Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[stonykill]

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Lyssa, it is very hard for me to break up a broody, thats why i have had 9 so far this spring.

but from here on out, NO MORE!!!

Congrats on the chicks cute pics.

Well remember you don't HAVE to give them eggs or chicks!

And you don't need to do some of the awful things people do to stop them.

You can just take the eggs away as often as possible and let Nature take it's course. They do start laying again eventually

that's all I do, take away the eggs. They start laying again, then go broody AGAIN! And then you take the eggs, and they go broody AGAIN! It's a vicious cycle.

So broody # 8 is happily sitting on 9 Sumatra eggs.

 

[Paganrose]

I just found this thread. I love seeing the pics of the mommas with the baby chicks.

I had one GLW go broody a month ago and she hatched out 7 chicks from 10 eggs (only 6 lived). She is a great momma!

A couple of the baby chicks almost look like domminickers; although they are a Cucko maran cross, one baby is a pure wandotte and three are jersey giant crosses. (Daddy is a wandotte)

I currently also have a JG go broody and is on day 2 with 12 eggs under her!

Momma showing the babies the duck hut.....

Momma and babies roaming the grow out pen....

My broody jersey giant....

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
Well remember you don't HAVE to give them eggs or chicks!

And you don't need to do some of the awful things people do to stop them.

You can just take the eggs away as often as possible and let Nature take it's course. They do start laying again eventually

that's all I do, take away the eggs. They start laying again, then go broody AGAIN! And then you take the eggs, and they go broody AGAIN! It's a vicious cycle.

So broody # 8 is happily sitting on 9 Sumatra eggs.

Congrats stony!!! how many roos have you got so far? out of 14 I can tell for sure I have 3. Now I have to decide what I'm going to do keep all the hens or offer some on Craigs list. It's so hard for me to part with them.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Hi everyone! I have always seen this thread going and am now pretty stoked to be a part of it...erm...kind of...

so im just looking for some advice or expertise...

Yesterday I purchased a broody barnevelder and an e.e. hen from a really awesome byc member. I brought them home and put them in a temp pen with an x-large dog crate as a temp coop. I just left the broody barnie and her eggs in the box i brought her home in and put her in the back of the crate. She stayed there for a few hours, then left the eggs to forage. well hours passed and she didnt go back to her eggs. I locked her in the crate in hopes she would get back on the eggs but she didnt. Before dark i put the e.e. in with her and went to bed.

this morning she was not sitting on the eggs. They werent even all together anymore

i brought them inside and put them in the bator since they have some girth to them. I cannot see ANY veining but these things have weight to em. I was actually walking them to the garbage can because they were ice cold, and i shaked one (not hard) and felt something in there. Long shot, but thats what convinced me to just give em a chance in the bator.

anywho, broody barnie has not set inside the crate at all today. She growls at me and puffs up everytime i walk by, though. I dont get it. she acts broody but wont sit anymore? did the move totally screw her up? She layed an egg this evening and just left it.

Ive never had a broody before, which is why i wanted this hen. oh well.

if shes still acting protective in the next couple of weeks when (hopefully) i have some eggs hatching out of my bator, can i try to introduce her to them? I am so confused. I thought broodys were easy!

 

[sunrae]

Okay, chicken lovers. I am a rookie, please help. We have two broody Maran's. Apparently, we scheduled our hatch dates incorrectly, because one of the gals has two chicks under her which hatched about four days ago. The other eggs still have not hatched. Shall I remove the babies and put them in a brooder, or should I remove the eggs and put them in the bator (which I have never used before-but have heating up now). I really want to let her be a mama, and already have a nursery set up for her. She is restless though, since she has been sitting for over a month and half. I feel very bad for her, and want her to move on with her little chicken life. Thanks for your advice!

P.s.: "If you add more eggs after the hen starts incubating the clutch, however, the development of embryos in the new eggs lags behind that of the first eggs, and hatching cannot occur all on the same day—a disaster"(from Brenda Van Ness). This is obviously what has happened to us...why is it a 'disaster'????

 

[Mtn Margie]

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Sounds like she needs some time to settle in to the new home. I would not put eggs under her until she makes a new nest and starts sitting again on her own eggs.

 

[CayuseRanch]

What a day, well around 6pm this evening I went to move momma out of her nesting area after the dead chicky. When I lifted her up one of the chicks was just hatching out of the egg, so I put her back on the nest and came back a couple hours later. Set up a dog house in a small run and moved her. She wasn't happy about it but I haven't seen her get off the nest yet.

One black chicky and one americana egg was pipped. Tonight is the start of the 21st day.

 

[Fuffy]

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Sounds to me like the move has upset her. If she is laying she won't be broody anymore!

If it were me, I would let her settle in and find her way around. I would think that come next spring, at the latest, she will go broody again. And at least you know she does go broody.

Good luck with the eggs in the incubator!

 

[Fuffy]

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What a good momma to not mind being moved while the eggs are actually hatching!!!!

Good luck!!!

 

[stonykill]

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that's all I do, take away the eggs. They start laying again, then go broody AGAIN! And then you take the eggs, and they go broody AGAIN! It's a vicious cycle.

So broody # 8 is happily sitting on 9 Sumatra eggs.

Congrats stony!!! how many roos have you got so far? out of 14 I can tell for sure I have 3. Now I have to decide what I'm going to do keep all the hens or offer some on Craigs list. It's so hard for me to part with them.

Thanks!
so far from the broody's I can't tell. They just aren't old enough for me to sex. In a few more weeks I'll be able to start to tell on the older ones. With that said.... I think the 1st 4 are all pullets. But it's only a guess at this point....

Now from my older incubated birds, I have 4 so far that are FOR SURE Roo's. One even has a cute little Kazoo crow