Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[stonykill]

Just because a chicken is not afraid of a human, does not mean it can't free range. Never lost a bird to a predator and all of mine were handled. It makes for easier inspections. I don't really handle chicks all that often, but if I wanted to, I'd like for them NOT to die of a heart attack when I go to pick them up.

Saying that, I do like to sit and take pictures of the chicks, so I do not want the hen to flog me lol

just a different way of raising. See, I don't see any reason to pick up a chick and hold it. Chickens and chicks can be inspected by simply observing them. For the record, my chicks and chickens aren't scared of me. That would just be silly. They know I am their caretaker.
Free ranging and NEVER losing a chicken to a predator is just luck, very good luck.

I can pick up my RIR broody's, and only do to check to see if they stole a new egg. So them I pick up daily. To look for the other girls eggs. And usually find one.

 

[Tanichca]

So... I took some pics of the babies... but my phone decided to be evil, and wouldn't let me upload or send the pics.

Anyway, Floppy has learned to walk! Yay! The rosecomb hatched a little bit ago, and is already running around the cage like a jumping bean. Another baby EE hatched, but isn't doing so hot, just laying down and not moving much. Another egg, one of the turken eggs, has internally pipped, because it's moving and squeaking like crazy! Momma hen isn't quite sure what all the fuzzy things under her are and what happened to the nice, clean eggs she was sitting on yesterday, but I'm sure she'll get used to it eventually.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Adorable! Enjoy it now if they are affectionate when they otherwise are not normally - my Smokey was the same way the 1st time she was broody. She was not an affectionate chicken - she would dash away if I even looked like I might want to touch her. But here she was letting me pick her up and her and she practically cooed. She would come to me and was so loving even after the chicks hatched and she was scratching with them in the coop. Then on the 3rd day the alpha roo picked up one of the chicks and flung it - therein ended the loving Smokey and began the "come near me and I'll tear your head off" Smokey. She's repeated the same behaviors the 2nd time and now that she's broody again I suspect she'll be the same way this time too.

That's interesting. My hens that are more timid are usually really easy to touch when broody. My silkies are another story. Two of the three that I've had go broody are really protective As much as they can see to protect anyway. I guess I just don't bother them enough to flog. They don't ever flog when I'm in the vicinity, even if I don't touch them when broody.
I have to kick my silkies out of the nest. They will not leave to poop, eat or drink, so they have to be moved. I don't like to put feed and water in their cages, because they have spilled them. They always go broody in pet carriers I normally use for nesting boxes until I can build something more permanent. That's a plus. They are really easy to move! I do not put the front on them, so they are not confined. This is why I have the issue with the staggered hatch.

How cute is this?

Uhm.. Marge (the one above) decided that she needed to nest on my lap. I have no idea why. I was sitting in the pen with them - admiring their cuteness, and she hops up on me and hunches down like she would on the ground to keep her chicks warm. Is that weird? She is not normally so affectionate.
Now the silkie will puff all out when I enter.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Went out to lock up the coop last night and was missing one of Smokey's now 9 week old silkie babies. Then I glanced toward the broody area and found him. He probably got in through one of the small openings where I couldn't staple the wire in better. So I grabbed him out and put him back in the main coop. The broodies who were both puffed up when I first noticed him were happy he was gone and settled right back into pancake mode.

 

[aoxa]

  just a different way of raising. See, I don't see any reason to pick up a chick and hold it. Chickens and chicks can be inspected by simply observing them. For the record, my chicks and chickens aren't scared of me. That would just be silly. They know I am their caretaker. 
    Free ranging and NEVER losing a chicken to a predator is just luck, very good luck. 

    I can pick up my RIR broody's, and only do to check to see if they stole a new egg. So them I pick up daily. To look for the other girls eggs. And usually find one.

I have a Livestock Guardian Dog that I paid good money for, so I think it's a little more than luck

How would you correct pasty butt? I seem to get that a lot. I see it by observing them, but I have to handle them to fix the situation. No I wouldn't pick them up just because.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I have a Livestock Guardian Dog that I paid good money for, so I think it's a little more than luck

How would you correct pasty butt? I seem to get that a lot. I see it by observing them, but I have to handle them to fix the situation. No I wouldn't pick them up just because.

