Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[janmel]

Hello everyone, I am so excited to have a broody chicken!! Oscar is only 8 months or so but it doing just what mother nature told her to . We do have a rooster, though he is young, and we haven't seen him getting romantic with too many of the ladies. So when Oscar decided to sit on eggs I got some eggs from a friend. Mind you this was a few days after she was sitting on our own eggs. Is it a bad thing that there are a few days between hatches in the same clutch? I really don't want to lose any as we already had to put a few sick chickens down and I want to grow my flock. Any advice on how to handle this would be great. I don't have an incubator (I have only had chickens since may) because I wasn't expecting this to happen yet! First ones are set to hatch on the 28th and the other 4 on november 1. Should I just wait and see? This is stressing me out LOL. (They have all been candles and by the looks of it the last 4 are def "good", can't see too well through the others bc they are blue)

Thank you thank you thank you! I love this forum and have learned so much from it

 

[nfitzgeraldRN]

MEMama3, haven't seen any heads this am yet, but heard there chirping. There was 3 eggs left last night unhatched. We will see what today brings. Its still pretty cold out this am, so crossing my fingers for a better view in a while...I'll keep this updated!

 

[fisherlady]

janmel.... easiest way for me to try to answer your question is by quoting a reply I gave someone else a few months back...

Large fowl could handle 10-16 depending on the size of the eggs, size of the chicken and even the temperature.  Colder weather--fewer eggs and warmer weather--more.  That is just because the hen doesn't have as much trouble keeping the 'edge eggs' warm.
I would stay fewer on a new broody also. just because some new mothers do well, and others not so much.  So giving them 8-12 to keep track of instead of 16 can improve their chance of doing well with the hatch and little ones.

Use caution in placing eggs over multiple days.  It causes a 'staggered hatch' and can result in problems because the new mom is torn between staying on the eggs which still need to hatch and getting up with the newly hatched to show them food and water, etc.  Although newly hatched chicks can go up to 3 days without food/water you would be pushing the limits on it.  I don't know how the 'second group' would be received by the first group either... they would be smaller and weaker and may be have trouble with the broody leaving the nest with the first group and leaving them more exposed to cold.   and if the 'second group' is of a different breed that is smaller in size then the problems may be amplified.
 Also consider your coop set up when weighing factors on staggered hatches.  If you have an area with easy/close access to food and water so the broody can remain on the nest and the chicks can safely run around and get to food and water you have a much better chance at being successful with the staggered hatch. If your broody is in an elevated nest box or otherwise difficult access area then I would definitely consider that another mark against staggering your hatches.
 If your flock is peaceful and has been good with babies before then that is also a plus when weighing in your factors.

ETA... if you do decide to do a staggered hatch then be prepared with a back up incubator method in case mama hen abandons the nest once she takes the first group out of the nest.

 

[bumpercarr]

Hello everyone, I am so excited to have a broody chicken!! Oscar is only 8 months or so but it doing just what mother nature told her to . We do have a rooster, though he is young, and we haven't seen him getting romantic with too many of the ladies. So when Oscar decided to sit on eggs I got some eggs from a friend. Mind you this was a few days after she was sitting on our own eggs. Is it a bad thing that there are a few days between hatches in the same clutch? I really don't want to lose any as we already had to put a few sick chickens down and I want to grow my flock. Any advice on how to handle this would be great. I don't have an incubator (I have only had chickens since may) because I wasn't expecting this to happen yet! First ones are set to hatch on the 28th and the other 4 on november 1. Should I just wait and see? This is stressing me out LOL. (They have all been candles and by the looks of it the last 4 are def "good", can't see too well through the others bc they are blue)

Thank you thank you thank you! I love this forum and have learned so much from it

I personally would take your eggs out from under her since you don't have an incubator, they probably are not fertile. She will only sit on the nest for a few days after the first hatches, then she will leave with the chicks to teach them how to get food and water. So, I would only keep the eggs that I'm pretty sure from candling are good under her. Good luck!

 

[janmel]

Thanks! I am going to be picking up some supplies for an incubator just in case the first eggs do hatch. And if they don't, the last 4 are definitely alive and I can always use the incubator Next time I won't listen to the kids beg me to "just leave them mama, it'll be fine, lets just put a few more under her"

 

[dodwyer]

Hi everyone, newbie here. Need some advice, I have six 26 week old BAs girls, one who has been laying six days a week since 21 weeks. Well this week she went broody but has still been laying everyday this week. I collect all the eggs several times a day so she is not sitting on anything but straw. Today I picked her up and her chest is bare, she pulled out her breast feathers in the nesting box. My question is do I leave her alone and hope this will pass or do I break her of it? It is getting down near freezing at night and mid 50's during the day here. I would hate for her to become ill because of the lack of feathers to keep her warm.
Thanks for any advise.

