Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[ChickenLady2014]

Well, I went ahead and did it.  I tucked 6 eggs under the marans, and gave the little cochin 3.  I'm going to keep an eye on them, I wasn't sure if 6 eggs is too many under a hen, especially in cold weather...  I'm going to be ready with the brooder on stand-by, but with any luck I can see if one or both mommas are up to the job on their own.  I can't wait to see how it goes!!  Thanks for the advice!   :cd

Your welcome, keep us posted on their progress, come on fuzzy butts

 

[Hayduke27]

Hi everyone!

I live in the Rocky Mountains, and currently have 2 broody hens (bantam cochin and cuckoo marans) that I am considering hatching under. I have some questions about when, where, and how to do this. As a quick background I hatched my first 6 eggs in an incubator last spring, and have chickens for about 2 years. The eggs I would be hatching are barnyard mix. I have 16 hens and one rooster, the rooster being a welsummer over an easter egger. He's about 10 months old, and is actively breeding the hens. I check the eggs, and the majority are fertile.

It's been a warm winter for us, but we just hit another cold streak, and the temps get down to 0 at night and up to around 35 during the day. It may be another month or so of this kind of weather. I have a covered run with straw bedding that the chickens hang out in during the day, as well as access to the frozen yard in which they can free range. They do go out to the compost pile to scratch, and usually no chickens hang out in the coop during the day except for the broodies, the hens who are laying, and one little bantam D'Uccle who is just afraid of the world.

I have 6 nesting boxes, and work from home so I can watch them closely. The 2 broody nests are typically only used by the mean little mommies, and they are sitting on the nests all day minus a quick pee break mid-morning. I have 6 ceramic eggs out there due to some egg eater problems last year. These ceramic eggs have been claimed by the broodies. They have both been on the nests for about 2 weeks now. The cochin is only about 10 months old, and this is her first time going broody. The marans has been broody multiple times, including a bout of about 2-3 months of broodiness last summer. I think I can trust her to not leave the eggs.

So my questions are: 1.) Is it too cold still to hatch eggs? 2.) Am I okay just letting the broodies hatch on their current nests? They don't get messed with much during the day, as there is plenty of nesting space, and they are very mean right now. 3.) Is it okay to let the moms raise their babies with the flock? I have a lot of space, no overcrowding problems, and there are places where the hen could take the chicks that are dry and away from the flock during the day.


Thanks for any and all advice. It certainly seems like broody hens are the way to hatch eggs, and I am excited to let some of these chickens fill their urge to be mothers.

Hey everyone! So I figured I would post a couple of pictures of the potential mothers. The marans was attacked by the neighbor's dog about a year ago, and had a lot of the skin torn off her back. She took a long time to heal, but once healed, she was determined to be a mother. She ssat for 2 months, maybe longer, last year. I would take her off of the nest daily and set her outside. She would scratch for a couple of minutes, then it was back to her maternal duties. I had an egg eating problem, and so added ceramic eggs to the nests, which unfortunately encouraged her already raging motherly hormones. Anyway, here she is with 9 eggs under her, satisfied at last! I really hope she gets to hear some little fuzzy butts peeping from her eggs!



The other little mommy- wannabe is a bantam cochin. She's almost a year old, I got her and her sister, along with some other chickens, for a friend who couldn't take them all. They ended up staying with me, and I figured maybe I could use them for hatching purposes. She's a work chicken! She also happens to be very cute and just loves to be held (when she's not an evil raging teradactyle monster, like she is ATM

). Here she is (below) with her 3 eggs. She has been sitting for about 2 weeks, and I'm not sure if she'll stick it out, but she seems content on it right now. If she leaves, I'll just stick her eggs under the marans. As you can tell by the look in her eye from the picture posted above, she's GOING TO BE A MOM or somebody's going to get hurt.



I told myself I have enough chickens running around. I told myself it was too cold still. I told myself that I had plenty of time, no need to rush. Somehow, I just had this nagging feeling that a broody is a terrible thing to waste. Plus, there's that "chick feeling" in the air right now. With eggs under broodies, I can almost make myself believe it's spring!

 

[KrystalRose]

YAY!!! I just checked on mama, I heard some peeps, so I peeked under mama and saw an egg mostly zipped, about a half hour later I went to remove the shell and it was crawling all over under mom, definitely a strong chick. I will give her time to adjust and check for more zippers later tonight maybe when its her dinner time. One good advantage of her not leaving the nest ever is that I was feeding and watering her 2-3 times a day so she is plenty used to me messing with her.

Yay!

 

[bumpercarr]

YAY!!! I just checked on mama, I heard some peeps, so I peeked under mama and saw an egg mostly zipped, about a half hour later I went to remove the shell and it was crawling all over under mom, definitely a strong chick. I will give her time to adjust and check for more zippers later tonight maybe when its her dinner time. One good advantage of her not leaving the nest ever is that I was feeding and watering her 2-3 times a day so she is plenty used to me messing with her.

Yay!

 

[ochochicas]

I think your broodies will be fine. Marans usually make good mommas. I had a problem with mine trying to steal all the chicks from the other broody I had. For that reason, I had to separate them after the chicks hatched. The broodies each have their own dog kennels where they take their babies in at night. I lock them in so I know they are safe. In the morning they are all ready to come out when the door opens. They are like racehorses coming out of the starting gate.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Not exactly chicken related, but I cannot think of my chicken chores without thinking of my little Sheltie, Scottie.

I sadly lost my devoted little farm companion of 11 years today. He had been a little off for some time, which I had blamed on his hypothroidism, which he was treated for, but had become sick this week and after xray's was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer.

My little friend had faithfully followed me through all my chicken chores, loved riding in the truck to the feed store (always got a treat there), and even herded up a chicken or two a few times for me.

He will be greatly missed. He is buried in my backyard, under his favorite tree, by the chicken coop. Rest in peace my little friend.

Lady of McCamley (and Scottie)

 

[elsfieldchickens]

My broody has abandon her nest and destroyed the eggs with just 1 1/2 weeks to go!
Have been waiting to hatch that breed all year!

 

[fisherlady]

Not exactly chicken related, but I cannot think of my chicken chores without thinking of my little Sheltie, Scottie.

I sadly lost my devoted little farm companion of 11 years today. He had been a little off for some time, which I had blamed on his hypothroidism, which he was treated for, but had become sick this week and after xray's was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer.

My little friend had faithfully followed me through all my chicken chores, loved riding in the truck to the feed store (always got a treat there), and even herded up a chicken or two a few times for me.

He will be greatly missed. He is buried in my backyard, under his favorite tree, by the chicken coop. Rest in peace my little friend.

Lady of McCamley (and Scottie)

Oh!!!! So sorry, Lady!

I do understand, they leave such a huge hole in your heart when you loose such a beloved companion.... he was a beautiful boy! And obviously well loved.... I am glad you posted his picture and told us. I am glad you were able to give him a favored spot so he could keep on watching over his flock.

 

[ochochicas]

Sorry to hear of the loss of Scottie. He looks very happy and well loved. I'm sure he had the best of times with you!

 

[vpatt]

YAY!!! I just checked on mama, I heard some peeps, so I peeked under mama and saw an egg mostly zipped, about a half hour later I went to remove the shell and it was crawling all over under mom, definitely a strong chick. I will give her time to adjust and check for more zippers later tonight maybe when its her dinner time. One good advantage of her not leaving the nest ever is that I was feeding and watering her 2-3 times a day so she is plenty used to me messing with her.

Yay!

e

Yippee!