I have noticed that with my chicks I've hatched in the bator and put into a brooder have had only two incidences of pasty butt or stuff covering the poop hole. But my broody raised babies haven't had any problems - yet - with pasty butt. Don't know why. Maybe momma is picking the stuff off? Maybe it's the food differences. The broody raised chicks are out eating stuff in the yard and hardly eating the chick feed. The brooder raised ones are fed chick feed - maybe that's the difference?

 

[stonykill]

I have a Livestock Guardian Dog that I paid good money for, so I think it's a little more than luck

How would you correct pasty butt? I seem to get that a lot. I see it by observing them, but I have to handle them to fix the situation. No I wouldn't pick them up just because.

I had pastie butt once, in an incubated chick. The brooder heat was too high. 100's of broody chicks I've never seen pastie butt on one. Not once. These are broody chicks with pastie butt?

Good choice on the dog. He can't do much for an attack from the sky. Bad stuff can happen to free range birds. Not losing any is luck. Careful what you boast about.

 

[aoxa]

  I had pastie butt once, in an incubated chick. The brooder heat was too high. 100's of broody chicks I've never seen pastie butt on one. Not once. These are broody chicks with pastie butt? 

     Good choice on the dog. He can't do much for an attack from the sky. Bad stuff can happen to free range birds. Not losing any is luck. Careful what you boast about. 

We do not have arial predators like you guys would in the US. Eagles would be our only worry, and we have a lot of cover. Woods and a ton of trees throughout the yard.

Anyway. Yeah, I've seen build up on at least 3 or 4 of the 21 chicks my two moms are sharing. What could I be doing wrong? They are on chick starter, no heat lamps and tons of fresh water changed every 12 hours. Still I see build up. No blocking of vent, but there is poop on the butt fluff.

These aren't chicks she hatched or I incubated and hatched. They are RSL feed store chicks. Before this I've only had one issue of a broody raised chick with pasty butt.

Oh and they have ACV in their water as well. Or at least they do when I am doing the watering.

 

[erinszoo]

Ooh, yeah, I found the broody thread!

We now have two girls who have decided to brood and as this is our first time ever even have one go broody, we've just been winging it all. The first girl went broody two weeks ago with 7 eggs but three more got added to the pot along the way. She's a white leghorn which I've read a million times or so don't go broody. Just my luck I guess that out of three of them, one is broody. She's been really good so far and when we candled the eggs at 10 days they were growing away. Then two days ago one of my barred rocks decided that she just HAD to sit on the nest as well. They'd been sharing, oddly enough, so we moved half the eggs to another nest for her and both birds settled right back down. Only problem now is that they are taking up two of my three nest boxes and that isn't going to fly long with the other girls trying to lay eggs.

Question: We are moving their house ... actually moving them into a newly converted garage and tearing down the house they are currently in. Will this freak them out to move with the eggs or should we try to wait to move them until they've hatched?

 

[aoxa]

Ooh, yeah, I found the broody thread!

We now have two girls who have decided to brood and as this is our first time ever even have one go broody, we've just been winging it all. The first girl went broody two weeks ago with 7 eggs but three more got added to the pot along the way. She's a white leghorn which I've read a million times or so don't go broody. Just my luck I guess that out of three of them, one is broody. She's been really good so far and when we candled the eggs at 10 days they were growing away. Then two days ago one of my barred rocks decided that she just HAD to sit on the nest as well. They'd been sharing, oddly enough, so we moved half the eggs to another nest for her and both birds settled right back down. Only problem now is that they are taking up two of my three nest boxes and that isn't going to fly long with the other girls trying to lay eggs.

Question: We are moving their house ... actually moving them into a newly converted garage and tearing down the house they are currently in. Will this freak them out to move with the eggs or should we try to wait to move them until they've hatched?

I've never had success moving nests, they always get upset. The only way I've fixed this is if they start to brood in a pet carrier. Then move them wherever. That never seems to bother them. You can try to move them, but do it before day 18 so they don't get all worked up and leave the eggs during a critical sitting time.

I have never had a hen quit being broody because I've moved her, but others might have had these issues.