down there and if it hatches, it hatches. The confusions seems to have subsided for now.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you miss Lydia, I know in my heart it's what I should do to protect her....I will go get her brooder area ready.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well thats the thing of it. They are both fighting over it. Its annoying. I took matters into my own hands (and against my husbands wishes) and brought them into the basement and set them up in the kiddie pool. I am not sure why the other two died, but I think it might have been from the other girls stepping on them, or the heat. Either way today I went to Agway and got three little chicks. I took them down into the basement, turned off the lights and placed them under then hens and I have left the lights off for now. I went down to check and everyone is sitting nicely on the babies. Hopefully this little experiment will work. I threw the dud egg out so now there is just one little egg still down there and if it hatches, it hatches. The confusions seems to have subsided for now.

Hopefully it will workout.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hey, broody hen peeps! LOVE seeing all the hatching action and hearing the stories...so sorry, JR, about your lost hatchlings and the lone confused chick.

That's heartbreaking!

I've got 9 eggs under a silver penciled rock that are due to hatch Saturday and Monday (last 2 eggs were added before I had the original ones marked). This hen is 5 and has never been broody before; she's been off the nest for longr than she should have been several times, but it's also been extremely hot these last few weeks. So, I'm just not sure whether I'll get any chicks or not this weekend! I also have a broody Jersey Giant female that seems pretty persistent...I may go ahead & give her some eggs this weekend if she continues.

I'll post some pics of my silver penciled on her eggs tomorrow morning if she'll allow me to get some pics tonight!

There you are!

Now your committed and we will be waiting for pics.

 

[jc12551]

My surprise broody ended up with four chicks. The one that I think was unintentionally helped out of the shell by the first two chicks is fine (I can't tell which one it is). The fifth egg was booted out of the next. It was cheeping, but never hatched. I keep finding excuses to go to the spare coop to watch the mamma hen teaching the chicks how to be chickens. I still have them cooped up in a breezy/shady pen. I am not sure when I will let them out. The other hens come and stare through the wire at the little family.

It is very hot here today and I am really worried about my other three broodies. I have a fan in the coop and I put water near each of them so they can drink more often. Other than that I don't know what to do!

 

[Ivyblaze]

Can one broody cause another one to go broody? My broodies friend (a RIR) seems to have went broody. I found her in the nest box next to my broody BA with the same 2 fertilized eggs I took out of there yesterday, and gave back to my BA. I wondered all night how they got there and were warm. Well now I know...I think the RIR has went broody too and is missing some belly feathers....dangit. Now I have to get her some fertilized eggs but meanwhile I left her the two she stole. I will go out tonight to see if she roosted or stayed in the box but I bet she is in the box.