Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[chickeneer45]

ugh my leghorn is broody (and they are supposed to never go broody) she sure is a vicious thing. whenever I put my hands near her, they automatically get pecked at bit at endlessly. She is the smallest chicken I own. She is bantam like the rest of them, but she is about the size of a big pigeon. She could probably only fit four bantam eggs under her-- max. I am contemplating putting two eggs under her that are going to hatch in a couple of days, but I am scared she will be a bad mother.... I can catch all of my chickens easily... except for her. And I doubt she will let me get near her chicks without a good mauling of my hands. Oh well, I probably will just put some normal eggs under her and see how it goes; I have tried to break her twice, but to no avail... darn

 

[Nike]

Definitely marking the eggs is a good idea. But also when you use your eggs for cooking I've learnt to break the eggs into a small bowl first before using them as you never know what you might find inside

Oh yep! We crack ours in a bowl all the time

Mark all of her hatching eggs with a dark colored marker. Then you will see it immediately if you happen to collect a wrong one. We have had to do this ourselves because our one broody liked to go collect extra eggs once in a while.

Good idea! I know I marked them with a pen but it's so hard to see especially because I wash my eggs so it might have come right off.
What kind of marker do you use?

 

[bumpercarr]

Oh yep! We crack ours in a bowl all the time
Good idea! I know I marked them with a pen but it's so hard to see especially because I wash my eggs so it might have come right off.
What kind of marker do you use?

I crack mine in a bowl as well. You never know when an egg suddenly appears after it has been sitting somewhere unknown for a week.

 

[fisherlady]

Oh yep! We crack ours in a bowl all the time
Good idea! I know I marked them with a pen but it's so hard to see especially because I wash my eggs so it might have come right off.
What kind of marker do you use?

I just use a black or blue Sharpie type permanent marker. Usually we number the eggs, so our mark is just a number. We place a number on the side of the egg, and then roll it over and mark it with the number on the opposite side also. This allows us to keep track if we happen to candle and have a questionable egg. We can then just candle that particular egg later for removal if needed. By placing the number on each side it allows us to find it easier in the nest, since the broodies roll them around all the time.

If you aren't worried about candling or keeping track of particular eggs then you can just draw a line the whole way around the middle of the egg so it can be seen no matter which way it's rolled in the nest.

And as far as the candling thing. We don't mess with our broodies much anymore, but try to check the eggs at about 7 to 10 days to see if any appear clear. If we do find one that we think is clear we recheck that number 4 or 5 days later and remove it if it still is clear. I don't try to keep track of much beyond that.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I just use a black or blue Sharpie type permanent marker.  Usually we number the eggs, so our mark is just a number. We place a number on the side of the egg, and then roll it over and mark it with the number on the opposite side also. This allows us to keep track if we happen to candle and have a questionable egg. We can then just candle that particular egg later for removal if needed.  By placing the number on each side it allows us to find it easier in the nest, since the broodies roll them around all the time.

 If you aren't worried about candling or keeping track of particular eggs then you can just draw a line the whole way around the middle of the egg so it can be seen no matter which way it's rolled in the nest. 

And as far as the candling thing.  We don't mess with our broodies much anymore, but try to check the eggs at about 7 to 10 days to see if any appear clear.  If we do find one that we think is clear we recheck that number 4 or 5 days later and remove it if it still is clear. I don't try to keep track of much beyond that.

I use a permanent marker too. I like that circle around the egg idea because I'm forever having to lift each egg to check for my mark.

 

[bigT88]

Ok. I will lower the box after they hatch then. Thank you everyone

 

[bobbieschicks]

ugh my leghorn is broody (and they are supposed to never go broody) she sure is a vicious thing. whenever I put my hands near her, they automatically get pecked at bit at endlessly. She is the smallest chicken I own. She is bantam like the rest of them, but she is about the size of a big pigeon. She could probably only fit four bantam eggs under her-- max. I am contemplating putting two eggs under her that are going to hatch in a couple of days, but I am scared she will be a bad mother.... I can catch all of my chickens easily... except for her. And I doubt she will let me get near her chicks without a good mauling of my hands. Oh well, I probably will just put some normal eggs under her and see how it goes; I have tried to break her twice, but to no avail... darn

Oh no - my silky is small and she's handled 4 large fowl eggs or 6 silky sized eggs in the past. You could try putting a couple of the eggs under her to hatch and see what she does. I've been breaking my recent broodies in a wire cage - outside for a day or two is all it took. Versus day after day of tossing them off the nest.

 

[Nike]

I just use a black or blue Sharpie type permanent marker. Usually we number the eggs, so our mark is just a number. We place a number on the side of the egg, and then roll it over and mark it with the number on the opposite side also. This allows us to keep track if we happen to candle and have a questionable egg. We can then just candle that particular egg later for removal if needed. By placing the number on each side it allows us to find it easier in the nest, since the broodies roll them around all the time.

If you aren't worried about candling or keeping track of particular eggs then you can just draw a line the whole way around the middle of the egg so it can be seen no matter which way it's rolled in the nest.

And as far as the candling thing. We don't mess with our broodies much anymore, but try to check the eggs at about 7 to 10 days to see if any appear clear. If we do find one that we think is clear we recheck that number 4 or 5 days later and remove it if it still is clear. I don't try to keep track of much beyond that.

Oh thank you that is a good idea! She is out of the main coop so I don't worry too much about other eggs getting in but I still check. Last time I just had broodies in the coop so I didn't even look under them at all and my silkie decided she wanted to lay an egg so I had an extra and now I have another silkie! lol

 

[groverlvchx]

Last night I put 14 chicks under 2 brooders who were on golf balls (none of their eggs were viable--had some explosions because I didn't candle. Next year I'll do better.) Anyway, this morning when I checked, there were four peeping chicks on the floor! They were all dark, so the same mom was the culprit. I scooped them up (their little feet were chilly) and gave them back to her. She accepted them. An hour later I checked and all was well. Do you think those four will die?

 

[chiqita]

Is it an egg due to hatch? If so I'd try to get it off. If not don't worry. I have had sticky chicks stick to momma that is more of a problem.

Somehow the egg from my third chick has become attached to the underside of my broody hen... I don't if its incredibly sticky or something? I have not heard of anyone having this problem. It won't come out and I don't want to disturb her, can I just wait to cut it out until she has stopped being broody? Thanks.

hi, i am new to chickens hatching eggs. i have 2 wheaton ams. one went broody. got her some fertile eggs, maran, am, olive egger, and one serama. hatching date around july 24. i cant wait. i have a pair of seramas. hen just started laying. dont know if her egg is fertile but soon find out. she is only 5 mos. going to move am's
nest under the pool deck where i build their run after hatching. i read that after other hens hear chicks for a few days, they should be alright but momma determines when flock can come around. do you think that these two inseparable hens can raise chicks together? they have been inseparable since 2 weeks old.

 

My limited experience with were am as is they need to be raised separately. They get crushed by large chicks or freeze because they can't keep up. I have never had them survive in a mixed batch.