Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[bumpercarr]

We have a Brahma that continually acts like she wants to go broody. She sits on the nest every single day.............. until my husband comes home and brings treats for them. Then she forgets about being broody until the next afternoon when she lays her egg.

I have brahmas also. Haven't had one go truly broody though....I have one that does the same thing, will sit on a nest for a day, then off for two days, then on again. I suppose it doesn't help that I take all of her eggs. She's young yet, so I suspect she's just practicing right now! I have a silkie mix though that raised three clutches last year. She hasn't gotten in the mood yet this year.

 

[CarolinaHen]

I have brahmas also. Haven't had one go truly broody though....I have one that does the same thing, will sit on a nest for a day, then off for two days, then on again. I suppose it doesn't help that I take all of her eggs. She's young yet, so I suspect she's just practicing right now! I have a silkie mix though that raised three clutches last year. She hasn't gotten in the mood yet this year.

I have Silkies and Silkie mixes also. Somebody is ALWAYS broody!

 

[southernmomma]

Greetings

This is a very lengthy thread and I've waded through considerable amounts of information!!
I'm searching for specific info and my search terms for this thread are not yielding the answers I'm looking for--may I trouble you folks with some questions?

Disclaimer: I do not currently have chickens but am gathering information and learning as much as possible before taking the leap....please, please feel free to offer any additional advice that will assist me

I would like to have hen raised chicks and am considering game hens as broody's (probably only 3-4 hens). I need someone to walk me through the setting/hatching scenario with multiple hens, specifically game hens if you can speak from personal experience. My concerns are centered around aggressive behavior against chicks. I have plenty of time to design a coop and intend to have an area that can be enclosed and then sectioned into smaller "nurseries" for the sitting and hatching. My hope is that within a couple of days of hatching I could release the hens and their chicks back into the flock without any chick killing happening. I do have a large coop/pen and permanent "paddock" planned (15'x15' and 50'x85' respectively) with additional ranging areas available and will not be hatching more than what is required by my family's table so overcrowding shouldn't be an issue.

edit to add that I'm considering game hens for what I've read is considerable broodiness and their exceptional mothering and foraging skill. If there a different breed that can offer said qualities please let me know.

Does this sound like a logical set up?
Thoughts, advice, opinions, experiences...bring it!

Thanks,
M

 

[Mrs Hutcherson]

Question
I give fermented feed to my flock (along with veggies and such), when my chicks hatch, should I feed them the ff or dry feed? Please and thank you for any and all opinions or thoughts

 

[CooperDooper]

Question
I give fermented feed to my flock (along with veggies and such), when my chicks hatch, should I feed them the ff or dry feed? Please and thank you for any and all opinions or thoughts

I just ferment the chick starter and feed it that way. It's a bit messy but they love it!!!

 

[Mrs Hutcherson]

OK awesome! That's what I wanted to do.
Thanks!

 

[bumpercarr]

Greetings

This is a very lengthy thread and I've waded through considerable amounts of information!!
I'm searching for specific info and my search terms for this thread are not yielding the answers I'm looking for--may I trouble you folks with some questions?

Disclaimer: I do not currently have chickens but am gathering information and learning as much as possible before taking the leap....please, please feel free to offer any additional advice that will assist me

I would like to have hen raised chicks and am considering game hens as broody's (probably only 3-4 hens). I need someone to walk me through the setting/hatching scenario with multiple hens, specifically game hens if you can speak from personal experience. My concerns are centered around aggressive behavior against chicks. I have plenty of time to design a coop and intend to have an area that can be enclosed and then sectioned into smaller "nurseries" for the sitting and hatching. My hope is that within a couple of days of hatching I could release the hens and their chicks back into the flock without any chick killing happening. I do have a large coop/pen and permanent "paddock" planned (15'x15' and 50'x85' respectively) with additional ranging areas available and will not be hatching more than what is required by my family's table so overcrowding shouldn't be an issue.

edit to add that I'm considering game hens for what I've read is considerable broodiness and their exceptional mothering and foraging skill. If there a different breed that can offer said qualities please let me know.

Does this sound like a logical set up?
Thoughts, advice, opinions, experiences...bring it!

Thanks,
M

I'm not sure that I understand the question completely, but I'll try to answer as best I can....if I don't answer specifically what you are asking, please let me know. I don't personally have any English Game, but one of my friends has them and says that they are very broody and very good mothers. Generally speaking (every hen is different) there isn't a need to separate the flock when one (or more) go broody. The brooding mother will keep others away from her nest, and specifically away from her chicks. Sometimes though, if you have more than one broody at a time, they will switch nests, fights over nests and sometimes even leaving one nest not kept warm because they are confused about which nest is "theirs". I try to move my broodies to opposite ends of the hen house so that they aren't right next to each other causing these kinds of problems.

Silkies and silkie mixes also make exceptional broodies and mothers, so they are another option for you. Are you planning on hatching chicks to eat, for eggs or both? Either English Game or silkies will lay enough eggs for your family, but if you are looking for meat neither of those breeds are particularly good for eating. If you are trying to produce both eggs and meat, you would want to hatch out some of the dual use breeds.

