Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[bobbieschicks]

How long can I leave the eggs in the nest to try to get my hen broody before I take them and put them in an incubator

Don't leave eggs in the nest - put ping pong balls, golf balls, plastic easter eggs or some other roundish items in there. The chicken won't know the difference and will happily sit on them to hatch if they are broody. Eggs left in the nest are an invitation to bugs and breakage - two things you don't want. Once your girl goes broody - that is stays on the nest for 3 nights rather than return to the roost & stops laying eggs - then you can move a batch of eggs under her to hatch.

I've left eggs on my kitchen countertop for a week and then moved them under my girl to hatch. She did just fine hatching 4 out of 5 eggs.

 

[Jharper]

I've had broodies steal eggs from other locations and carry them under their wings back to the nest.  I caught one broody carrying a ping pong ball under her wing which she promptly dropped when I startled her. 

My two broodies - Vanilla Ice and Shirley Jones - are both currently sitting on a nest of two eggs.  They keep stealing them from under each other and usually Shirley Jones ends up with both under her by the end of the day.  Not to worry, Vanilla Ice is content to sit next to the broody with eggs.  She will co raise the chicks if any hatch next week.

I never knew they did that! Hahaha that is ridiculous! Hahaha

 

[Jharper]

Don't leave eggs in the nest - put ping pong balls, golf balls, plastic easter eggs or some other roundish items in there.  The chicken won't know the difference and will happily sit on them to hatch if they are broody.  Eggs left in the nest are an invitation to bugs and breakage - two things you don't want.  Once your girl goes broody - that is stays on the nest for 3 nights rather than return to the roost & stops laying eggs - then you can move a batch of eggs under her to hatch.

I've left eggs on my kitchen countertop for a week and then moved them under my girl to hatch.  She did just fine hatching 4 out of 5 eggs.

I use goofballs b/c it is close to the same weight of a real egg.

 

[Donna Lynn]

Try Sweet Pea Farms for fertile eggs! She has some different breeds that are also frizzled!

 

[groverlvchx]

Was this a fertile egg? Today was day 21 so it wasn't viable, but I haven't hatched a chick from my rooster yet. This is my second clutch to fail and I was wondering if he's shooting blanks. What do you guys think?


I still have 2 broodies on 14 eggs that are hopefully fertilized by him, so I'm hopeful this is an embryo and not just rotten egg?

 

[groverlvchx]

(and, by the way, THAT'S an odor I won't soon forget!)

 

[Jharper]

Was this a fertile egg? Today was day 21 so it wasn't viable, but I haven't hatched a chick from my rooster yet. This is my second clutch to fail and I was wondering if he's shooting blanks. What do you guys think? I still have 2 broodies on 14 eggs that are hopefully fertilized by him, so I'm hopeful this is an embryo and not just rotten egg?

It was fertile. It died at an early stage. What breed is your rooster?

 

[Frost Homestead]

Alright. I had 5 broody ameraucanas and 1 silkie until last week. 3 of them were sitting on their second hatch in a row (dedicated chicken mommas that they are!), so when their eggs started hatching I put them in the incubator, a day later they FINALLY got off their nests. Then another gave up, and finally my silkie did too.

So I have one last ameraucana hen who's still broody as can be, I *said* I wasn't going to give her any eggs but while I was at work yesterday hubby instant messages me to tell me he put 8 eggs under her.

Here we go again LOL I have a living room brooder full of like 40 chicks from the last broody hatches and I have eggs coming in the mail next week. I'm going to be overloaded, good thing I have the room for all of them! Wish me a good hatch with this broody, last time the humidity got too low and they were all shrink wrapped when I took them and put them in the incubator after they started pipping. (All of them managed to hatch except two, so it wasn't too bad - never seen so many shrink wrapped before)

 

[groverlvchx]

It was fertile. It died at an early stage. What breed is your rooster?

He looks like this

I got him in a batch of mutts, but he looks like he has some Jersey Giant in him maybe...he's a big guy and so good with the ladies and chicks (adopted). I would love his traits to continue in my DP flock.

 

[Kassaundra]

The chicks under my broody are hatching

So far one yellowish EE is out and drying and one NN egg has pipped, there may be others she isn't a particularly friendly broody.