Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Rachel'sFlock]

I had a Silkie broody hen that sat on eggs of various vintages, one of them hatched but she stayed broody on about 2 more eggs. Meanwhile I had an incubator hatch of 13 chicks so after a couple days or less I put them under the broody hen at night. She accepted all of them except the 2 partridge and continued to sit. It took a few more days for her to accept those 2 but eventually she did and her 2 eggs did not seem viable so I removed them and she was a good mother for all the chicks. Chicks just seem to do so much better raised by a hen even though the mother takes them out in very cool weather (40s and 50s) when they are only a couple days old. I don't think the breed matters but the color may at first.

My BA Mamma did show some distress when I slid the 2 CWhites under her...BAs don't come in yellow, and she knew it. But, they peeped and scratched, so she decided to love them, anyway, within the first day.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Hi, i went to my hens today to find there had been an attack, Melow and my ex batt flora were missing, i found flora dead with a big bite and i followed a trail of feathers to find Melow and the feathers just cut off and i searched for two hours and couldn't find her, will look again tomorrow, i hope shes alive, i love her! at first i thaught it was the two chick coz mama came up the field alone but it wasnt, it was little Melow and flora! hope i find her, she was a good mama to them two chicks! :'(

Oh Johnn I'm so sorry to hear this - I do hope you fine Melow and she's in one piece - maybe she got away and is in hiding. I pray that is the case. I'm sorry for Flora - I know how hard it is to find them dead. I also hope you figure out who got them and can hopefully deter them from coming back.

 

[Johnn]

Thankyou Bobbiechicks, Racheal'sflock and Miss Lydia, I really do hope i find her, if it was someones dogs, fine accidents happen when people are careless but were the hens were killed the dog should not have had the time to kill two because they could easily get there in time. If any more get killed i wont be happy because there is nothing much i can do because it looks like it happened in day light because there is no feathers in or out side the shed, just up the field, They were probablies my two favouraite hens , if both are dead i will rather replace them next year or just keep my next chicks.

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

Thankyou Bobbiechicks, Racheal'sflock and Miss Lydia, I really do hope i find her, if it was someones dogs, fine accidents happen when people are careless but were the hens were killed the dog should not have had the time to kill two because they could easily get there in time. If any more get killed i wont be happy because there is nothing much i can do because it looks like it happened in day light because there is no feathers in or out side the shed, just up the field, They were probablies my two favouraite hens , if both are dead i will rather replace them next year or just keep my next chicks.

I did have a hen come back to me in (mostly) one piece after a coyote attack just a week or so ago. She is recovering well.
Anything is possible.

 

[Johnn]

I did have a hen come back to me in (mostly) one piece after a coyote attack just a week or so ago. She is recovering well.
Anything is possible.

lets hope i get some luck, havn't had much of it at the minute.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Johnn, I'm so sorry to hear about this. It wasn't your buff orpingtons was it? Sorry, but I don't know their names. I too hope she's hiding and will come home tomorrow.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

one tip Ive learned is dont order to many eggs for just one broody hen , Ive just recently made this mistake but there may be hope yet, the fertile eggs haven't even gone under my broody yet so i shall post my results in a couple of weeks, I'm quite nervous now but very excited!!!!!!!!!! Ive ordered half a dozen (6) White Leghorn fertile eggs and half a dozen (6) Minorca fertile eggs for my one broody hen.( i do wish just out of pure luck that one of my other hens goes broody, so she can share the load, even if its my little 18 week old frizzle i really dont mind). Well even if if they dont all hatch at least i should get some roosters and pullets, so then i can breed them when they get older.

Ive also come up with a money making scheme and i am allowing my self to share it with you- it has certainly not been thought over thoroughly so there could potentially be many faults and places fro improvements- but how about selling broody hens for more money than a non broody hen or even renting a broody hen for those who cant build or buy an incubator for whatever reason.

a few cons that Ive just thought up while typing this-
-the move you stress them out and put them of being broody
-the broody hen would get attacked much more easily by the original hens because of her vulnerable position.

 

[bobbieschicks]

one tip Ive learned is dont order to many eggs for just one broody hen , Ive just recently made this mistake but there may be hope yet, the fertile eggs haven't even gone under my broody yet so i shall post my results in a couple of weeks, I'm quite nervous now but very excited!!!!!!!!!! Ive ordered half a dozen (6) White Leghorn fertile eggs and half a dozen (6) Minorca fertile eggs for my one broody hen.( i do wish just out of pure luck that one of my other hens goes broody, so she can share the load, even if its my little 18 week old frizzle i really dont mind). Well even if if they dont all hatch at least i should get some roosters and pullets, so then i can breed them when they get older.

Ive also come up with a money making scheme and i am allowing my self to share it with you- it has certainly not been thought over thoroughly so there could potentially be many faults and places fro improvements- but how about selling broody hens for more money than a non broody hen or even renting a broody hen for those who cant build or buy an incubator for whatever reason.

a few cons that Ive just thought up while typing this-
-the move you stress them out and put them of being broody
-the broody hen would get attacked much more easily by the original hens because of her vulnerable position.

That is certainly an interesting idea. I suppose if you can get the timing right it would be profitable. But with my two broodies who do it whenever they want to I don't think I could ever get the timing right. I suppose if I only had broodies, and many of them, it might work. But I also think that, like women, they would eventually all sync to the same cycle and I'd have like 20 broodies at once. Hey maybe that would work for you!

 

[Johnn]

Johnn, I'm so sorry to hear about this. It wasn't your buff orpingtons was it? Sorry, but I don't know their names. I too hope she's hiding and will come home tomorrow.

Nope, Floras the ex batt and Melow is the one who braught up the two chicks with the orp, im going up in 2-3 hours to look for her

 

[Miss Lydia]

Nope, Floras the ex batt and Melow is the one who braught up the two chicks with the orp, im going up in 2-3 hours to look for her