Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

I finished my Broody Box for Iddy! Here it is:

OMG that is styling!! I have never seen a broody box that awesome!

 

[perchie.girl]

I finished my Broody Box for Iddy! Here it is:

I love it good idea about rimming the cut plastic.

deb

 

[gabrielle1976]

now poor mini has a big bald spot on her back, are the other chickens plucking her?

 

[cluckcluckluke]

we have to see a pic of this

O.K, slight mistake, I'm colour blind.lol. So it's actually brown but it kind of looks green, I shall get a photo tomorrow.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

I finished my Broody Box for Iddy! Here it is:

Wow that's great I wish I could get my hens to nest in what you've got now. Great broody box though.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That is a great broody box, you still need to watch your other hens or they will lay their eggs in it too.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Okay...finally.

To recap... I only had 1 egg hatch from the 7 I set with my broody. Was trying to find some close to same hatch date that I could add under her to see if she'd accept them to raise as hatch mates. Interestingly I found someone who had a hatch the same day and the day after mine - WITH EGGS FROM THE SAME SOURCE - and within driving distance. That's pretty amazing....so these kiddos are likely from the same source although the girl I got them from also had some from 1 other source so some may be his as well.

These are all Swedish Flower Hens w/a hatchery RIR broody.

Here's the baby we hatched (the yellow one):





Had a good bit of discussion regarding whether mom would accept the new kiddos. I placed them under her after dark on New Year's Eve. I was surprised at how quickly the babies just settled down. I thought they'd be a little freaked out by the dark since they've only known a heat lamp since their hatch but there seemed to be no anxiety for them at all.

Then...I got up before dawn to go out and watch how mom would react. Plan was to remove them from her and brood them w/a light if she looked like she wasn't going to accept them. I sat out there WAY TO LONG in the cold for my liking... How do chickens keep those skinny little feet warm anyway?

When they first came out she acted like they'd been there all along!

Here is right after they came out. The little yellow one that's away from the crowd is the one we hatched. The three w/mom are the new kids. Mom is showing them how to find food:







After they'd been out a minute or two it was time to call them in to warm up. She hunkered down in this corner all day long with the kids coming out from time to time then going back to keep warm.



I had put some food there in front of her later in the day and she called them out for some lunch. It's amazing to watch her communicating with them. There's "Come and Get It" call; "Get under here quick" call; At one point you could hear crows cawwing outside and she said something that made them go totally silent; and others as well... Very cool to see and hear all this!




You can see it but.... THERE'S A PARTY GOING ON UNDER THERE!



You can see a few more photos here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6337029/broody-and-babies/

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thanks for the box photos.

NOW A QUESTION FOR Y'ALL THAT HAVE HAD BROODIES BEFORE....

I had the nest box made from the cut out rubbermade tote you can see in the photos above. As soon as she was done hatching, she no longer goes in there and has ended up hunkered down in a corner on the floor.

Now...my thought was that since the box has sides and a top if I put it on, it would be warmer in there rather than just out on the floor in the open.

Do your broodies leave the box after they hatch never to return to it?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Okay...finally.

To recap... I only had 1 egg hatch from the 7 I set with my broody. Was trying to find some close to same hatch date that I could add under her to see if she'd accept them to raise as hatch mates. Interestingly I found someone who had a hatch the same day and the day after mine - WITH EGGS FROM THE SAME SOURCE - and within driving distance. That's pretty amazing....so these kiddos are likely from the same source although the girl I got them from also had some from 1 other source so some may be his as well.

These are all Swedish Flower Hens w/a hatchery RIR broody.

Here's the baby we hatched (the yellow one):





Had a good bit of discussion regarding whether mom would accept the new kiddos. I placed them under her after dark on New Year's Eve. I was surprised at how quickly the babies just settled down. I thought they'd be a little freaked out by the dark since they've only known a heat lamp since their hatch but there seemed to be no anxiety for them at all.

Then...I got up before dawn to go out and watch how mom would react. Plan was to remove them from her and brood them w/a light if she looked like she wasn't going to accept them. I sat out there WAY TO LONG in the cold for my liking... How do chickens keep those skinny little feet warm anyway?

When they first came out she acted like they'd been there all along!

Here is right after they came out. The little yellow one that's away from the crowd is the one we hatched. The three w/mom are the new kids. Mom is showing them how to find food:







After they'd been out a minute or two it was time to call them in to warm up. She hunkered down in this corner all day long with the kids coming out from time to time then going back to keep warm.



I had put some food there in front of her later in the day and she called them out for some lunch. It's amazing to watch her communicating with them. There's "Come and Get It" call; "Get under here quick" call; At one point you could hear crows cawwing outside and she said something that made them go totally silent; and others as well... Very cool to see and hear all this!




You can see it but.... THERE'S A PARTY GOING ON UNDER THERE!



You can see a few more photos here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6337029/broody-and-babies/

Those pics are amazing love that mama

 

[stonykill]

Thanks for the box photos.

NOW A QUESTION FOR Y'ALL THAT HAVE HAD BROODIES BEFORE....

I had the nest box made from the cut out rubbermade tote you can see in the photos above. As soon as she was done hatching, she no longer goes in there and has ended up hunkered down in a corner on the floor.

Now...my thought was that since the box has sides and a top if I put it on, it would be warmer in there rather than just out on the floor in the open.

Do your broodies leave the box after they hatch never to return to it?

many times they do just that. The tote maybe warmer for mama but won't make a bit of difference to the warmth of the chicks. They get their warmth off of mama's body.