Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

Quote:
If this has been going on 'a couple of months' and you have gotten chicks then why not let the hens raise them so they get off of the nests? I don't understand what you are doing with the hatched chicks or why have you not marked the eggs so you can pull newly laid eggs each day so the hens can complete their brood. The normal brooding cycle should involve 3-4 weeks of sitting on a clutch of eggs and then raising the chicks which hatch from that clutch, allowing them to sit for extended periods could be hard on their health. You should mark the current eggs, candle them all and get rid of any which aren't good and separate the rest into 3 groups based on how developed they look. Give the hen who has been broody the longest the group of eggs which look the most developed, give the second longest broody the set of eggs looking the middle development stage and give the shortest term broody the least developed eggs. Let them finish sitting and hatching and raising some chicks.

 

[fisherlady]

Duplicate post

 

[Little Wing]

Well its been more like 5 weeks as we have been getting chicks for a couple. I take the chicks and put them in a brooder after they are hatched. If I let the hen raise them she will get down out of the nest and leave the rest of eggs to be with the chick. I don't have a pen just for broody hens with chicks right now. I wasn't really set up for 5 at one time.
Good advise on the candling and sorting. Thanks. I am going to try to get It down to 3 or 4 sitting (depending on how many eggs I keep after candling) and put them in a separate pen and let them finish. I am still going to take the chicks to the brooder as they hatch. That's just what I am set up for.

 

[Bernadine503]

My two Silkie girls did it!!! They hatched all 7 eggs....100% hatch rate!! I was a bit worried after all the egg trading they did, and how cold and rainy out nights got her in McMinnville, Oregon. I am thrilled beyond words since this is my girl's first time hatching babies. Here is a picture of their little home (temperary, because I am sure it will have to be replaced soon) and the fist couple of babies. The babies have been smart and staying underneath both moms and staying warm.

 

[fisherlady]

My two Silkie girls did it!!! They hatched all 7 eggs....100% hatch rate!! I was a bit worried after all the egg trading they did, and how cold and rainy out nights got her in McMinnville, Oregon. I am thrilled beyond words since this is my girl's first time hatching babies. Here is a picture of their little home (temperary, because I am sure it will have to be replaced soon) and the fist couple of babies. The babies have been smart and staying underneath both moms and staying warm.

Congrats! They are adorable and so glad to hear the hatch went so well!

 

[Alex1010]

Congrats On

My two Silkie girls did it!!! They hatched all 7 eggs....100% hatch rate!! I was a bit worried after all the egg trading they did, and how cold and rainy out nights got her in McMinnville, Oregon. I am thrilled beyond words since this is my girl's first time hatching babies. Here is a picture of their little home (temperary, because I am sure it will have to be replaced soon) and the fist couple of babies. The babies have been smart and staying underneath both moms and staying warm.

Congrats On The New Babies!

 

[vpatt]

My two Silkie girls did it!!! They hatched all 7 eggs....100% hatch rate!! I was a bit worried after all the egg trading they did, and how cold and rainy out nights got her in McMinnville, Oregon. I am thrilled beyond words since this is my girl's first time hatching babies. Here is a picture of their little home (temperary, because I am sure it will have to be replaced soon) and the fist couple of babies. The babies have been smart and staying underneath both moms and staying warm.

Yay!

 

[vpatt]

I need to redo the nest box for the bantams. I have the two cochins, Mr. Darlin' and his little frizzled wife. She has a 'big' chick that she hatched out and Nana Mama, the black silkie is with them now. They are so cute! They all squeeze into the nest together at night....so I thought i would remodel and give them a bit more room.

In the bigger coop Olivia is sitting on three eggs that i hope will hatch any day now. I usually give them just a few eggs so that I can let them set when the hormones speak. That way i wont be completely overrun with chicks.

 

[chickendreams24]

Okay so this is going to sound stupid but we are new to chickens this year and I have a six month old buff Orpington either broody or going broody. We make sure she gets off the nest and all as this is a bad time of the year for her to hatch chicks as we're in southern WI. I've promised her she can hatch in the spring if she wants but today I noticed that she seems to have lost some/a little weight and (here's the stupid question) her whole breast bone area is completely naked. Is this normal? Should I be worried about her? When she comes out she does eat and drink and sometimes goes with the flock, sometimes she tries to go back to the nest. We really can't have her hatch chicks right now I'd be too worried about the cold and we don't have a good place to put her with them if they hatch. Next spring we'll have a broody coop.

 

[slordaz]

Sounds like she's broody, they pick their own feathers to line the nest with. As much as we would like them to do it when we want, it is hormonal and they will do it when they want.
If ya got a couple of pallets and 3 hay bales you can make a place that should be warm enough if you have the room to add this in the coop. That's what we did