Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[TeaChick]

can someone with more knowledge than i,give me a sort of blow by blow list of this experence starting with her mating and ending with chicks?please!

I'm sure fisherlady or lady of mcclamley (sp) have answered this, but I'm going to say this:
There's a thread called "chicken mating" (or something like that), in that thread, there's a long post where someone gives exactly what you're asking for, a blow-by-blow of the mating dance through shake and explains what is going on and why and variations.

Other than that, your chicken will lay one egg at a time (my leghorns, which will probably not go broody, lay one every single day taking maybe one day off every two weeks or something like that; my cochin, who almost definitely will go broody, lays two days in a row, then takes a day off; so whatever breed you have will dictate how many days in a row she lays). When she has "enough" eggs (by her own definition of "enough"), then she will start sitting. Some chickens are so prone to broodiness that they'll find a pile of something (golfballs, rocks, pieces of cement or bricks, whatever) to sit on like it's eggs that are gonna hatch.

What breed(s) do you have of hens, that will give you a much better idea of egg laying and broodiness.

There is actually an article and subsequent postings on how to promote broodiness in hens on this forum. A study was done where they placed aluminum foil on the top and back of the nesting box and it is supposed to promote the secretion of the hormone that causes the hen to go broody (if I remember right). Just something to look into

I'm so sorry to be the barer of bad news, but that was an April Fool's prank. Very funny, and I even fell for it. =)

Oh My!!! You are right...boy the article sounded authentic. I'm glad I hadn't tried it

Same here. Me too.

 

[bhj123]

I just set some Bantam eggs under my large fowl broody. I'm kind of nervous about her hatching the smaller eggs but she's a REALLY good momma.

 

[nowlaura]

I have a broody hen on 5 eggs. I put the eggs under her at 12:15 a.m. on 3/13/14, so they should have hatched 2 days ago. I candled them for the first time this morning and they appear full, but I don't hear any peeping inside and don't see any cracks. The hen is still brooding well. What do I do now? I hate to open one if there's still a chance for there to be a live chick that will hatch, but how long should I wait?

 

[TeaChick]

I'm no expert, but there's an "Assisted Hatching" article that will tell you how long to wait. It's for incubator eggs, but I'm sure that (in the absence of wise advice from one of the experts on this thread, which I am not one, I'm a total newb) you could use that timing.

 

[TeaChick]

I'm still standing around waiting for my Cochin to go broody. I hope I didn't upset her too much collecting her eggs like that and her being able to count and all.......

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I just set some Bantam eggs under my large fowl broody. I'm kind of nervous about her hatching the smaller eggs but she's a REALLY good momma.

Don't worry, she'll do fine then. I've hatched mixed batches with no problems...the banty babies are just a little smaller is all.

Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I have a broody hen on 5 eggs. I put the eggs under her at 12:15 a.m. on 3/13/14, so they should have hatched 2 days ago. I candled them for the first time this morning and they appear full, but I don't hear any peeping inside and don't see any cracks. The hen is still brooding well. What do I do now? I hate to open one if there's still a chance for there to be a live chick that will hatch, but how long should I wait?

It takes 21 days to hatch a chick...give or take a day or two for conditions.

You're at what...23 days???? When you say "full" do you mean you see a whole lot of black and then an air cell at the end? If they are totally dark, it may mean they have gone bad...but without good candling light or just an inexperienced eye...or a late start as hen settled down...timing could simply be off. Something should be happening soon...wait a couple of more days and then re-candle. If nothing happens by day 28...or any of them begin to smell before then...they are duds.

Lady of McCamley

At the next candling...or day 25 or so...if you still see totally dark and can gently shake the egg and feel a slush a thud a slush...they are bad.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm still standing around waiting for my Cochin to go broody. I hope I didn't upset her too much collecting her eggs like that and her being able to count and all.......

Good news...they can't count!

Bad news...watched pots and broodies....

Lady of McCamley

 

[bumpercarr]

It takes 21 days to hatch a chick...give or take a day or two for conditions.

You're at what...23 days???? When you say "full" do you mean you see a whole lot of black and then an air cell at the end? If they are totally dark, it may mean they have gone bad...but without good candling light or just an inexperienced eye...or a late start as hen settled down...timing could simply be off. Something should be happening soon...wait a couple of more days and then re-candle. If nothing happens by day 28...or any of them begin to smell before then...they are duds.

Lady of McCamley

At the next candling...or day 25 or so...if you still see totally dark and can gently shake the egg and feel a slush a thud a slush...they are bad.

x2.

 

[nowlaura]

x2.

It takes 21 days to hatch a chick...give or take a day or two for conditions.

You're at what...23 days???? When you say "full" do you mean you see a whole lot of black and then an air cell at the end? If they are totally dark, it may mean they have gone bad...but without good candling light or just an inexperienced eye...or a late start as hen settled down...timing could simply be off. Something should be happening soon...wait a couple of more days and then re-candle. If nothing happens by day 28...or any of them begin to smell before then...they are duds.

Lady of McCamley

At the next candling...or day 25 or so...if you still see totally dark and can gently shake the egg and feel a slush a thud a slush...they are bad.

Thank you both for your help. I'm totally inexperienced at candling, so I took a new (just laid today) egg out to the nest for comparison in the same light. The new egg had a tiny air cell and the rest just glowed clear. I couldn't even see the yolk. The incubated eggs just had a whole lot of black in them, but I'm not sure if they had an air cell, as I don't think I candled them right. I was worried about causing problems, so I kept the larger end of the egg upright and candled from the bottom (the pointy end), so no light passed through the dark area into the air cell area. I now realize that I should have laid the egg on it's side and candled into the air sac space from the side to look for internal pipping. So first I got really excited that there was something other than just egg white inside, then I got really worried that they were already overdue and I was handling them and making them cold. So I quickly put them back under the hen.

I've watched better candling videos now, so next candling I'll hopefully be able to determine if an air cell exists. And smell, and check for the slush/thud, and wait until day 28 before opening them. Thank you again. I'm trying not to interfere with the hen, but it's day 23 and I'm being a worried mom.