Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Sydney Acres]

I'm loving the pictures. I had good laughs with the "inmates"! Congratulations to all new hatches!

My broody Summer is on lockdown. Today is day 20 and nothing is happening yet. It's so hard to wait! Even though water and food are provided for Summer RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER, she won't even move her neck to eat or drink, so I've been syringe feeding her since day 18. I'm glad she is so committed, but I didn't expect she would be so much work. Still, I'm so excited to see the little peeps! I'm off to check on her once again.

Only a day or so to go!

I agree, taking care of a broody the way I want to take care of her is a lot of work. I know in my brain that she'd probably be fine if I just leave food and water nearby, but in my heart I just have to be more involved. My broodies are pets, and I'd be heartbroken if anything happened to them because I took a "hands off" approach. Plus with pet broodies, it is such a bonding experience for both of us. Ms MoneyPenny finished brooding 2 months ago, but is still more affectionate and more trusting of me now than before the brood. It's a very close relationship when a hen trusts you enough to let you work with her during the brood, and the payoff is absolutely worth it with pet hens.

 

[Dumb Kluck]

Only a day or so to go!

I agree, taking care of a broody the way I want to take care of her is a lot of work. I know in my brain that she'd probably be fine if I just leave food and water nearby, but in my heart I just have to be more involved. My broodies are pets, and I'd be heartbroken if anything happened to them because I took a "hands off" approach. Plus with pet broodies, it is such a bonding experience for both of us. Ms MoneyPenny finished brooding 2 months ago, but is still more affectionate and more trusting of me now than before the brood. It's a very close relationship when a hen trusts you enough to let you work with her during the brood, and the payoff is absolutely worth it with pet hens.

I loved every minute of hand feeding my broody girl each morning (no syringe necessary, thank goodness), sometimes a high water content fresh fruit of veggie treat later in the day. You can put a small dish at the edge of the nest. She used a 1 liter bottle with a chicken nipple in the cap all day, every day & got up once a day to poo outside the brooder and maybe dust bathe & assert her fluffy dominance. She had two of the other hens who were allowed to sit her eggs when she was up for a few minutes each day. but post hatch tries to kill even her best friend hen for looking too long LOL. I was shocked when she actually attacked my husband for trying to grab a chick! She fluffs up and talks to me, watches carefully as I fondle all her squealing chicks, and never pecks!

 

[poodlechicks]

Thank you Tabatha, SydneyAcres and Dumbcluck!

I feel the same way about just leaving her be. I just don't think she would have made it without my help. She just wouldn't move unless I physically placed her outside to walk, eat and drink. Now that she is on lockdown, I give her water via syringe and entice her with watermelons and seeds. The only thing she'll eat on her own. She fluffs, huffs and puffs at me, but I keep going

I'm not sure she'll let me near her chicks, but after all this work, I deserve to hold each and everyone of them!!!

 

[Yogalicia]

My hen hatched her first egg this morning! We are very excited and hopeful the rest hatch. My problem is that she choose to nest up high and all attempts to move her while on the eggs failed. Now that babies are arriving, I want to move her to the enclosure I prepared. Can anyone advise me on the best way to move mama and chicks?

 

[Wishapup]

My hen hatched her first egg this morning! We are very excited and hopeful the rest hatch. My problem is that she choose to nest up high and all attempts to move her while on the eggs failed. Now that babies are arriving, I want to move her to the enclosure I prepared. Can anyone advise me on the best way to move mama and chicks?

I am sure others will offer more experienced advice, but I would recommend moving her at night. Get everything prepared (food, water) and then move her so she can be left alone afterwards. Maybe do put in a light a little later, though, so that the chick can find food/water -- not sure if they need this.

At night, broody should be more relaxed. If she can't see, it will feel like you are putting her back on her nest. Make the nest similar to the one she is sitting on now. She won't know the difference until morning!

And how high is the nest? If necessary, maybe you could build a temporary lip on the box to keep chicks in? Some people have had success with chicks in nests 4 feet high if there's something soft to land on, though I can't personally recommend this.

Good luck!

 

[bumpercarr]

My hen hatched her first egg this morning! We are very excited and hopeful the rest hatch. My problem is that she choose to nest up high and all attempts to move her while on the eggs failed. Now that babies are arriving, I want to move her to the enclosure I prepared. Can anyone advise me on the best way to move mama and chicks?

