Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[KuroKitsune]

here are the chicks that hatched under my cochin hen on friday...their so cute! the hen is being a different momma this time...nothing bad but not how she was the first time.

 

[702marine]

My silkie broody hen is now sitting on quail eggs. She was the only one laying and we dont have a roo so the eggs would have just gone bad. I took them away and just thought why not give her something if she is going to nest anyways. I sat the quail eggs down in front of her. She checked them out for a minute and then pulled them under her. I guess we will see what happens

 

[bobbieschicks]

I originally had 11 eggs under a broody EE. On day 10, I realized one egg had "exploded" where the inner part was protruding from the hard shell. One more was cracked, and one was missing but the hay was wet so we assumed she ate it. That left 8. Now, on day 14, we got rid of two more that showed no sign of further development. They still looked like this: So that left 6. One more just has the little black dot in there, but no further development. I forgot to take that one out, so it's still there. However, there are 3 that are mostly black, with thick veins stretching to the end of the egg. We're very excited about those! So, there are two more we're not sure about. They are blue eggs, and they're pretty hard to see through. Now it's time to start thinking of what we're going to do when they hatch. I have a tractor to move hen and chicks too, but will she nest on the ground instead of the nest box that has a ramp leading up to it?

That's pretty typical of my egg hatching experiences. Usually my girls will leave the nestbox or nests with the chicks around the 2nd day after everyone has hatched and dried off. They generally stay on the floor of the coop for a couple of days. But I've had some broodies who would take their three day olds out into the run. Then the trouble is the little ones don't have their wing feathers yet and can't fly back up into the coop or navigate the ramp. That's a skill the momma teaches them by the end of the first week. So I'd say, no they will probably stay on the ground in your tractor and you will have to put them away yourself for a few days. It's usually not too hard to catch broody and babies that first week. She won't move off them easily and they stay right with her.

 

[bobbieschicks]

here are the chicks that hatched under my cochin hen on friday...their so cute! the hen is being a different momma this time...nothing bad but not how she was the first time.

Awh!

 

[bobbieschicks]

My silkie broody hen is now sitting on quail eggs. She was the only one laying and we dont have a roo so the eggs would have just gone bad. I took them away and just thought why not give her something if she is going to nest anyways. I sat the quail eggs down in front of her. She checked them out for a minute and then pulled them under her. I guess we will see what happens

Gotta love silkies. They will hatch just about anything. I'm pretty sure if I put an ostrich egg in front of my silky she would just pull it under her to hatch.

 

[suyoder]

Sorry, I only had my iPhone yesterday and it was too small to answer.

Congrats on the broody. You can leave her where she is. I'd mark the eggs with a permanent marker so you will know if other eggs are still being added. If it's a shared nest box the other hen might force her off the eggs to lay if she's laying. Just make sure she makes it back on the eggs at some point. If your weather is warm she will be off the eggs more then on the eggs. My broodies would stand over their eggs during 100F weather.

Once the chicks hatch in approximately 21 days after last egg is laid by her, then just provide some sort of chick food for them to eat. I start off with medicated crumbles for the first few days while they are still in the nest because it comes in a small bag. Then I switch to Flockraiser crumbles so everyone can eat the same food. But if you give your layers pellets it won't matter because the chicks can't eat the pellets, I give crumbles.

Hi, Thanks! I appreciate your response. OK, I marked the eggs, but none have been added so far. The other hen is not even laying right now... she started laying... laid maybe two eggs and then stopped. She seems healthy and happy, just not interested in laying anymore. Oh well. I'm ok with that. its been cool here... mid 60s. so we pretty much have to manually remove her from the nest every day so she eats.

 

[lablover]

That's pretty typical of my egg hatching experiences.

Usually my girls will leave the nestbox or nests with the chicks around the 2nd day after everyone has hatched and dried off. They generally stay on the floor of the coop for a couple of days. But I've had some broodies who would take their three day olds out into the run. Then the trouble is the little ones don't have their wing feathers yet and can't fly back up into the coop or navigate the ramp. That's a skill the momma teaches them by the end of the first week. So I'd say, no they will probably stay on the ground in your tractor and you will have to put them away yourself for a few days. It's usually not too hard to catch broody and babies that first week. She won't move off them easily and they stay right with her.

Well the nest she's on is close to 3 feet off the ground. I'll have to watch carefully when they start to hatch because if she gets them off the nest, the only thing separating her and the flock is a fence with 2x4 in openings. I know the chicks will be right under her, but another chicken could reach through and grab one. Will she be aggressive when I go to catch her and the babies to move? My hens aren't separated often, so when they are, it's a huge stressful situation for them. But from what I've read, she should be fine since she'll have the chicks with her. Also, the coop floor is dirt. I would like to get the chicks out of that as soon as possible and get them on the fresh dirt to reduce the chance of cocci. They'll be on medicated feed too.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Well the nest she's on is close to 3 feet off the ground. I'll have to watch carefully when they start to hatch because if she gets them off the nest, the only thing separating her and the flock is a fence with 2x4 in openings. I know the chicks will be right under her, but another chicken could reach through and grab one. Will she be aggressive when I go to catch her and the babies to move? My hens aren't separated often, so when they are, it's a huge stressful situation for them. But from what I've read, she should be fine since she'll have the chicks with her. Also, the coop floor is dirt. I would like to get the chicks out of that as soon as possible and get them on the fresh dirt to reduce the chance of cocci. They'll be on medicated feed too.

My nest boxes were about two feet off the ground and I had broodies hatching in them. They have the babies jump down to the floor of the coop when they are ready to move on. My floor is covered in Sweet PDZ a glandular horse stall freshener, kind of like kitty litter, and I scoop out the poop each day using a cat litter scoop. Works pretty well to keep it dry and less stinky.

I used to separate my broodies, but I've found them to be tenacious defenders of their chicks, so I quit doing it. Plus it lessens my involvement since I don't have to try and reintroduce them to the flock later. The broody brings the chicks into the flock and everyone finds the right pecking order. You could put up landscape fabric or 1/4" hardware cloth around the chick area to discourage the others from pecking at the babies. I'd use zip ties so it can be cut off later or twisty ties so you can reuse the tie.

If she's normally docile and you do it at night, she will probably still peck at you but shouldn't go wild. I get the babies up quickly first and sometimes that gets momma to move into the coop, otherwise I scoop her up second and put her where she can gather her babies. Depends on how many babies are involved. With three I can juggle them and she will follow. With four it's harder so I sometimes put one baby inside the coop who will start cheeping it's head off so momma comes running. Then I scoop up the rest and put them with her. Usually by the third night she's got them trained to use the steps or ramp.

 

[sahmhomesteader]

I don't know. I just know that of all my broodies none has returned to their previous nest once they left with the chicks after the chicks hatched and dried off. They will go close by or find a new corner in the coop, but they won't go back to the place where the eggs hatched.

That is until they are ready to go broody again, then they will have no problems going back to the old nest box.

Interesting! Can't wait to see it all unfold in a few days

 

[birdman4259]

Sorry. this was posted in the wrong spot.