Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[KuroKitsune]

Adorable!

A weeks worth of hatch time is too far. It's a stretch for three days. I would move the egg to an incubator or another broody or candle it to see if it's still viable. Most of my broodies have left their nests on day 2 or 3 with their chicks. So anything not hatched is left behind. If it's still viable there's a possibility she will stay the course, but the other chicks need food and water which you will need to show them where and how to get it as that's what she would do the first few days after hatching.

momma and babies and egg are in their own area with water and food right close....momma just has to stretch her neck for food and take one or two steps for water. i will watch her today and if she looks like she gonna get up i'll move the egg to another broody whos waiting for eggs. this momma tends to stay mostly put for the first week since i have her and the littles in a sectioned off area with food and water super close but i will watch her today and move the egg if she doesnt seem to want to stay like she normally does

 

[Angiebubs]

Advise????

I have 3 sets of chicks all 4.5 wks old. A few days ago, mom with 5 chicks couldn't find any empty nest box and decided she was done with her chicks. After chasing off a hen (who thought she would go broody along with 3 others) mom still didn't want to sit with her babies any longer. I put the chicks together in the nest box for the night.
Last night, another mom who was just training her chicks to go up on the roost with her the night before, decided she didn't want her chicks near her now either. (Pretty funny, a chick jumped onto the back of the EEr next to her and the poor hen couldn't figure out what to do with the thing on her back!). I put these chicks down into their old nest area too.

Do I need to worry about the temperatures? They all feel warm enough when they pile up and they are about 2/3 feathered out. The temps get down to about 60 at night but the coop stays around low 70's. Per usual recommendations, they should still be around 75, but they seem to be fine?? :-(

 

[3 NH reds]

Go to her nest at night, remove her to the ground, pick up each egg and candle it. If you see a chick developing great, mark it as to what day you think it is. If you see nothing mark it with a zero then put all the eggs back and her back. When more time passes check again. I like to candle on days 3, 7, 14 and discard anything stinking or obviously not developing so they can focus on the ones that are developing.

No way to get at her at night, the rooster is a 24/7 alarm bird. I thought about moving her to a bigger coop but I have no place to move her to. Finally the other birds are laying in the other box and not on her! I slipped her an egg from a ranger hen that I am sure is fertile so I guess it is a waiting game now.

 

[poodlechicks]

Advise????

I have 3 sets of chicks all 4.5 wks old. A few days ago, mom with 5 chicks couldn't find any empty nest box and decided she was done with her chicks. After chasing off a hen (who thought she would go broody along with 3 others) mom still didn't want to sit with her babies any longer. I put the chicks together in the nest box for the night.
Last night, another mom who was just training her chicks to go up on the roost with her the night before, decided she didn't want her chicks near her now either. (Pretty funny, a chick jumped onto the back of the EEr next to her and the poor hen couldn't figure out what to do with the thing on her back!). I put these chicks down into their old nest area too.

Do I need to worry about the temperatures? They all feel warm enough when they pile up and they are about 2/3 feathered out. The temps get down to about 60 at night but the coop stays around low 70's. Per usual recommendations, they should still be around 75, but they seem to be fine?? :-(

I think your chicks will be ok as long as the place isn't drafty. If their nest area is inside the coop with the adults and they are bundled together, I think they will be warm enough.You have to think about space when they decide they want to roost for the night.
My broody stopped taking care of her babies at 7 weeks and tried to invite the chicks to roost with her, but the other ones shooed them away. The poor things went to the top of the coop to roost for the night. I have a fenced area surrounding the coop and tarp over it and to the sides, so no drafts there, just ventilation at the top. Now I am in the process of transforming a playhouse into some sort of a coop to accommodate the chicks.

 

[ChickyChickens]

I have finally got another broody! She is in our tree house which we haven't been in for a while! We seem to always have 4 broodies at the same time, and then when one completes her hatch another goes broody!

I have also found another nest under our hay bale stack! Hopefully she also goes broody soon!

 

[ochochicas]

My two broody girls have been sitting on a dozen eggs (6 eggs each). They hatched out 10 of them. One died mysteriously yesterday, so there are 9 left. One hen is a year old Marans, and the other is a 3 year old Australorp. They decided the buddy up today. Here they are showing the chicks how to eat.

The chicks are Wheaten Marans, Favorelles, and Easter Egger crosses. Cuteness overload!

 

[Johnn]

My two broody girls have been sitting on a dozen eggs (6 eggs each). They hatched out 10 of them. One died mysteriously yesterday, so there are 9 left. One hen is a year old Marans, and the other is a 3 year old Australorp. They decided the buddy up today. Here they are showing the chicks how to eat.

The chicks are Wheaten Marans, Favorelles, and Easter Egger crosses. Cuteness overload!

Aww so cute! Love it when broodies pair up!

 

[Johnn]

Haven't been on here for a bit!

It's nice that Bella's mother has took her two old chicks back, but her baby one is scared of the two big ones so is getting pushed out from food and I bet when she calls it for treats the big ones get them! Just wish she would look after her little one more.

Bella and her chick don't approve of this weather...

 

[ochochicas]

Aww so cute! Love it when broodies pair up!

It was too good to be true. LOL It turns out that the Marans was just being nice so she could steal the other hen's chicks. I separated them for now so the chicks can bond with the appropriate mom.

 

[702marine]

I'm not showing this to my broodies or they will want it too.

Is the nest completely enclosed? If so, the only caution I would give is that she will poop and it will be big & stinky & messy. I've had broodies poop in their enclosed nests and it covered some of the eggs. I managed to wipe off most of it, but you can't wash the eggs afterwards so it leaves the potential for bacteria to breed. Then again I've had poop covered eggs hatch into chicks that were perfectly healthy so perhaps it isn't a big deal if she poops on them.

She is very much a spoiled chicken. I take her out daily for a "walk". She does her busines, plays in the dirt and then back into the nest box. I check on her 3 to 4 times a day. She is a happy spoiled little turd. I have a mixed flock so I wasn't sure how the others would react to the chicks. I wanted to wait till they were a few days old before I let her walk them around with the full flock. She did peck at my Lab pup last night when he got to close so that gave me some confidence she will be pretty protective. She has never pecked at anything before.