Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[chippysmom327]

I am about to use my broody for my first hatch. I have her new run set up and attached to the coop. My coop has two levels that are separated from each other. Usually all nesting takes place in the top. I intend to move my broody to the lower level which is now totally closed off from the top by its own run. How long should I wait to see if she will continue her broodiness or if it breaks will she go back soon? Thanks!

i would give her at least one full day in the new location.  The problem I see most often is that even if a hen seems fine when the initial move takes place it is after her next excursion outside to do her broody poo and dust bath that she doesn't want to return to the new nest site, she wants to go back to the original nest.  This doesn't happen all of the time, but I don't give moved broodies any eggs until they have been up for at least one stretch/food break after the move.

You can help reduce her stresses by minimizing outside stimuli for her first trip off of the nest. maybe throw a sheet over her run area so she doesn't see her old haunts and want to return to them... that isn't required, but if you have a broody who doesn't want to resettle it sometimes helps to remove her ability to see much other than the nest she should be setting on.

I moved my hen into an awesome box that I found at ALDI onto the floor of the coop, and after she goes out for her daily activities, she goes back up to her nest on the top shelf. Her eggs went cold yesterday. I was kinda mad at her, but she's got a birdbrain, and she's cute, so I wasn't as mad. I candled last night, and we may have only lost one. The one was iffy because I didn't see any movement.

 

[Sydney Acres]

I've never done the whole candling thing, but today I deiced to candle my broodies one egg. I used my phone torch and went into a dark corner of the feed shed. The egg was basically full with the top (could have been the bottom) having a light gap which im assuming is the air sac. Is it normal for the egg to be this full when only on day 13?

It can look that way, especially if your light isn't super bright, or if you're an inexperienced candler and don't move the light around enough to get all the angles. This thread can give you great information about candling during any day of the incubation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

 

[Sydney Acres]

Hey guys, my cochin had two eggs under her, has only hatched one so far. The chick hatched a day early and the other egg was a bit under developed so I left it under momma. Today is day 21 for that egg. I decided to candle it since I had to clean broody poop out of the nest earlier today and I could see it was fully developed and there was rapid movement, almost like heavy breathing going on in the egg. It was not internally pipped. This evening I starting thinking that maybe it was malpositioned, so i candled it a little bit ago quickly, to see if I could tell it it was upside down, which I couldn't by the way, and I saw no movement at all, and right under the air cell in with the chick was a tiny little speck of what looked like blood. Do you experienced hatchers know what that could mean? Do you think the chick may have died? I will feel awful if it did. I'm afraid I may have done something wrong candling it. I only did it because it's sibling is running all over the brooder, but momma is intently sitting on the egg still. She tucked it back in also when I gave it back after candling it. I wonder if she can tell the difference if an egg is still good or not?

There's a lot of things that little spot could be, so it's impossible to know for sure at this point. Here is a link to some good candling photos, so you may find an answer here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

You might also read the assisted hatching section of the Hatching 101 article at BYC, which discusses malpositions also: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

Chicks under broodies sometimes hatch early, but not always.. So it is common to have some hatch on day 18,19,20, and others hatch on day 21, 22, 23, or 24. Whenever you handle an egg on or after day 18, it is a good idea to note which side of the egg was up, and return it to the same position as you found it. The chick moves into hatching position during the last 3 days of incubation, so setting the egg down in a different position could make hatching more difficult. If you didn't mark the "up" position before picking up the egg, and you can't determine what position it was in before you picked it up, it's probably best to place it such that the side were the air sac come furthest down the egg is up. That is where the chick is most likely to pip, and is the most natural hatching position.

I had several chicks hatch out perfectly 1-2 days after I thought they were dead, so don't give up. Sometimes chicks sleep while we're candling them, so lack of movement is not proof of death. Some hens will know which eggs are still viable, and others won't, so you can't make any guarantees from that.

Under normal circumstances I would say to leave the egg alone until day 24, but this may be a situation where checking on it every 6-8 hours might be useful. (What do the rest of you think?) It is possible that moving the egg around during "lockdown" could have malpositioned the chick, which might (MIGHT) make it more difficult for the chick to hatch. (I only say that because I had a malpositioned chick from an egg I handled die under a hen recently -- I'm sure it's not common. I also had an egg in the incubator stop zipping half way through and the little chick struggled for 6 hours before I finally couldn't stand it anymore and assisted.) But it's not a straightforward call. Checking too often can be quite disruptive to the broody, depending on her personality. If you do decide to check, there are some timetables and warning signs in the assisted hatching article that can help you decide when/if you should intervene.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote: I moved my hen into an awesome box that I found at ALDI onto the floor of the coop, and after she goes out for her daily activities, she goes back up to her nest on the top shelf. Her eggs went cold yesterday. I was kinda mad at her, but she's got a birdbrain, and she's cute, so I wasn't as mad. I candled last night, and we may have only lost one. The one was iffy because I didn't see any movement.
You might need to block off access to her old nest site completely.

