Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[jtotherow]

I know this posting is old but I need help! One of my hens is brooding and has been in this brooding for a week. One Lady at my church told me to leave the eggs under her and she would hatch them. Problem! It is winter here. Next week is suppose to be lows in the 20's. I have two Roos so all my eggs are fertile. 2nd problem she is in the community nest. I have 14 hens due to an attack of Owls and people stealing. They got smart and now go in one of the two hen houses and I close the run so nothing can get them. They have started laying in the other hen house which can't be closed. My brooding hen is wanting to stay in the nest in the unsecured house! Help!
How do I keep her warm and safe? Do I move her? My friend said she would only brood for 30 days. Have I waited too long to leave the eggs? I would like to increase my flock the natural way. Didn't expect it to happen in the winter!

 

[fisherlady]

I don't know how open or exposed the house is that she want to lay in... but is there a way you can place her into a large dog carrier or dog cage with a lockable door if you are worried about predation or theft? or even use the cage to move her back into the more secure hen house?

I wouldn't worry too much about temps as long as she is well feathered and given a draft free area with plenty of decent bedding for her nest. Our Gracie is currently sitting on 8 eggs in Pennsylvania with very cold weather and all of the eggs are showing signs of developing so far.

As far as the eggs she is already on... it would be up to you if you want to leave her with those ones or replace them. With the eggs being from the 'community nest' do you know if they were all from the same day or two or are they eggs from a multiple day span? (Staggered hatch increases risks)
you may want to collect eggs for a day or two (depending on how many you want to give her), just make sure they aren't frozen when you collect them... then mark them and swap them out for what is under her now. That is up to you and may not even be needed if you think the eggs she has aren't staggered much.

 

[farmer boy]

I know this posting is old but I need help! One of my hens is brooding and has been in this brooding for a week. One Lady at my church told me to leave the eggs under her and she would hatch them. Problem! It is winter here. Next week is suppose to be lows in the 20's. I have two Roos so all my eggs are fertile. 2nd problem she is in the community nest. I have 14 hens due to an attack of Owls and people stealing. They got smart and now go in one of the two hen houses and I close the run so nothing can get them. They have started laying in the other hen house which can't be closed. My brooding hen is wanting to stay in the nest in the unsecured house! Help!
How do I keep her warm and safe? Do I move her? My friend said she would only brood for 30 days. Have I waited too long to leave the eggs? I would like to increase my flock the natural way. Didn't expect it to happen in the winter!

i have a broody hen right now only on 3 eggs she is only a bantam two .. i live in canada so it gets pretty cold here to so it will be fine

 

[HighNDryFarm]

I know this posting is old but I need help! One of my hens is brooding and has been in this brooding for a week. One Lady at my church told me to leave the eggs under her and she would hatch them. Problem! It is winter here. Next week is suppose to be lows in the 20's. I have two Roos so all my eggs are fertile. 2nd problem she is in the community nest. I have 14 hens due to an attack of Owls and people stealing. They got smart and now go in one of the two hen houses and I close the run so nothing can get them. They have started laying in the other hen house which can't be closed. My brooding hen is wanting to stay in the nest in the unsecured house! Help!
How do I keep her warm and safe? Do I move her? My friend said she would only brood for 30 days. Have I waited too long to leave the eggs? I would like to increase my flock the natural way. Didn't expect it to happen in the winter!

I had a broodie hatch chicks in the dead of winter and it was also in the 20's. I left her (she was under some old motorcycles covered in plastic but not a safe place) there until the chicks hatched. I picked her up and the chicks just dropped out from under her!

There were 5 and I had been out of town so wasn't sure exactly how old they were but I moved them and mom and the remaining eggs into our barn in a 100 gallon horse trough with a light, shavings and a wire top. Unfortunately, I don't think I got enough shaving under the eggs because every morning I would find a perfectly fine, wet, dead chick. It looked like Mom had pecked them open. I think I lost 7 by not making sure they were as warm underneath like their mom had them.

I've also had several hens set in the favorite laying boxes and these boxes are up about 2 1/2 feet. The first two broodies, I secured the space with wire with just enough space for the hens to get out and due their business but it was small enough to deter the other hens from trying to get in and lay their eggs in the nest. That and the natural broodie attitude!

