Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Lady of McCamley]

I have a Buff orp hen that goes broody if you're 2 hours late collecting eggs! I have never let her hatch any eggs; I only have hens. I want to get some call ducks to hatch for my pond but everything I read says they are difficult to hatch in an incubator. I have my very first chicken eggs in my incubator right now and don't think I'm up for a challenge yet. My question is, has anyone used a broody hen to hatch other than chicken eggs? And if so, will they raise them or abandon at hatch?

I have never done this and don't own ducks, but I have friends who do.

The word is you can have a chicken hatch duck eggs, and that works well, if the mom is a good broody. She will just be perplexed when the babies keep trying to take a dip into the water bowl.

Never, however, have a duck hatch chicks...the baby chicks will follow momma into the pond and drown.

It is much harder to try to raise chicks and ducks at the same time. The baby ducks are always trying to get into the water, getting everything wet, which isn't good for the chicks, so it is twice the cleaning. Some duck breeds are much less water dependent than others, and make for cleaner ducks...and I can't remember which breeds those are.

Also duck eggs take 27 days to hatch, chicken eggs 21 days....so you have to stagger the eggs so that they come out by putting the duck eggs in an incubator for 1 week then adding them to freshly started chicken eggs. You will also need a dedicated broody. Most are, but one who barely makes the 21 days likely won't make 28 days.

I'm sure there are those on this thread who have personal experience and advice to share.

If you try it, post your photos here

 

[Sydney Acres]

I have a Buff orp hen that goes broody if you're 2 hours late collecting eggs! I have never let her hatch any eggs; I only have hens. I want to get some call ducks to hatch for my pond but everything I read says they are difficult to hatch in an incubator. I have my very first chicken eggs in my incubator right now and don't think I'm up for a challenge yet. My question is, has anyone used a broody hen to hatch other than chicken eggs? And if so, will they raise them or abandon at hatch?

A dedicated broody will hatch anything, including ducks. She may be a bit confused when the babies start swimming though. Because ducks are messy, you'll need to help her keep the nest clean after they hatch. She may not stick with them as long after hatching as she would with chicks because of their confusing behavior, but you can watch her and take over the raising if needed, just like you would raise them if she had not incubated them.

You might want to give her some sterile chicken eggs to set on for at least 5 days to see if she will stay on them before getting your duck eggs. Some hens will set for a day or two then abandon a nest, and if her hormones are so touchy that she starts to brood after eggs are in the nest for just 2 hours, she may have a hair trigger but no staying power. I've been told that first time broodies should be made responsible for no more than 6 eggs, just to be sure they can handle it, before putting 10-12 under them.

I can't remember for sure, but I think duck eggs take longer than chicken eggs to hatch, so be sure you know how long she'll need to brood them. Many people have had eggs from species other than chickens fail to hatch on day 21 and throw them out on day 23, only to find out later that they just needed longer to hatch.

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

After 2 days of trying to settle my broody into a new nest, I have given up. She is no longer broody

But I have hatched (pun!) a new plan for if it happens again. Kind of hard to explain, but basically I'm shifting their nesting boxes to a more broody friendly area, so that if a hen sits, I'll be able to section her off without moving her. Is there any chance she'll go broody again soon or is this a cycle that takes a while to reset?

 

[fisherlady]

After 2 days of trying to settle my broody into a new nest, I have given up. She is no longer broody

But I have hatched (pun!) a new plan for if it happens again. Kind of hard to explain, but basically I'm shifting their nesting boxes to a more broody friendly area, so that if a hen sits, I'll be able to section her off without moving her. Is there any chance she'll go broody again soon or is this a cycle that takes a while to reset?

I had some return within a few days... and another who didn't go broody again for ages. No rhyme or reason. Shifting your boxes sounds like a great idea... it should give you the best chance of her going through with her broody behavior. Many of my nest boxes are moveable, so it minimizes the upset to the hen... but moveable boxes aren't practical in all coops, so you have to figure out what works best for individual set ups.

 

[BroosterSpringsteen]

Moveable boxes are a great idea. I've been watching Magellan all afternoon. Every few minutes she runs over to the nesting area and gives it a thorough sideways head stare. I'm hoping she's thinking about sitting, but she may be preparing to lay an egg.

 

[EmSteele]

Marking my spot to finish reading when it's NOT 1 a.m.!

 

[Debs55]

so I just went and candeled the eggs that my hen had abandoned and all the other eggs too and only had to pull one bad one. since its day 18 for the other set I took the 2 that I had under that hen and put them with the others which meant one hen had 9 eggs and the other had 4. I ended up switching which hen had which set of eggs because the one who should have had the 9 was much smaller than the other hen and was having a hard time covering them

 

[fisherlady]

so I just went and candeled the eggs that my hen had abandoned and all the other eggs too and only had to pull one bad one. since its day 18 for the other set I took the 2 that I had under that hen and put them with the others which meant one hen had 9 eggs and the other had 4. I ended up switching which hen had which set of eggs because the one who should have had the 9 was much smaller than the other hen and was having a hard time covering them

Sounds good... glad you only had to pull one... now to wait for peeping!

 

[OffGridMAMA]

My first broody of the year has started hatching her babies! She has random eggs from my layer pen. Counted 7 so far...I believe she has 10 eggs..not sure. Day 21 was tomorrow and I woke to this awesome surprise today!

 

[fisherlady]

My first broody of the year has started hatching her babies! She has random eggs from my layer pen. Counted 7 so far...I believe she has 10 eggs..not sure. Day 21 was tomorrow and I woke to this awesome surprise today!

Sweet!! She looks like a Silver Pencil Rock? Must be a trait for them to go broody early in the season... They are all adorable and I absolutely love that little gray one in the front!