Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Peep-Chicken]

My Cochin is still covering eggs when it gets dark, but in the day she leaves.

 

[MEMama3]

2 or 3 days until I enter the coop to the sound of little cheeps. I'm super excited! Can you tell I'm a first time chick mama. I thought maybe my broody was giving up the nest yesterday and she sprinted out with glee for her daily romp, but she came back.

I've noticed everyone in the coop is edgy and getting grouchy with each other over the last few days. Do you think it has something to do with the chicks hatching soon?

 

[LisaLouHoo]

2 or 3 days until I enter the coop to the sound of little cheeps. I'm super excited! Can you tell I'm a first time chick mama. I thought maybe my broody was giving up the nest yesterday and she sprinted out with glee for her daily romp, but she came back.

I've noticed everyone in the coop is edgy and getting grouchy with each other over the last few days. Do you think it has something to do with the chicks hatching soon?

I totally understand your eggsitement. I was there last August for the first time. My buff orpington kept going broody, so I ordered expensive internet eggs....which never started or hatched. It was a learning experience, though. Then when she went broody again, I used my own eggs which were crossed with my New Hampshire Roo. I wanted cool new breeds, but this was a good successful first attempt and Broody and I hatched out 5 of 8 cute babies. Now those babies are starting to lay, so all is well.

I'm going to hatch out more this spring since it was so much fun. I'll drive to a local hatchery and get the eggs safely home.

If your chickens are like mine right now, they are antsy because of this harsh winter. I see you're in Maine, so you must have lots of snow, too. I'm in Michigan and we have and have had tons of snow this year. My chickens just do NOT venture out in this. I guess they're "chicken!"

 

[fisherlady]

This weather is rough on birds, especially if they are used to free ranging most days. Ours have a large run, and the coop is spacious enough, but they still start to get on each others nerves. We are lucky enough to have a large covered area in the run, so we put up tarps on most sides of that to give them an outside play area. The 'teenagers' as I call them like to go out even in the harshest weather, but the older hens roam out to stretch their legs and then head back in.

Our coop floor is sand, and I sift it each week to keep it clean and dry for them, after sifting I add a nice amount of wood and coal ashes from my pot bellied stove to the sand. I also use some DE and under the roost area I place straw and Sweet PDZ to catch overnight droppings. The birds do drag it out into the center of the floor scratching, but a simple (handle shortened a bit) leaf rake sweeps the hay back into low piles against the walls under the roosts and the birds get to do it again the next day. One advantage I have found with the sand floor is my birds have an extended spa time each afternoon when the sun hits the center of the floor... I have been in their when as many as 15 birds are rolling around on the floor dusting, it is quite a sight.

One thing you can do to help entertain your birds would be give them a large low tub with a sand and ash mix to play in while they are stuck inside...

The other side effect the cold weather 'stuck inside' things seems to be having on my birds is they are going broody at a rapid rate! I had one hatch in December and now have another one sitting (due Valentine's day) and two more debating about it (but not settled in enough for me to let them have eggs) I guess they decided if they have to be stuck inside then they may as well hatch babies. It meant we rearranged the coop yesterday to allow for up to 5 areas which can be separated easily with fencing to create broody areas... I really hope we don't have to use that many, but nice to know the flexibility is there instead of trying to figure it out later.

 

[chicknmania]

This weather is rough on birds, especially if they are used to free ranging most days. Ours have a large run, and the coop is spacious enough, but they still start to get on each others nerves. We are lucky enough to have a large covered area in the run, so we put up tarps on most sides of that to give them an outside play area. The 'teenagers' as I call them like to go out even in the harshest weather, but the older hens roam out to stretch their legs and then head back in.

Our coop floor is sand, and I sift it each week to keep it clean and dry for them, after sifting I add a nice amount of wood and coal ashes from my pot bellied stove to the sand. I also use some DE and under the roost area I place straw and Sweet PDZ to catch overnight droppings. The birds do drag it out into the center of the floor scratching, but a simple (handle shortened a bit) leaf rake sweeps the hay back into low piles against the walls under the roosts and the birds get to do it again the next day. One advantage I have found with the sand floor is my birds have an extended spa time each afternoon when the sun hits the center of the floor... I have been in their when as many as 15 birds are rolling around on the floor dusting, it is quite a sight.

One thing you can do to help entertain your birds would be give them a large low tub with a sand and ash mix to play in while they are stuck inside...

.

The other side effect the cold weather 'stuck inside' things seems to be having on my birds is they are going broody at a rapid rate! I had one hatch in December and now have another one sitting (due Valentine's day) and two more debating about it (but not settled in enough for me to let them have eggs) I guess they decided if they have to be stuck inside then they may as well hatch babies. It meant we rearranged the coop yesterday to allow for up to 5 areas which can be separated easily with fencing to create broody areas... I really hope we don't have to use that many, but nice to know the flexibility is there instead of trying to figure it out later.

That is funny as we had a broody do that too..she just hatched herself a bunch of chicks a couple of weeks ago! Figured she was bored and looking for something to do to while the time away....we've had them go broody in winter when it warms up a bit after being cold, but never had one incubate and hatch chicks when it's been bitter cold weather the whole time! All are doing fine though, so yours will too, I'm sure.

 

[thailand]

Hi all,

Just jumping in here if I may. Just put 18 eggs under my Brahma yesterday. She's been sitting on nothing in the nestbox for the last week or so, so decided to let her try. I had read that Brahma should be able to handle this number of eggs. She does cover them all sufficiently.

I've not had a broody hatch eggs herself before. It will be interesting to see how many hatch.

 

[chickydee64]

Welcome and good luck..........................

 

[MEMama3]

I just had the most magical experience. Since today is day 21 on our eggs and none hatched I wanted to see how things were going. I reached under the hen and pulled out egg #5. It quit at about 10 days. I was bummed. I decided to check one more hoping for good news. Well, I got it with egg #9. As soon as I got the flashlight in place this little foot started scraping the side of the egg. You could see it clear as day. I gently tapped the side and held it to my ear and heard it cheeping away. Goosebumps I tell you! Hopefully #9 joins the outside world tomorrow with a few siblings.

 

[fisherlady]

I just had the most magical experience. Since today is day 21 on our eggs and none hatched I wanted to see how things were going. I reached under the hen and pulled out egg #5. It quit at about 10 days. I was bummed. I decided to check one more hoping for good news. Well, I got it with egg #9. As soon as I got the flashlight in place this little foot started scraping the side of the egg. You could see it clear as day. I gently tapped the side and held it to my ear and heard it cheeping away. Goosebumps I tell you! Hopefully #9 joins the outside world tomorrow with a few siblings.

 

[MEMama3]

We have a chick! I'm not sure if there are others under there. I only hear one, but she's good insulation, so I'm not sure if I'd hear the others. She's on 6 other eggs. How long should I wait to remove the remaining eggs (I suspect one that may have quit, but I wasn't sure enough to pull it last week).