Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[ochochicas]

My broodies were in a routine where they knew every afternoon I would take them off the nest so they could poo, eat, drink, and get a quick dust bath or whatever else they wanted to do. That gave me a chance to check the nest and remove any extra eggs that had "mysteriously" appeared there during the day. Usually they were back within 20 minutes. However, in the summer if it was really hot out (90 or so) they might be gone for an hour. My hatch rates with the broodies have all been 92 - 100% so having the eggs get a little cooled doesn't hurt them, even during the winter.

The broodies also had little bowls of food and water in the corners of the nest box so they could eat or drink without getting off the eggs. They really enjoyed having treats in there like huckleberries.

 

[aatx]

They really enjoyed having treats in there like huckleberries.

This made me think of something that caused me a mini-panic followed by a chuckle earlier. When I removed the Dahlia yesterday and she finally pooped, even though it reeked, I did have to look at it to make sure it looked like a normal broody poop. And there were some shavings attached that had turned bright red. My immediate thought was blood and I had my mini-panic, but then I remembered that I had chopped up a strawberry and sat it in front of her to eat over the weekend. When I had previously removed her to try to get her to eat, I put her back in the nest facing the other way which left the shavings that had been stained by the strawberries now under her rear. Being a fuzzy Silkie, the shavings always stick to her and just fell off when she pooped. And, no, she didn't eat any of the strawberry that I can tell. Now, I need to try to remove it all the next time I get her off the nest.

 

[ridgerunner1963]

i like broody hens the chicks seem to be better forgers, survivors than incubated chicks. just ordered 30 from mm hatchery i got 10 each of Buff Orpingtons, Dark Cornish, Partridge Rocks. mm says all will b very likely to b sitters. i have had buff before, if u have any experience with the other two would appreciate your input

 

[FL Crowing Hen]

1. A few more would be better since you would have a better chance of having 2 or more chicks hatch. It is easier for them to adjust to their mom leaving them in the future when they have a buddy. If she's already been sitting on the eggs for a few days it is too late to add more. 2. I fill my brooder box with deep hay and put a very small food dish in one corner and water in another corner. The hay pushes up against the dishes and prevents spilling. 3. Candle at day 7 or 10 and pull any that are not fertile. You can also candle again between days 14 and 17 to pull any quitters. You don't have to candle though...it is personal preference. If you have Marans eggs you will need a very powerful light to see anything. 4. My chicks tried to get through the dog crate bars, but couldn't get out. It depends on your bars though since all crates are different. Normally they didn't try to get out though...only in the morning when they saw me coming for food. 5. It depends on your flock and how much space they have. I moved my broody to her own 10 x 10 horse stall since my coop is already pretty crowded with other hens and roosters. The chicks are safe in there and learn how to roost, scratch, etc. In the afternoons they get to free range with the rest of the flock for 3 - 4 hours. By the time they are ready to go in the big coop they have already been accepted into the flock and there is no fighting. 6. Yes, you can put baby chicks under the hen if her eggs don't hatch. If only one hatches, you can add a couple more. It needs to be done when they are very young. Put the chicks under her after dark and she'll be more likely to accept them as her own. Raising chicks with a broody is the best way to do it! Best of luck. My black copper Marans is the best momma!

