Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Turk Raphael]

What kinds of birds do you have? I have one chicken laying right now and a lot of chickens sluffing off. ahaha My chickens are all around the same age and my Barred rock is the one laying. She lays me an egg almost every day. Very small brown eggs.

If you're addressing me...Dark cornish, Turkens and Buckeyes.

 

[Turk Raphael]

I have a 4 month old what I thought was a pullet and this week on it's 4 month birthday did the deed with my Barred rock Roxanne. I thought I was making something out of nothing and she-he did it again today. His target is always Roxanne.

Roxanne is amenable to his advances.

 

[sssharon]

Pardon me Turk Raphael, I won't make that mistake again.. Thought it was you I was talking to.

 

[Sylviaanne]

Ok, I have a broody sitting on one chick and 3 eggs. I don't know if the eggs are going to hatch as there has been 2 eggs broken at different times. Each time I brought about half the eggs in and put them in the incubator, I already had eggs in it. At first other hens were sitting on her and laying their eggs so the eggs are at different hatch dates.

These babies in the incubator started hatching on the 19th, one then and now there are 8 in the incubator. I want to put the babies under mama but I have a few questions first and I know I have to do it faster than one or two a night since the baby under mama is already dry and fluffed out.

1. Should I turn the lights out in the coop to put the babies under her?

2. I know I should wait at least 5 minutes to put the next baby under her but is it possible that I could put 2 at a time under her and get away with it?

3. She is in a milk crate that has high sides. If I move her into something that the babies can easily get in and out of at night, do I need to put the eggs that haven't hatched in the new nest to get her to continue to use it?

 

[sssharon]

Well, I have never done anything like that so I'm no help. I incubated two different batches of eggs and it actually seems to me like that is a lot less troublesome. It is still work with all the watching temps and humidity but I'm sure it would be nice to have a hen doing all the work afterwards and not having to keep them in a brooder. Sorry I can't be of any help. Good luck with that. When I need answers I go to Google.

 

[ochochicas]

Now you're going to think this a stupid question but how old is a chicken when it's in it's teenage years? I've heard that said a couple of times and I suppose I could google it and find out. Just thought I'd ask. I like your chickens also. Cute story about Buffy.

I would say starting at 3 months for cockerels and 4 months for pullets. Can vary among breeds. I have a 21 week old "pullet" that is fully grown and has been laying for a month already. She is bigger than my 3 year olds and has a larger comb as well. The cockerel just turned 4 months yesterday. He is definitely in the teen years. He only has one thing on his mind - morning, noon and night. This evening I caught him in a stall doing something behind a hay bale. When I went in there he was alone. LOL Not exactly sure what he was up to.

 

[muddbog]

We have a broody that has been on some eggs for 23 days now and the development of the eggs looked right when I candled them last week, we had a few losses, including one last weekend which was almost fully developed but I wanted to know when I should call it quits here on these eggs?

 

[bobbieschicks]

I have a 4 month old what I thought was a pullet and this week on it's 4 month birthday did the deed with my Barred rock Roxanne. I thought I was making something out of nothing and she-he did it again today. His target is always Roxanne.

Has he crowed yet? Do you have any other roosters? If he hasn't crowed and you have other Roos I'd say it's a rooster who isn't high in the pecking order. And Roxanne is probably lower in the pecking order. Most of my roosters have crowed by 8 weeks old, but a few didn't crow until they were boxed to leave the property because there were other more dominate roosters around.

If he hasn't crowed and you don't have any other Roos I would still think there's a possibility it's a she. Some hens will get on the backs of other hens to show dominance. They can still lay eggs. Time will tell.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Ok, I have a broody sitting on one chick and 3 eggs. I don't know if the eggs are going to hatch as there has been 2 eggs broken at different times. Each time I brought about half the eggs in and put them in the incubator, I already had eggs in it. At first other hens were sitting on her and laying their eggs so the eggs are at different hatch dates.

These babies in the incubator started hatching on the 19th, one then and now there are 8 in the incubator. I want to put the babies under mama but I have a few questions first and I know I have to do it faster than one or two a night since the baby under mama is already dry and fluffed out.

1. Should I turn the lights out in the coop to put the babies under her?

2. I know I should wait at least 5 minutes to put the next baby under her but is it possible that I could put 2 at a time under her and get away with it?

3. She is in a milk crate that has high sides. If I move her into something that the babies can easily get in and out of at night, do I need to put the eggs that haven't hatched in the new nest to get her to continue to use it?

The reason you need to do something fast is because usually by the third day after hatching the momma will take all chicks with her and leave the nest for a new nest area.

Yes, two at a time is fine. I've never waited any length of time between putting eggs or chicks under my broodies. I've put up to eight under one at the same time during broad daylight. Of course she was a silky so that might explain it. The method of slipping eggs or chicks under a broody depends on the broody and her temperament. If she's docile you can cup the baby in your hand and slide it under her without secrecy. If she's not docile, you will want darkened surroundings and make sure she doesn't see what you did or she might think it's a nest invader. Always still cup the baby so that if the broody pecks she gets your hand and not the chicks head.

I wouldn't move the milk crate if she feels comfortable there. If the other chicks are due to hatch within a few days you could try and slip them under her at her new nest location, but if there's a large gap in ages, I would be ready to do something else with the second batch of chicks, like put them under another broody or into a brooder. Again it depends on your broodies temperament and the type of chicks you are putting under her.

 

[bobbieschicks]

We have a broody that has been on some eggs for 23 days now and the development of the eggs looked right when I candled them last week, we had a few losses, including one last weekend which was almost fully developed but I wanted to know when I should call it quits here on these eggs?

I give it until day 25 to toss anything not hatched, candle first if you aren't sure. Usually the broody will get rid of all duds, but not always.

My latest broody was a RIR and I was convinced her eggs were all duds on day 22. I now have 3 WL chicks running around that she hatched.