I posted a story earlier about baby geese jumping off of a 20 ft cliff to join their parents at the bottom. So, I'm pretty sure that your chicks will handle the disengagement from the high nest just fine. The bigger issue is whether any of the chicks take the leap on their own without momma and then your hen has to choose between the one that jumped and the ones left high where the nest is. Often times, the hen goes where the ruckus is the loudest (usually the one that is separated), leaving the rest to either join her down below for comfort or to perish without momma's assistance. Hopefully, you have blocked off the area somehow so that the chicks can't escape the high nest until everyone is ready for that to happen. Usually at about 4-7 days.

So, if you haven't yet, close off the area with materials that you have available to you to give them a safe enclosure until the rest of the eggs hatch. You will be able to tell when the hen wants to rejoin the flock by her behavior, if she is pacing or acts like she wants out, then it is time to let them out. The chicks will follow her out, most of them will fall but they will bounce provided that you have soft bedding under the place where they will pop out of the area (ramp, ladder, whatever). Of course, they won't be able to get back to the original nest in all likelihood. I leave a dog kennel, box or some other "safe" place where the hen can make a new nest with her chicks until the chicks are big enough to make it up where ever it is that momma wants to roost at night. The first night, momma will try to go to her old place but the chicks will not be able to follow. Eventually, momma will give up and come down to try to find another place that she deems is safe to go to bed with her chicks. So, it is important for you to have a place available for her to use.

 

[ChickyChickens]

...

I love this thread...lots of broody Mamas and their babies. Here is my contribution for today...This is 'Meanie' mama and her 1st baby to hatch. Such a sweet looking little chick, as soon as she saw me, she burrowed under Meanie's wing and disappeared. There are more peeping noises under her and I"ve seen pips in eggs that are sticking out a bit too...more tomorrow hopefully. [/quote Your hen is very beautiful. What breed is she?? I lo've the little chick.

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

Sorry for not keeping up. Really busy couple weeks. B1 hatched 2 chicks, lost 1 to Shi-Tzu. But now have 4 more hens sitting, on top of the 2 sharing eggs, or trying to. Still getting 2.5 dz. a day. So keeping up with weekly demand for table egg sales. Must be the year of the broody.

 

[shakerchick]

So after our broody buff orp died a few day from hatching her fertilized Maran eggs last year, we replaced the flock with a lovely splash Marans, one French black Marans and a couple of blues (with copper necks). One of the blues went broody and I ordered fertilized SLEE, Olive and super blue eggs. A couple of days ago 7 hatched (the other eggs were infertile and stinky when I cracked them into the compost). So far we are planning to leave the mom and chicks with our flock of 4 total hens. We have a large coop and free range in our enclosed suburban back yard and don't really have any options for raising them separately. Has anyone had success with this? Will the chicks follow her down, and more importantly back up the ramp the the coop? We have a puller-shut door with a light sensor on the coop.

 

[fisherlady]

So after our broody buff orp died a few day from hatching her fertilized Maran eggs last year, we replaced the flock with a lovely splash Marans, one French black Marans and a couple of blues (with copper necks). One of the blues went broody and I ordered fertilized SLEE, Olive and super blue eggs. A couple of days ago 7 hatched (the other eggs were infertile and stinky when I cracked them into the compost). So far we are planning to leave the mom and chicks with our flock of 4 total hens. We have a large coop and free range in our enclosed suburban back yard and don't really have any options for raising them separately. Has anyone had success with this? Will the chicks follow her down, and more importantly back up the ramp the the coop? We have a puller-shut door with a light sensor on the coop.

Our hens raise their chicks within the flock, there are infrequent pecks from the adult birds as the little ones learn their place, but it has worked well for us. Each flock is different though, so initial interactions should be closely monitored to make sure you don't have a 'grump' who won't tolerate the little ones... it can happen.
The chicks will learn the ramp, but it will take them a week or so to do it. You will need to be outside each afternoon or evening to make sure they all get up into the coop before it closes up for the night. You can provide a medium dog or cat carrier under the coop or close by with hay or bedding in it so that if the hen needs to she can use it as temporary shelter until you can help her get the chicks in for the evening.