Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Johnn]

No..she squished them after they hatched..

Ok...

 

[Johnn]

This is the hen who has the 8 chicks

These 4 black chicks belong to the pullet below

This is the hen who squished the two peeping eggs.

I used to have a Black Orpington Bantam who looked alot like her

 

[Phoenix Farms]

As long as she doesn't leave them for too long it's fine if she's getting on and off the nest. Is it warm where you are located? I know when my broodies hatched over the summer they hovered over the eggs rather then sit on them. And they would take bunches of breaks off them. Still the babies hatched earlier than expected. If its cold and she's getting off them a bunch expect them to take longer to hatch.

She is staying on them. It gets cold here right now but she's warm doghouse with food and water.

 

[CoopChick719]

Need some advice. I've had 4 chicks hatch from the 6 I put under my hen. Today I found one of them pushed out of the nest. She still has 1 under her. This is Day 25. Should I take it out or give it until tomorrow morning? On another note, I cracked the pushd out one. P AND U!!!!!!!!

 

[Debs55]

Hey yall! I just put 4 barred rock eggs under my broody silkie hen Mel. I've had chickens and chicks for a year but this is the first time I've hatched anything so I'm super excited!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Could you not put Vanilla Ice in with her??

No Vanilla Ice isn't her bud anymore. Vanilla now hangs with the rest of the gang and leaves Topsy behind. I've also noticed her peck Topsy from time to time so she must be higher than Topsy now.

I might put her little partridge silky baby with her since she's quiet and seems to get along with Topsy. I want to wait for the wound to have a better chance to heal more before putting anyone in there. I looked at Topsy's wound this afternoon and already it's starting to close up and heal, so that's good. I think after a week by herself she might be healed up enough and I could put the little chick in there with her for another week or two until her feathers are back covering her wounds. She was quite content to have her old broody area all to herself.

By the way all the baby chicks are on the roost tonight. The two suspected roosters were up there and I put the partridge up too when I found her by herself on the floor. I think the partridge is a pullet and the other two are roosters. Time will tell.

 

[bobbieschicks]

She poked a hole in one of the eggs. Should I take it out

I had one egg where Smokey had crushed open the shell but didn't break the membrane. So I thought, hey I'll just slip it under Topsy to finish hatching. The short story is two days later I was cleaning stinky rotten egg off of Topsy's feathers and side of the broodies nests and kicking myself for not realizing that smokey crushed it because it wasn't going to live.

I would not keep a crushed or broken egg again.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Need some advice. I've had 4 chicks hatch from the 6 I put under my hen. Today I found one of them pushed out of the nest. She still has 1 under her. This is Day 25. Should I take it out or give it until tomorrow morning?  On another note, I cracked the pushd out one. P AND U!!!!!!!!

If she hasn't abandoned it give it another day. She will leave it soon if it isn't going to hatch. And yes they stink when rotten.

 

[CoopChick719]

Thanks bobbieschicks! I thought she might know better than me.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Thanks bobbieschicks! I thought she might know better than me.

I noticed with both Smokey and Topsy that they moved away from the eggs that were not going to hatch when they had their new chicks. Pretty much by Day 25 they were done and would take the new chicks away from the old nest and start a new nest somewhere on the floor of the coop. It's so cute to watch how they show the the food and scold them for not listening.