 

[loobyloo88]

So tuesday is day 21 for my broodys eggs....what signs should I be looking out for? I check her regular as I found her with an egg bit pushed out behind her....not out the nest just not under her well and not as warm as the others. So im just keeping check shes got them tucked under well.

 

[OHfarmerswife]

Help!
Ihave a broody who has been sitting on eggs since July 2 nd.
I remove her from the nest twice a day, so she can run around, eat, drink, & dust bathe. (I have used this method & had 6 successful hatches.I do have food & water in their broody area, which they ignore.)

The other day when I was removing the broody she had an egg tucked in under her wing & it fell when I lifted her.

Yesterday when I removed her from the nest I noticed a smell...kinda yucky...no broody poop in the nest. I smelled each egg & couldnt detect the bad egg.

Last night I candled the eggs, one was not fertile & one looked dark & cloudy. I removed those two eggs.
I detected no cracks!

Now what do I do? Should I clean out the nesting material &replace with new?

 

[kabhyper1]

There's a lot of things that little spot could be, so it's impossible to know for sure at this point.  Here is a link to some good candling photos, so you may find an answer here:  https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

You might also read the assisted hatching section of the Hatching 101 article at BYC, which discusses malpositions also:  https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/step-by-step-guide-to-assisted-hatching

Chicks under broodies sometimes hatch early, but not always..  So it is common to have some hatch on day 18,19,20, and others hatch on day 21, 22, 23, or 24.  Whenever you handle an egg on or after day 18, it is a good idea to note which side of the egg was up, and return it to the same position as you found it.  The chick moves into hatching position during the last 3 days of incubation, so setting the egg down in a different position could make hatching more difficult.  If you didn't mark the "up" position before picking up the egg, and you can't determine what position it was in before you picked it up, it's probably best to place it such that the side were the air sac come furthest down the egg is up.  That is where the chick is most likely to pip, and is the most natural hatching position.

I had several chicks hatch out perfectly 1-2 days after I thought they were dead, so don't give up.  Sometimes chicks sleep while we're candling them, so lack of movement is not proof of death.  Some hens will know which eggs are still viable, and others won't, so you can't make any guarantees from that. 

Under normal circumstances I would say to leave the egg alone until day 24, but this may be a situation where checking on it every 6-8 hours might be useful.  (What do the rest of you think?)  It is possible that moving the egg around during "lockdown" could have malpositioned the chick, which might (MIGHT) make it more difficult for the chick to hatch.  (I only say that because I had a malpositioned chick from an egg I handled die under a hen recently -- I'm sure it's not common.  I also had an egg in the incubator stop zipping half way through and the little chick struggled for 6 hours before I finally couldn't stand it anymore and assisted.)  But it's not a straightforward call.  Checking too often can be quite disruptive to the broody, depending on her personality.  If you do decide to check, there are some timetables and warning signs in the assisted hatching article that can help you decide when/if you should intervene.

Thank you. She pooped, and then moved herself her chick and rolled her egg to the other side of the brooder. Lol She is pretty mellow so I could keep an eye on it, but I dont want to over handle it anymore than I have. Then again I dont want to miss something if it is alive and gets distressed. The rapid breathing type movement I saw yesterday followed by the lack of movement now, and that the blood vessels seem to have receded when I candled,without an internal pip, makes me think it didnt make it. She is determined to sit on it though. The spot is in second pic. This was this morning.

 

[McColpin44]

Aunt Bea here,I have an australope mix who has been broody for about 10 days. When I take her off the nest she eats, drinks but hops right back on. I'm thinking might as well find some hatching eggs since we don't have a rooster.

 

[fisherlady]

Aunt Bea here,I have an australope mix who has been broody for about 10 days. When I take her off the nest she eats, drinks but hops right back on. I'm thinking might as well find some hatching eggs since we don't have a rooster.

Yep, 10 days is pretty determined. Congratulations!

 

[Sydney Acres]

Aunt Bea here,I have an australope mix who has been broody for about 10 days. When I take her off the nest she eats, drinks but hops right back on. I'm thinking might as well find some hatching eggs since we don't have a rooster.

If you want chicks you should do it soon, since she's already 10 days into the brood. Most hens will brood 30-40 days, some longer, but the longer they brood the harder it is on their health. If you don't want chicks, then you should break her brood to keep her from getting to debilitated for no reason. Let us know if you need information on how to do that.