 

[nfitzgeraldRN]

Still only 3 chicks. They are just adorable. Momma has left the unhatched eggs to teach the chicks to eat and drink, but then promptly returns to the unhatched eggs. I am giving it a few more days and then will take those eggs and see whats up. One more video for those who are interested.

 

[mycupoverflows]

Hello, everyone! My husband and I are very new to raising chickens; we bought eight hens last spring (so they're about 7-8 months old now) for eggs and we are really enjoying having them.

We noticed about ten days ago that "Buffy" (our Orpington) was refusing to leave her nest box and so we figured she was broody. Yesterday some friends of ours let us "borrow" their rooster and our plan is to leave the rooster with all the hens for a few days and then have Buffy sit on about 8 eggs or so and see if we can get them to hatch.

Which brings me to my question. It's my understanding that it takes 21 days from fertilization to hatching. Are hens only broody for 21 days or will she continue to sit on the eggs until they hatch? For example, it's already been 10 days since she went broody so if I put eggs under her in the next few days will she just get up and be done with them after another 11-12 days has gone by or will she sit on them until they hatch? Sorry if that sounds like a dumb question; we just aren't sure.

Also, I noticed that many people remove the hen and chicks from the community area once they are hatched. Will it be upsetting to the hen if I only remove the chicks? I have a small area for the chicks to stay with a heat lamp but it won't be big enough for the hen, too. I just don't want my poor mama hen to be very distraught if I take her babies. If she will be, then we'll have to figure something else out.

Thanks for putting up with my newbie questions!

 

[pmcatnip]

I wouldn't take chicks away from the hen. Not for her sake but for yours. In my opinion there is no point; she's the best heater they could ever need and it is so so much easier to let her raise them than to do it yourself. I think the reason most people separate the hen & babies is so that the other adult birds don't pick on them, which can happen sometimes. It hasn't been a problem for us. We are keeping our two hens with their babies confined but it's not because of the other chickens; it's because we don't want the cat to get the babies.

This summer I had broodies that made it 3 or 4 weeks no problem. I had other girls just being broody because it was fashionable, but they weren't committed and got up after a couple days. Another one was broody for about 6 weeks. The latest one only pretends to be broody during the day and then sleeps on the roost at night letting the eggs get cold.

 

[chickydee64]

Hello, everyone! My husband and I are very new to raising chickens; we bought eight hens last spring (so they're about 7-8 months old now) for eggs and we are really enjoying having them.

We noticed about ten days ago that "Buffy" (our Orpington) was refusing to leave her nest box and so we figured she was broody. Yesterday some friends of ours let us "borrow" their rooster and our plan is to leave the rooster with all the hens for a few days and then have Buffy sit on about 8 eggs or so and see if we can get them to hatch.

Which brings me to my question. It's my understanding that it takes 21 days from fertilization to hatching. Are hens only broody for 21 days or will she continue to sit on the eggs until they hatch? For example, it's already been 10 days since she went broody so if I put eggs under her in the next few days will she just get up and be done with them after another 11-12 days has gone by or will she sit on them until they hatch? Sorry if that sounds like a dumb question; we just aren't sure.

Also, I noticed that many people remove the hen and chicks from the community area once they are hatched. Will it be upsetting to the hen if I only remove the chicks? I have a small area for the chicks to stay with a heat lamp but it won't be big enough for the hen, too. I just don't want my poor mama hen to be very distraught if I take her babies. If she will be, then we'll have to figure something else out.

Thanks for putting up with my newbie questions!

HI, As you will notice reading ...many of us do things differently for what ever reason fits our situation.
I do want to give you a heads up about the eggs...........collect what you want her to set and give them to her all a the same time.
Also, mark the eggs you give her with a pencil or?? so if the other hens lay in her nest.(and they will) you can collect the fresh eggs and not have mama with more eggs than she can cover.
I never take chicks away from the hen....they do know and it is sad.
As the other person pointed out, each hen is an individual so cannot predict what she will do but their clock does not automatically say quit setting at 21 days.

I had one poor girl lose a hatch this year and she refused to give up.so I finally gave her a new batch of eggs which she hatched...but that put her near 60 days broody.
Worried me to death.........

but I just kept taking her snacks to be sure she ate enough...........
Good Luck, I know your going to have fun.......
Mine have done pretty well ( like always) finishing with a hatch. Most likely she will stay. They get their cues from the eggs and seem to know exactly what is going on with them.
Since you have time, you may be able to figure out housing for mom and chicks. I use a dog kennel and after a week or so let Mom and babies join the flock.