Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[am farmer]

I have to keep my new batch in brooder even if my hens hatch them cause of the pecking as of this moment i have three that have been beat up pretty bad by there momma two of them were being peck before even comeing out the shell i let them finish hatching out in the bator thank god i had abatch in there and it was up an running i i would have lost them also i am sorry for your loss

 

[am farmer]

Miss lydia have you tryed feeding the frozen fruit during the heat of the day i live in texas and always very hot here thats what keeps mine cool on the hottest days have not lost any to the heat yet

 

[myby]

Wow, I did not know that the momma can do that, I though they will protect them from anything.

 

[am farmer]

Not mine she treat them as if they are introders in her nest
I have to check offten during hatchs to collect the chicks made the mistake frist time and lost all chicks

 

[stonykill]

Wow, I did not know that the momma can do that, I though they will protect them from anything.

a good mama won't do that, unless the chick is not well. A bad mama does it for no reason at all. If I ever had a hen do that, she would NEVER be allowed to hatch eggs again. Just like with humans, there are bad chicken mothers

 

[Miss Lydia]

a good mama won't do that, unless the chick is not well. A bad mama does it for no reason at all. If I ever had a hen do that, she would NEVER be allowed to hatch eggs again. Just like with humans, there are bad chicken mothers

I sure agree stony that is the rule here too.

 

[bobbieschicks]

  a good mama won't do that, unless the chick is not well. A bad mama does it for no reason at all. If I ever had a hen do that, she would NEVER be allowed to hatch eggs again. Just like with humans, there are bad chicken mothers

Xs2! That's why you still need to check on the babies once they hatch. Especially for a first time momma. Of course most of us don't have to be told to keep an eye on the hatching eggs

 

[am farmer]

So how do i keep her from taking over the others nest witch is what she does sometimes i go out to the pen and i have four hens sitting on top of each other try to set same nest in very funny and have never seen this before when she was hatching this week her and my black mixed hen were setting on same clutch of eggs and had been whole set

 

[am farmer]

That why i get them as they hatch and in to brooder they go

 

[bobbieschicks]

I won the auction so I should be getting 3 or 4 blue splash maran eggs on weds or thru next week. I'm trying again for my elusive dark brown egg. Hoping Topsy stays broody. She's been pretty stuck to her nest so far. I also want to build or cheaply buy a wired area for her to brood inside so she won't be bothered like she is now in the nest box. It's a pain to keep restapling the wire in place over and over again.