Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Zoomom]

I am also eagerly awaiting Easter Egger chicks - I hope they hatch! I have not candled the eggs. Theyare due Wednesday-Thursday.

If I get chicks, I'll post a pic! All the beautiful mommas and babies, congratulations everyone.

So sorry to hear of your loss, Fluffy. Can you buy a few babies to satisfy your craving for fluff?

 

[Sudsy Chick]

Thank you so much Fuffy and Miss Lydia! This morning was the same thing; so I did some work on the coop to make two broody hens work. Basically - I split the coop into three parts using a clean BBQ grill, some screws and some cardboard. Then I gave the two nests to the broody girls; and gave Henrietta the option of either the other part of the coop or the nest in the pet carrier (down below) for her eggs. I split the fertile eggs - using the rooster as the divider. So Juno got a few less eggs - all from the black Auracuana rooster w/ black hens, and Panda has the most eggs from a blue Auracauna rooster w/ blue, black & splash hens.

Poor Miss Henrietta actually seems happier with this arrangement - she has been hanging out in the coop with both broody girls for the last 30 minutes and playing with the straw I gave her (we usually use chicken chaff - so this was new to her - but had to use straw with the broody girls & their eggs to keep the eggs from sinking). She seems to be doing well and not bothering the other two girls...and was very happy with hot french toast snack and extra attention from me this morning

I will keep an eye on them and adjust as necessary...let me know if you see any issues please!

Edited to add - I just went outside to check and Henreitta has laid her egg where I left her playing with straw, and was very happy

Yay!

Fluffy Girls!
Juno (Giant Jersey) to the left – Panda (Australorp) to the right.

Henrietta checking out the new digs:

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Zoomom - good luck with your easter egger chicks! I heard that blue eggs are harder to candle? So we haven't done it yet either. I am going to try later this week though...we'll see how it goes.

Stonykill - your babies are completely adorable - and I love your hen too! She is beautiful, almost like a hawk!

 

[momiphouph]

I just sent a question in a different thread and then I noticed this one... so Im sending my question again on this thread... Hope someone here can help me out.

We have a broody hen that hatched 3 chicks the day before yesterday. Today she is not longer sitting on the eggs and hasnt been in the nest all day. We decided to candle the eggs and one started chirping and pippped in our hands. We quickly put it back! I could hear pecking inside another egg... SO COOL! But we are not sure what (if anything) we should do? The eggs are not real warm but obviously some are still thriving... Any thoughts? We have an incubator we can put them in if needed but we dont want to be alarmists... if this is normal. This is our first time with a broody hen but we have incubated before.

Mama hen is a Salmon Faverolle and candling didnt really get me very far since most of the eggs she is sitting on are EE's and I cant see in them. Sigh!

 

[Miss Lydia]

you need to put the eggs in the bator, if mama isn't sitting on them they need to be warm and after they hatch maybe try to slip them to the hen after dark.

 

[momiphouph]

Thank YOU!!! I have the bator out and eggs in it... Im trying to remember temps and such for hatching... right now its at 91 temp and 62% humitity... we live in GA and the bator is curently outside, because when we pulled it out it was covered in Black widows! Could this get anymore exciting? Im looking up temps and such, because I cant remember what it is suppose to be. One So far we have 3 pips and one that is zipping! Hopefully we can save these babies!

 

[Miss Lydia]

If they have come this far they will make it. and your warm temps in Ga. is more than likely what did it. I have never hatched in a bator so can't help you there. After they hatch put them up under mom after dark and hopefully she'll take them in. Please let us know how it goes... Good luck..

 

[Terri O]

The humidity sounds fine and you can let the temp get up to 99 or so. Good luck--so great that you found them in time...I have lost so many when the Moms do that! Terri O (who now has an incubator for just such emergencies!)

 

[momiphouph]

Quote:
I agree I think the GA temps have definatly helped. We just built a new coop and we are still working on ventilation issues, its warm inside so I think that has also helped. Mom was sitting on them yesterday evening so I believe it has only been since this morning. We did have one hatch already and it hatched in my sons hands! Super cool! One of the pips is starting to zip so everything is looking good so far... Still trying to get the bator temps and humidity to work right.

 

[momiphouph]

Quote:
temps are sitting around 98 and 58 humidity... Im so glad we did find them, this is moms first time going broody and our first time having a broody hen... so we are all new. lol Good thing you got that back up bator! I would advice making sure it is spider free if you have a broody hen. lol I cant tell you how many times I had thought about getting it ready "just in case" and sure enough, just in case arrived and I wasnt ready. Sure made for an exciting day and the kids got to watch a chick hatch up close and personal. Baby is doing well!

I did get pics and I will try to post some.

 

[stonykill]

once they get busy with chicks, even experienced broody's will abandon eggs. Once they need to take care of their little ones, they will do that. My newest broody chicks are 4 days old, and one of her abandoned eggs just hatched in the bator, and another is pipped. These eggs were late eggs, from another hen.