Ochochicos has given some good advice. I have some things to add from my experiences: 1) Unless you can add the eggs immediately so there is no more than 24 hour lag for hatching, I would not add any more as you will get a staggered hatch...and that is not good to do as the mom will usually get up with the first chicks after a day or two and not wait for the later eggs to hatch...or will ignore the chicks who need food/water after day 2 to stay with the hatching eggs. 2) I like to use pine shavings instead of hay, but no matter what you use it WILL clog the water. I use the chick feeder/waterer and place it on a flat block of wood.preferably in a corner so that it can't be tipped over but is high enough so the bedding can't be kicked in so easily. If I have to, I use a bungee cord to secure the water. 3) Agree candling is a preference not a necessity. Candle at day 5 is a good time to see if any are developing...when trying to candle dark Marans eggs, day 5 is about the ONLY time I can see much of anything unless you have a very bright light. I just use a cheap Dollar Store LED flashlight, cup the egg in your hand, shine light from below. You need to be in total dark for it to work well, so I go out to the coop and candle right at the coop door at night. Do not worry about candling after day 10 or so, and definitely try not to disturb around day 18...sometimes you can get an early hatch and you don't want to handle the eggs within 48 hours of hatching as it is important for the chick to be in the proper position inside the egg. 4) That's cute. Forgive me, but as to my chicks...they ALWAYS climb through any hole they can find and NEVER figure out a way to get back to mom. They are typical children, and bird brains at that. I use bird netting or rubbermaid shelf lining (the weave kind), or anything else to block up the holes. I do a perimeter check before every hatch. It is not fun trying to get a chick out of a weird predicament when they've climbed into some odd place and can't get out. 5) Totally depends on your flock dynamics and the personality and pecking order of your broody hen. Laid back flocks, assertive hen, safe yard, you can introduce very early. Dominant flock, lowly broody, hawk and other predators, you may need to let the chicks grow up a lot more before it is safe for them and the broody. 6) Depends on the hen. Usually by day 23 or so if the eggs haven't hatched (sometimes earlier if you know its a bust, depending on the hen), and you've candled to see there is nothing going to hatch, then most (but not all) broody hens will eagerly accept fosters. Hatching eggs doesn't mean your hen will be a good mother let alone a good foster mother. While most hens are willing, be aware that feed store fosters often have already imprinted and acclimated to a heat lamp brooder and may fear the big hen. Get the absolute youngest chicks you can find...day old is best...right from the delivery box better...You will have to watch closely in case it doesn't go well. I like to load them up with electrolytes/water since they've already had a hard trip being shipped. Then introduce to the hen. Remove the eggs, then cupping the chick in my hand so the hen can't see it, place it gently but quickly under her tail and into the little "alcove" she creates between her legs so she can't peck at you and hit the chick. I would only get 2 or 3 chicks at most since this is her and your first time. Typically the brave chicks will graft quickly to the hen, but the shyer chicks may not. They may get confused and crawl out and run from her. During cool weather they can chill quickly as they hang back afraid. Don't assume that they will stay under the hen once placed there. You will have to keep checking on them every few hours to make sure no one has tumbled out or gotten bumped out and is huddled in a corner cold. (which is why I like to graft during the day rather than late at night so I don't have to stay up late watching...many hens are fine with grafting in the day, and it can help with transition stress for the chicks so they don't have yet another transition in a short time.) If need be, keep replacing chicks under the tail until they seem to get the idea, always being careful the hen cannot peck them when she goes after you (she thinks you're trying to steal her eggs/chicks). In a day or so, you'll know if you've made the graft. Be prepared to have to heat lamp brood them if it doesn't go well for one or all. Good luck...hopefully she hatches all 3 of the eggs Once you get a hen to do the work for you, and see how cute they are with the chicks, it's hard to want to do it any other way. Lady of McCamley

This is a pic I took last summer to show how I put food in water in the nest boxes when I had two hens go broody. The dishes have broad, flat bottoms so they don't tip over easily. They are also pretty well packed into the corners with hay. The food got spilled a few times, but the water bowls were heavy enough that they didn't tip over. As soon as the eggs hatched I moved the broodies to dog kennels in a separate area. My hens won't lay on shavings so I have to use hay. They do like to sleep and poop in the shavings though, LOL

Good advice already from the others. Food & water: I like to hang a nipple drinker & add a second, lower one when the chicks arrive. (Don't try if your broody doesn't know how to use one) These waterers are very inexpensive, simple to make, & keep the water clean / bedding free. Likewise I've made my own feeders. I just use smaller pieces. The hen can use it while brooding & the chicks learn to use it in their second week. (I deal with the chick feeder or bowl in the very beginning until the chicks are big enough to reach their heads inside. At that point, everything's easy again. [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] To make a waterer, simply buy a chicken nipple & grabd something from the recycle bin. Drill hole. Screw in. There must be a small air hole at top for the pressure to work. My young chicks prefer the vertical nipples. I like the horizontal ones (last pic) for the rest of the flock. The feeder is a 90' pvc elbow with the ends sawed off. Front end must have a lip so it can be glued to the flat face of the container. Chicks must be big enough to reach their heads inside. The work well for travel feeders & a wire hanger can be added. [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] If you have an old infant play yard, travel dog fence, or "Peck N Play" (yes that's what it's called & it's made for chickens) you can put mom & chicks in the grass right away. The walls keep them safe from the rest of the flock & allows the other hens to "Look but no touch." Make sure top is covered if you have hawks. (They'll take a chick right in front of you!) I mention the "Peck N Play" because I have used it often to brood chicks as well as a travel cage when I bring chickens to schools, girl scouts, 4H events, etc. It provides more space for the birds to run around while they're safe from little poking fingers. Folds up small & light for the car rides. This is what I mean by a play yard. We just tie a large piece of cardboard across the top. Chicks go back inside the garage for safety at night. [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] Last year I set eggs under a broody & in an incubator on the same day. I slipped the day old incubator chicks under mom & she simply adopted them. I don't think it would have worked if there was more than a few day age difference.

