Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

I'm not sure if this is the same one!

They are adorable... looks like 2 different ones to me, I don't see any brown on the head of the second one..... Love it when they play peek-a-boo!

 

[Debs55]

Cute chickies!

Hatch day for one of my broodies is tomorrow! and of course just like last time it is freezing on hatch day

 

[fisherlady]

Cute chickies!

Hatch day for one of my broodies is tomorrow! and of course just like last time it is freezing on hatch day

Last year we had a hen hatch out on Jan 28th... then we had a hen hatch out on December 1st, one hatched on Valentines day, two hens hatched last week and one due to hatch tomorrow... I gave up expecting for them to wait for warm weather to do their thing... I guess they figure if they are going to be stuck inside being bored they might as well raise some chicks to keep them busy???

 

[Debs55]

hahaha yeah i guess you are right. I usually give them a heat lamp on hatch day cause my silkies tend to have problems keeping wet chicks under them while others are hatching. mostly it just makes me feel better

 

[RI Redd]

Hello all, a couple of questions I am hoping you can help me with. First I had a young Wyandotte go broody on me the first of last week and I let her keep 7 eggs. Today I replaced the eggs with 7 cream leg bars that I received in the mail yesterday, and placed the original. 7 under another hen that started brooding 2 days ago. Will the first hen set long enough to hatch the CLB eggs since she has already been on the nest almost a week? I plan on moving her to a private room tomorrow, is that a good idea? The eggs the second hen is tending for me now, I plan on replacing with 8-9 black copper marans I expect in the mail tomorrow. I will put the original 7 eggs in the incubator. Hoping for a better hatch rate on the shipped eggs with Mother Nature in charge. These hens have have never hatched out chicks as they are about 9 months old. Any thoughts on my plan?

 

[fisherlady]

Hello all, a couple of questions I am hoping you can help me with. First I had a young Wyandotte go broody on me the first of last week and I let her keep 7 eggs. Today I replaced the eggs with 7 cream leg bars that I received in the mail yesterday, and placed the original. 7 under another hen that started brooding 2 days ago. Will the first hen set long enough to hatch the CLB eggs since she has already been on the nest almost a week? I plan on moving her to a private room tomorrow, is that a good idea? The eggs the second hen is tending for me now, I plan on replacing with 8-9 black copper marans I expect in the mail tomorrow. I will put the original 7 eggs in the incubator. Hoping for a better hatch rate on the shipped eggs with Mother Nature in charge. These hens have have never hatched out chicks as they are about 9 months old. Any thoughts on my plan?

The Wyandotte should be fine with the longer brood as long as she was healthy and has good weight and you monitor her for signs of weight loss and be prepared to give her supplemental feed if needed. We give all of our broodies chick starter and treat them with scrambled eggs and other high protein snacks to keep their condition up.

Swapping the eggs around should work fine as you have it planned...
Moving broodies after they have their eggs is certainly do-able, but risky for upsetting the broody, especially if she is inexperienced. My preference is moving a hen with fake eggs and then placing the good eggs after she is settled, but I understand it is not always do-able for folks. If moving her then it should be after dark and hopefully you will be able to keep her new nest area rather dark and quiet the next morning to make sure she settles. Be prepared to move her back if she doesn't settle after a short time (time she can be off of the eggs depends on your temperatures right now).

Another option to consider.... split the original 7 eggs between the two broodies for getting the settled in their new spaces (hens can't count anyways), place the shipped eggs into the incubator to get them started.... after you know the hens are settled you can then give them their intended eggs and move the original 7 to the incubator. If the hens are going to abandon (even temporarily) eggs I would rather it be the original 7 rather than the more expensive shipped ones.

Good luck with the hatch and hope to see updates and pictures soon!

 

[bumpercarr]

I have a conundrum here. I've got 8 brahma eggs on day 17 in the incubator, going into lockdown tomorrow. My broody (silkie mix) just decided she wanted to set. I much prefer that a broody raises the clutch.....soooooo much easier. These are my own eggs, so only expense in acquiring them was feeding. So, my question is, do I move the eggs in the incy under the broody, thus allowing her to finish them off and raise them. Or, do I try to give her the day olds after they hatch....or, do I just leave things the way that they are and give her some new eggs to hatch and raise.

One thing to note when commenting, this broody is my best broody hen ever. I've had her sit for 45 days until she got a hatch in the past (giving her new eggs of course). She raised three clutches for me last year. She's always been a fantastic mom, so I don't have any hesitation about giving her something to hatch, I've just never taken any out of the incubator and put them under her before, nor have I ever given her chicks. I think option #2 is too dangerous, since she's only been sitting for a day I'm afraid she'll reject them (yes, I know that chickens can't tell time). So, I either move the eggs today before lockdown, or I go ahead and hatch them all out and raise them myself. Any thoughts are appreciated!

Also, I have some expensive eggs coming next week and it is another option to give her those eggs to hatch (although a mistake would cost me dearly).

 

[purplesquirrel]

I have a conundrum here. I've got 8 brahma eggs on day 17 in the incubator, going into lockdown tomorrow. My broody (silkie mix) just decided she wanted to set. I much prefer that a broody raises the clutch.....soooooo much easier. These are my own eggs, so only expense in acquiring them was feeding. So, my question is, do I move the eggs in the incy under the broody, thus allowing her to finish them off and raise them. Or, do I try to give her the day olds after they hatch....or, do I just leave things the way that they are and give her some new eggs to hatch and raise.

One thing to note when commenting, this broody is my best broody hen ever. I've had her sit for 45 days until she got a hatch in the past (giving her new eggs of course). She raised three clutches for me last year. She's always been a fantastic mom, so I don't have any hesitation about giving her something to hatch, I've just never taken any out of the incubator and put them under her before, nor have I ever given her chicks. I think option #2 is too dangerous, since she's only been sitting for a day I'm afraid she'll reject them (yes, I know that chickens can't tell time). So, I either move the eggs today before lockdown, or I go ahead and hatch them all out and raise them myself. Any thoughts are appreciated!

Also, I have some expensive eggs coming next week and it is another option to give her those eggs to hatch (although a mistake would cost me dearly).

uhh definitely put your eggs under her!

 

[love2grinchicke]

I have a broody hen!!!! Daisy, a Blue Maran, is sitting on 7 or 8 eggs, or has been for probably a day and a half.

 

[bumpercarr]

uhh definitely put your eggs under her!

That's what I'm thinking. I'm going to put two under her now and see if she takes them (I don't have much doubt) and then I'll put the rest under her tomorrow morning if she's doing okay with the first two. Anyone else have any thoughts?