Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fredvw]

Well, blue Silkie hatched 7 out of 8 eggs. Some little cute fur balls. Still enjoy watching the mothers with their babies.


fred.

 

[stonykill]

Well, blue Silkie hatched 7 out of 8 eggs. Some little cute fur balls. Still enjoy watching the mothers with their babies. fred.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Well, blue Silkie hatched 7 out of 8 eggs. Some little cute fur balls. Still enjoy watching the mothers with their babies. fred.

I don't want to seem pushy but, pictures please!

 

[farmer boy]

Yes the wait is hard, but it will go by faster if you forget to watch the calendar. Also many broodies hatch early so that can be a bonus! Sometimes they hatch on day 19 or 20 instead of 21.

ya i hope .. when they hatch im getting a few cochin chicks to put in with her at night and sorry for got to link it to yours .. all my hens and roos and chicks are outside together and once the young roo is outside he is hard to catch and it is only the day the are together

 

[efanie]

Ok my broody is due Thursday but after they hatch what do I do?

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Copper has a final count of thirteen chicks. Will try for pictures today. I got lucky with the last chick who was apparently the biggest butterball and hatched last, left behind. After a night on the warming pad and coaxing some tweezer held food he perked up and looked and acted normal, not wanting to wait I took him to the coop. All the chicks were out and about - so warm out! So I put him in a corner and played a little shuffle game and mama never noticed a new chick was there! (Well with twelve others I thought she wouldn't be able to count that high) hopefully. Butterball was too cute, he ran over to the others like a kid in kindergarten, so happy to be there but not knowing what to do or say. Mama copper took him and starting showing him how to eat, he stayed right at her head catching up on the lessons he'd missed out on. I'm happy that worked out well, was holding my breath, ready to snatch him out of there should things go sideways. Much later, at night, i switched brooders from a 2' x 4' area to 2' x 8' and gave the two remaining orphans the smaller area. I think they really needed the room as mama is a vigorous scratcher. She was mad but settled down as soon as the chicks found there way over to her..she is turning out to be a really good mama, it's her second brood this year.

 

[bobbieschicks]

ya i hope .. when they hatch im getting a few cochin chicks to put in with her at night and sorry for got to link it to yours .. all my hens and roos and chicks are outside together and once the young roo is outside he is hard to catch and it is only the day the are together

Oh okay - that makes more sense - thank you.

The young roo will keep trying to mate anyone he can mate - if he's very young he may not be actually trying to mate them - but instead he's trying to dominate them. I'm about to process at least two if not three of my cockerels so that my poor girls can get a break from all the crowing, mounting, feather loss, etc.

As soon as all those Silkies get old enough I'll process those cockerels too - right now they all look like cockerels to me - hoping not.

Of course I say "process" but this will be my first time of doing it - so I pray for the strength to complete the job and let our family enjoy the fruit of having raised these cockerels from birth.

 

[Johnn]

Adorable! Glad you got your pics loaded, love the baby pop up pics.

Thank you!, I am hoping these two will bring chicks up together in the furture if the stoat dosent get them this year, it comes in november and takes 2 and last year it was my two broodys

 

[bobbieschicks]

Ok my broody is due Thursday but after they hatch what do I do?

This is what I've done with my broody's after they hatched their clutches.

Make sure the broody and babies are in a safe place to be together for a couple of days while they dry out and before she's ready to leave her nest. Then let her do her thing.

In the nest area after the chicks hatch I provide a small plate of medicated chick feed (MannaPro is my preference) and water (with rocks in the tray to keep them from drowning). Then on the second day I scramble eggs and give those to the momma on a plate with some mealyworms and watch her teach them how to pick through it and eat.

By the third day momma will want to bring those babies out - I leave the door to the coop open and if she takes the lead bringing them out into the run. If there's a problem bird nearby or it's her first time brooding I will watch closely to make sure no one interferes. But momma will beat down anyone who messes with her or looks sideways at those babies - lol!

Momma will watch them closely, teach them to find food and avoid trouble & protect them fiercely. At the end of the first week she'll have them going in and out of the coop. She'll set up a nest area on the floor inside the coop for a week or so, then probably move them to the nestboxes the next week or two and by the 3rd week usually have them on the roost with her at night. By week 4 she'll stop letting them under her and peck them away if they keep coming around. By week 5 the hen's back to laying and the babies are independent.

Enjoy the fuzzy butts while you can - they grow up so fast.
And then you find out they are all cockerels!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Thank you!, I am hoping these two will bring chicks up together in the furture if the stoat dosent get them this year, it comes in november and takes 2 and last year it was my two broodys

Oh no I'm so sorry - what is a "stoat"? Why only in November?