Great tips from Faraday. I'll second the "Peck and Play" (with hawk netting cover if hawks). I FORGOT about doing that! When I first started I did put my young pullets onto grass using an expandable pen to give them grass/yard time. I've long since gone to a designated broody hutch with attached run so I don't have to bother moving and setting up the pen, but it works really well to get them into the yard to free range while yet safe. Water bottles and hanging feeders can work really well. My dumb birds don't like drinking from the nipple waterer. I am going to try again this summer as the nipple waterer freezes too easily so I'm back to my heated dog bowls through the winter. Nipple waterers really do help keep the water clean. LfoMc

You've gotten great advice. I'll just add to #4 and #5 suggestions by saying I have used cardboard zip-tied to a wire dog crate with great success. The chicks will get out and not always get back in if the wire is left plain. I am posting a picture of how I did one of mine. I used high cardboard in the back to give "privacy" and lower cardboard in the front half and on the door side so I could see in, the flock could see in and the mama and chicks got some ventilation. Be sure there are no gaps where the cardboard meets or they will find a way to get stuck there. I move mine out during the day (weather permitting) into a chicken tractor on grass when they are 2 or 3 days old. Once the rest of the flock has gone to roost in the evening. I open the tractor door and shoo the mama and chicks out. She takes then to the coop (mine has ground level access), often stopping and scratching and showing them goodies, and into the broody box. I close them up and repeat for the next week or so. By that time, the chicks know mama and the flock knows they are "members". I let them out of the tractor earlier, when the flock is still out but starting to think about going to roost. The mamas will eventually stop taking them to the crate and use one of the lower nest boxes. At that point, I'll remove the crate......or clean it and get it ready for the next one! Same hen and her brood at 4 weeks old on a low ladder perch that is resting on the abandoned crate.

Thank you all for the great advice. This was completely unplanned, and when I noticed she was broody, I just picked 3 free eggs and gave them to her. It looks like only one of them may be fertile. I'm going to candle again tonight to see if anything has changed. Thanks again!

 

[KrystalRose]

Ahhhh! I just kicked my hen off the eggs to stretch her legs and found the one and only EE egg had a huge crack! I quickly looked up what to do and melted some wax on the crack, the membrane was still intact and since we are close to hatch (day 18) I have my fingers crossed!!! I will be watching that one very carefully to make sure if it starts pipping it wont have trouble.

Do you know if candling the egg will look different when it is ready to hatch? Today it looked like a dark mass with an air sac at the one end.

Also do they usually pip on the up facing side or something so I can aim the cracked wax side away from the most likely pip site?

 

[ochochicas]

Your egg may still hatch although it is cracked. One of mine cracked on Day 14 and still hatched just fine.

Usually, but not always, my chicks pip near the top side of the egg. If I were you I'd put the wax part on the bottom. However, since you are using a broody, the egg could get moved so you probably have no control over where the wax ends up.

I fixed my cracked egg with Fingernail polish so that it would be easier for the chick to get out. Wax works too! Let us know how it turns out.

 

[KrystalRose]

Will do.

 

[FL Crowing Hen]

OK, today is Day 11. I candled again last night, and only one looks like there's a chick growing in there. The other two look exactly like freshly laid eggs. Should I remove those eggs, and just leave her with the one? I realize that most people remove yolkers, especially since they could burst, but I wonder if there's any benefit to leaving all three eggs. In other words, would the one egg do better with the other eggs around it, or just as well all by itself?

 

[losttexan]

OK, today is Day 11. I candled again last night, and only one looks like there's a chick growing in there. The other two look exactly like freshly laid eggs. Should I remove those eggs, and just leave her with the one? I realize that most people remove yolkers, especially since they could burst, but I wonder if there's any benefit to leaving all three eggs. In other words, would the one egg do better with the other eggs around it, or just as well all by itself?

My experience has been that clears will usually stink or weep before they explode. I am always a little apprehensive about removing that early unless I am 100% sure I have a nonfertile egg. I don't know what your candling skills are, but I have been tricked by lightly-colored veins more than once, and there are no words to describe how one feels when you crack open a "nonfertile"culled egg and an embryo falls out.

I suppose there could be some residual heat sink effect from leaving the surrounding eggs, but I doubt it would be any measurable effect (depending on your 'bator setup, perhaps).

Should the one egg hatch, will it be a "lonely only"?

 

[Faraday40]

OK, today is Day 11. I candled again last night, and only one looks like there's a chick growing in there. The other two look exactly like freshly laid eggs. Should I remove those eggs, and just leave her with the one? I realize that most people remove yolkers, especially since they could burst, but I wonder if there's any benefit to leaving all three eggs. In other words, would the one egg do better with the other eggs around it, or just as well all by itself?

Brown eggs are harder to candle than white - especially if you're new to it. It probably won't hurt to mark them & re-candle in a few more days. Once the embryo grows larger - like day 14 - it's obvious to see the difference. If you're sure they're not developing, then toss. I used to always keep all the eggs. No more. Once I had a rotten one open day 19. Very stinky & I had to do an emergency clean as some were pipping. Many losses could have been prevented if I had simply tossed the bad egg. Thankfully 6 still hatched, but I might have had 11 out of 12 if I had removed the bad egg.

One lonely chick will be a handful. If it looks like that's going to happen, you may want to consider picking up a buddy from a feed store.