Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

Congratulations Meredith!

My blue orp has been broody multiple times this year too.
I put 4 eggs under her last Wednesday and candled them tonight = 3 are moving!
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Well my buff orp Autumn is broody for the 3rd time this year
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. I put 10 eggs under her last friday, 8 bbs silkies and 2 easter eggers! One egg was crushed by my queen hen, who is very upset that Autumn wouldn't get out of her favorite box. And tonight I candled them and threw one dud out, the others are showing good veins! :yess
 
My hen hatched 6 out of 6 Cream Legbars yesterday!!





First time mum!

I think at least 3 males maybe 4
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Dont wash them. Leave the eggs alone, its probably not best that they got goo on them but they should be fine. I would check and see if they are still growing. My bet is they are just fine.
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xs2 my blue egg got yuck all over it from Smokey's poo and what looked like the crushed egg. The blue egg hatched and is now 2 weeks old and outside in the yard as I type this.
 
I wouldn't worry about wiring them in. The chicks usually stay right under the momma for the first few days. Rarely venturing more then a foot away by day two after hatch. Also, if it's been warm where you are the mommas may hatch early. Then again the 21 days is an average - they may hatch later.

My Smokey hatched one of her chicks on a Weds (Day 20) & the other on Thurs (Day 21) and Topsy hatched her two chicks on Friday (Day 22) - late in the day.


Broody Jewels is doing fine... to bad the egg are due to hatch on a Thursday... school day :(. And Friday is a school day too.. I'm freaking out. I guess I can let them out to free range.. but no one would be home so I'm afraid they would go somewhere dangerous. On school days I usually keep them in the coop/run but I don't want the other chickens to get curious... Plus if she leaves the nest to go to the run, other chickens will sit on them and lay an egg.. and I do NOT want those eggs to crack because one of my chickens lay an egg on top of them... maybe I'll put a little cage around her nest box... this is the first time I've hatched chicks in the coop... last July they hatched in our shed (very safe, undisturbed). Gulp... any ideas?
 
So I came home to my broodies egs FILTHY. Covered in poo, straw, and I think yolk. Looked like another hen used the broodies box (I don't have a sepereate area, shes just in a nestbox) and pooped in it, and I think crakced one of the eggs :( or one layed that day. I cleaned out the box and put her back, but since all the eggs were dry they still have bits of poo, straw, and some yolk on them. What should I do???

Make sure to remove any cracked eggs as they will rot and stink up the place. Then just leave them alone. My Topsy hatched out a blue egg this time that had become covered with poo from Smokey and possibly egg yolk from the cracked egg. I just wiped what I could off of it and put it under Topsy. It is now 2 weeks old and running around in the yard as I type this. Do not wash the egg off - it's not necessary.
 
Well my buff orp Autumn is broody for the 3rd time this year
celebrate.gif
. I put 10 eggs under her last friday, 8 bbs silkies and 2 easter eggers! One egg was crushed by my queen hen, who is very upset that Autumn wouldn't get out of her favorite box. And tonight I candled them and threw one dud out, the others are showing good veins! :yess

Yeah! Congrats on the broody!
 
Well Broody Mc Buff stayed on the eggs we gave her last night. now only 2 days to go. Put up some wire dog kennel for a fence to keep her old chicks and the Huge Rangers away. Was worried about the big Rooster who found his voice this week, had been random noise now a real crow.
 

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