My suggestion, and I'm certainly not the only opinion, nor the best opinion out there, is to set up so that you have a pen for broody hens that hopefully lay enough eggs to keep your breakfast going without a rooster in that pen. I would have a breeding pen for dual use birds.......there are many breeds out there, just need to pick which one works for you. Take the eggs from the breeding pen to eat when you don't have a broody, then when one of the game hens or silkies goes broody, put the eggs from the dual use pen under them. In other words, you will need at least 3 and probably 4 pens. One for your broodies, one for your breeding pen, one for the chicks and then one for the cockerels when they get about 2-4 months old (breed dependent) and start to pick at each other over the pullets. The cockerel pen is your meat pen, the pullets can be moved into either of the other two (breeding or broody) when they are old enough and then either butchered at the appropriate time or kept for eggs or breeding. This is how I am setting up my new coop apartments, but it has taken me about 2 years to realize what kind of set up I wanted to have. You could probably get away with one pen for all of the hens with a rooster for breeding them, but a dual purpose rooster is usually fairly large and could injure a smaller silkie or game hen.

I hope this answered your questions. If not, let me know.

 

[southernmomma]

I'm not sure that I understand the question completely, but I'll try to answer as best I can....if I don't answer specifically what you are asking, please let me know. I don't personally have any English Game, but one of my friends has them and says that they are very broody and very good mothers. Generally speaking (every hen is different) there isn't a need to separate the flock when one (or more) go broody. The brooding mother will keep others away from her nest, and specifically away from her chicks. Sometimes though, if you have more than one broody at a time, they will switch nests, fights over nests and sometimes even leaving one nest not kept warm because they are confused about which nest is "theirs". I try to move my broodies to opposite ends of the hen house so that they aren't right next to each other causing these kinds of problems.

Silkies and silkie mixes also make exceptional broodies and mothers, so they are another option for you. Are you planning on hatching chicks to eat, for eggs or both? Either English Game or silkies will lay enough eggs for your family, but if you are looking for meat neither of those breeds are particularly good for eating. If you are trying to produce both eggs and meat, you would want to hatch out some of the dual use breeds.

My suggestion, and I'm certainly not the only opinion, nor the best opinion out there, is to set up so that you have a pen for broody hens that hopefully lay enough eggs to keep your breakfast going without a rooster in that pen. I would have a breeding pen for dual use birds.......there are many breeds out there, just need to pick which one works for you. Take the eggs from the breeding pen to eat when you don't have a broody, then when one of the game hens or silkies goes broody, put the eggs from the dual use pen under them. In other words, you will need at least 3 and probably 4 pens. One for your broodies, one for your breeding pen, one for the chicks and then one for the cockerels when they get about 2-4 months old (breed dependent) and start to pick at each other over the pullets. The cockerel pen is your meat pen, the pullets can be moved into either of the other two (breeding or broody) when they are old enough and then either butchered at the appropriate time or kept for eggs or breeding. This is how I am setting up my new coop apartments, but it has taken me about 2 years to realize what kind of set up I wanted to have. You could probably get away with one pen for all of the hens with a rooster for breeding them, but a dual purpose rooster is usually fairly large and could injure a smaller silkie or game hen.

I hope this answered your questions. If not, let me know.

you did

And also made me realize that I had typed out a stream of thought without any proper order, apologies.

My questions:
If I have more than one hen hatching chicks, will hens attack or act aggressively towards other chicks when mixing in the flock?
Can I integrate broody and chicks back into the flock on day one after hatch or is it better to wait? if so how long.
Are Game hens a sensible choice as a broody if mixed with a single other breed? other breed is most likely a med-heavy LF breed.

thank you!
M

 

[bumpercarr]

you did

And also made me realize that I had typed out a stream of thought without any proper order, apologies.

My questions:
If I have more than one hen hatching chicks, will hens attack or act aggressively towards other chicks when mixing in the flock?
Can I integrate broody and chicks back into the flock on day one after hatch or is it better to wait? if so how long.
Are Game hens a sensible choice as a broody if mixed with a single other breed? other breed is most likely a med-heavy LF breed.

thank you!
M

I personally let the hens integrate the chicks when they are ready to do so. Most of the time, it is about 3 days. If you set all of your eggs at the same time under the broody, with really good luck they will all hatch within 24 hours of each other. The broody hen will usually sit tight until the last viable egg hatches (she seems to be able to tell when that is). I usually put food and water in close proximity to her nest, the rest of the flock has separate food and water (although they usually also help themselves to the food and water I put out for the broody). After a few days, the broody will take the chicks out of the nest. They stay very close to her and she generally stays away from the rest of the hens. Whenever another hen comes near, she will puff up like a turkey and growl at the offender. The chicks will hide behind her wings while she is scaring off the others. As they grow older and more able to regulate their own temperature, the chicks will wander further and further from the mother. If they interfere in the pecking order of the flock, they will usually get a little peck aimed at them, I've never seen any blood drawn or any serious injuries. One day, the mother decided that they are big enough and then won't let them hang with her anymore.

So, in answer to your questions, no, hens will not attack or act aggressively towards another hens chicks. If they do, the mother will protect them. If it continues, I'd recommend the offending hen for the stew pot.

The mother will determine how and when to integrate the chicks, provided you leave her with the flock.

Game hens are a sensible breed for broodies, as are silkies and silkie mixes. I would choose whichever fits your plan the best and try to get some stock from a breeder rather than a hatchery. Some hatchery birds do not have the broody instinct, even if their breed tends to be broody.

 

[bumpercarr]

you did

And also made me realize that I had typed out a stream of thought without any proper order, apologies.

My questions:
If I have more than one hen hatching chicks, will hens attack or act aggressively towards other chicks when mixing in the flock?
Can I integrate broody and chicks back into the flock on day one after hatch or is it better to wait? if so how long.
Are Game hens a sensible choice as a broody if mixed with a single other breed? other breed is most likely a med-heavy LF breed.

thank you!
M

One more thing. Having one, two or fifteen broodies is basically the same. Sometimes they will steal each others nests or each others chicks. Sometimes they will co-parent the chicks. Sort of depends on each individual bird.