All my broodies who nested in the laying boxes have made it clear to everyone that the chicks were off limits and it's worked. Of course I had to search everywhere to find the eggs during that time. Every time I moved mom, chicks and remaining eggs I lost lots of fully developed chicks still in the egg, to mom losing her commitment to the eggs to watch over the chicks. I found if you leave them they hatch more of the eggs.....however, I'm going to pick up an incubator to throw these eggs in and finish, once mom has too many hatched chicks to tend to and spends little time sitting on the remaining eggs.

Do you have one of those wire cages for transporting chickens? Or a dog crate? Moving her usually will break the broody (I moved one 1 foot over and she went back to her old spot, taking some eggs with her....not the one that had pipped

) but if you pick her and the eggs and bedding up, put it in something safe from the predators but put it right back where she was, you may not break her broodieness but keep her safe. Once she hatches the chicks (21-25 days), move her where you want to raise the chicks.

Good luck, I love watching broodies with chicks!

 

[arcy liger]

these are my chicks of 2013


they are 4 aseel ,3 leghorn ,2 black cochins ,and 3mix
these mixes are from these parents

1# i think it is a cubalaya



2# dont know the breed but is a standard flow






thanks for any advise

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know this posting is old but I need help! One of my hens is brooding and has been in this brooding for a week. One Lady at my church told me to leave the eggs under her and she would hatch them. Problem! It is winter here. Next week is suppose to be lows in the 20's. I have two Roos so all my eggs are fertile. 2nd problem she is in the community nest. I have 14 hens due to an attack of Owls and people stealing. They got smart and now go in one of the two hen houses and I close the run so nothing can get them. They have started laying in the other hen house which can't be closed. My brooding hen is wanting to stay in the nest in the unsecured house! Help!
How do I keep her warm and safe? Do I move her? My friend said she would only brood for 30 days. Have I waited too long to leave the eggs? I would like to increase my flock the natural way. Didn't expect it to happen in the winter!

21-25 days not 30

 

[Miss Lydia]

these are my chicks of 2013


they are 4 aseel ,3 leghorn ,2 black cochins ,and 3mix
these mixes are from these parents

1# i think it is a cubalaya



2# dont know the breed but is a standard flow






thanks for any advise

Pretty chicks and chickens. Congrats.

 

[jtotherow]

We have been removing her from the nest and collecting the eggs. We would move her to the secure hen house. I have my pen locked down now. I don't have to worry about theft, just this couple of Owls that got alot of my hens. The two Roos were teaming up and trying to fight him off, when it woke up my husband. He got them away from the coop but not before the male had killed my hen that had just been released back into the flock. She had had bumble feet.
Unless she stops brooding today, we have been moving her for the last 5 nights and she goes right back. How long do they stay in the brooding time?

3pm Just check them and she is sitting on a new batch of eggs. I can't figure out exactly how she is doing it. I guess she waits until all the others have laid and then she gets on there lays her's and doesn't move. If my calculations are right they won't have time to hatch before she comes out of her brooding.

 

[farmer boy]

We have been removing her from the nest and collecting the eggs. We would move her to the secure hen house. I have my pen locked down now. I don't have to worry about theft, just this couple of Owls that got alot of my hens. The two Roos were teaming up and trying to fight him off, when it woke up my husband. He got them away from the coop but not before the male had killed my hen that had just been released back into the flock. She had had bumble feet.
Unless she stops brooding today, we have been moving her for the last 5 nights and she goes right back. How long do they stay in the brooding time?

3pm Just check them and she is sitting on a new batch of eggs. I can't figure out exactly how she is doing it. I guess she waits until all the others have laid and then she gets on there lays her's and doesn't move. If my calculations are right they won't have time to hatch before she comes out of her brooding.

they don't have a limit with the time they can be broody for a long time if they sit on eggs or fake ones .. that i know of there is no time limit she stops when she stops but she will stop if she hatches chicks or if you give her day old chicks at night time

 

[jtotherow]

Cool!! We will find a way to keep her safe and maybe we will get some chicks. I'm so excited! I have been wondering if God gave me a brooder. I started with 59 chicks. I am down to 16= 2 Roos( RIR) 2 buff Orph., 2 black sex-links, 2 red sex-links, 8 RIR hens. Should get a mixture of chicks. One of the Buff Orph. is my brooder. thanks so much!