Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[SarahJS]

Thank you all!

Congrats on your new babies!!

 

[Kaylish]

Well I guess I won't be getting any broody pictures this weekend. I went to check on the group a little later than usual last night and I found all the babies sleeping in the nest box and all 3 mamas up on the roost. The Littles are all feathered in and since there are 19 of them and our night temps are only getting down to the upper 40s I'm not that concerned but isn't 1 month a little young for the mamas to be leaving them?

 

[vpatt]

Thank you all!

Congrats on your new babies!!

X2
they are adorable, Lady of Mac

 

[bramblefir]

A couple of "glamour shots" of two of the new chicks:





They appear to be SS Hamburg x Blue Andalusian(left) and SS Hamburg x SS Hamburg (right).

We have 9 out now and 7 still to go. The ones that are left were put in the nest 1-2 days later. If they don't hatch before she's ready to leave then I will put them in the incubator.

 

[SarahJS]

I heard peeping from one of the eggs. Still hopeful.

 

[FL Crowing Hen]

For those of you that have had successful hatches with broody hens, have you found that a hen's broodiness and/or the presence of chicks sometimes triggers another hen to go broody? I have my very first broody hen sitting on a small clutch of 3 eggs, and we are 18 days in. I now wish that I'd put more eggs under her and am hoping that another one of my hens decides to go broody.

 

[bumpercarr]

Well I guess I won't be getting any broody pictures this weekend. I went to check on the group a little later than usual last night and I found all the babies sleeping in the nest box and all 3 mamas up on the roost. The Littles are all feathered in and since there are 19 of them and our night temps are only getting down to the upper 40s I'm not that concerned but isn't 1 month a little young for the mamas to be leaving them?

Not really. I've seen them leave them at 4 weeks and as late as 10 weeks. Just sort of depends on the broody.

 

[bumpercarr]

For those of you that have had successful hatches with broody hens, have you found that a hen's broodiness and/or the presence of chicks sometimes triggers another hen to go broody? I have my very first broody hen sitting on a small clutch of 3 eggs, and we are 18 days in. I now wish that I'd put more eggs under her and am hoping that another one of my hens decides to go broody.

I've often wondered the same thing. It seems like the minute that one broody hatches out some eggs and those little chicks are peeping all of the sudden I have more broodies. So, I'm guessing that the peeping can cause a hen that is just thinking about it to actually go broody....

Maybe some others will pipe in here.

 

[chicknmania]

Quote:
Oh, yeah, at 6 weeks she's done with them. Some broodies stay with their chicks longer, but it just depends on the hen. They're fine at that age. It sounded like they were younger.

 

[chicknmania]

I've also noticed that if the babies are pullets, or mixed sexes with mostly pullets, the hen will stay with them longer than she does with cockerel chicks.