Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[aoxa]

They are so cute!!!

Thanks

I have been MIA from this thread. Didn't have much to report

 

[Miss Lydia]

I currently have 4 broody hens setting right now. Macy, my muscovy was setting on duds as well, and I finally got around to kicking her off. She was behind a very heavy engine, so it was a tough one. She is the easiest broody to break. No eggs = no broody. I wish my hens were easier to break (only if it was January and letting the hatch in -20 is not a great idea (IMO anyway). The mothers would never stop sitting on their babies in that temperature.

I also have one hen with a brood of 7 as well. They will be 5 weeks old tomorrow.

Here she is with all 7 of her fluffy silkie babies

She only hatched one of these. All the other six were hatched by me in an incubator and raised for 1 week. Her one baby was a week old when I added the six others. Janet even accepted this random rooster chick that is 5 weeks older that made his way into her pen. She will take any chick. She does not care on the age.
She is not protective - I hate that.. She will run away if the roosters go after her, leaving her babies behind. If there are young pullets or roosters around her babies though, she will take jabs at them. She doesn't care if I touch them, and I've offered Janet some turkey from thanksgiving and she called her babies to my hand and they grabbed on to that turkey and hung there while holding on to the meat.

Anyway.. They are just so cute.. Janet is molting as well.. At least she is doing it while she is not laying anyway!

Precious babies and mama, what breed is mama?

 

[Johnn]

My Cuckoo maran chick is taller than my other cockerel now!!, i can tell having two cockerels wont go down well at this rate!, really hope they get along dont want to have to get rid of one!!

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Hello. Just my $0.02. I'm with Miss Lydia here, after my experience I've decided no more sitting here after Aug 5. I can't find the post that I just read, but I really liked the post that stated that while we get the cold temps now, in usual spring time starting out the temps can be colder than what we are experiencing now.

 

[stonykill]

Hello. Just my $0.02. I'm with Miss Lydia here, after my experience I've decided no more sitting here after Aug 5. I can't find the post that I just read, but I really liked the post that stated that while we get the cold temps now, in usual spring time starting out the temps can be colder than what we are experiencing now.

that was probably my post. Why did you chose my birthday as the day there is no more sitting? lol. Seriously to each his own. I let my girls do their thing through October. After that the roosters tend to not be fertile, so there isn't any point in letting the girls sit on infertile eggs. That is until Late February early March when it all starts again.

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

that was probably my post. Why did you chose my birthday as the day there is no more sitting? lol. Seriously to each his own. I let my girls do their thing through October. After that the roosters tend to not be fertile, so there isn't any point in letting the girls sit on infertile eggs. That is until Late February early March when it all starts again.

I've been pretty fortunate with broodies hatching thru September. After that, it is too wet to have new guys learning the ropes in the rain.
In my neck of the woods it is almost never too cold.

 

[aoxa]

Precious babies and mama, what breed is mama? 

Mama is a partridge cochin

Thanks!

 

[aoxa]

Hello. Just my $0.02. I'm with Miss Lydia here, after my experience I've decided no more sitting here after Aug 5. I can't find the post that I just read, but I really liked the post that stated that while we get the cold temps now, in usual spring time starting out the temps can be colder than what we are experiencing now.

I let my girls do what they want. If they are going to hatch in the winter, I will only let them sit on 1-3 eggs and not give them any extra. The chicks will need to be kept warm until they are fully feathered, and 7 week old chicks under mama is a tight squeeze!

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Sorry my friends, being newly hatched as I am, I may have posted out of line... I don't have chickens, just ducks! I say Aug 5 because with the weird weather we've been having here (Zone 5), it is just really stressful for me, worrying about the babies without feathers and the freezing temps. Of course, this is such an issue because Mom has decided to be fickle and hasn't been solidly committed. Anyway, that is just my experience, I am 100% positive that all of you know your flocks better than I do!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am not doubting my girls that I KNOW are great broodies and mamas would still do a great job of taking care of their lil ones but for me I would rather deal with broodies, mamas and their chicks in the spring chickens and ducks.