Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

Gracie had a hatch on Thanksgiving Day..now 5 weeks old and she had them out and about today despite the snow....but they still fit under for warm ups and were having a fine time running around...

Before...

After....

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Only got to see one so far, a little barnyard mix, black as black can be with feathered feet, should be a granddaughter of Pidgy, who is another great broody for us. She has 3 so far we know of... Should be able to get better pictures in a day or two...right now it is only in the low 30s here, so mama is keeping everyone tucked.

Congratulations on your little hatch...cute little black beauty.

My momma is keeping everyone tucked tight as well...it is low 30's with strong east wind to go into the 20's tonight.

Pics won't be possible for a few days.

LofMc

 

[fisherlady]

Congratulations on your little hatch...cute little black beauty.

My momma is keeping everyone tucked tight as well...it is low 30's with strong east wind to go into the 20's tonight.

Pics won't be possible for a few days.

LofMc

Thank you! One of the frustrations of cold weather hatches, they do have their challenges...but so neat to see and learn from. Your weather is sounding like ours this week. Right now we don't have any other hens setting, so may get a break during the coldest part of winter, but wouldn't bet on it knowing our flock! LOL

 

[Faraday40]

Only got to see one so far, a little barnyard mix, black as black can be with feathered feet, should be a granddaughter of Pidgy, who is another great broody for us. She has 3 so far we know of... Should be able to get better pictures in a day or two...right now it is only in the low 30s here, so mama is keeping everyone tucked.

The chick is cute but the mama's feathering is beautiful! Is she a penciled Rock? Is she a good layer as well?

 

[fisherlady]

The chick is cute but the mama's feathering is beautiful! Is she a penciled Rock? Is she a good layer as well?

She is a Silver Pencil Rock, mine are decent layers of about 4-5 medium to large eggs per week as youngsters, 3-4 per week after their second season and decent in winter as pullets but 2 eggs a week as mature hens in winter without lighting. We don't use winter lighting so don't know how it would do.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

The Queen Mum is sitting tight during the cold, cold day with her 2 Barn/Cal Grey girls.

The Aunty Banty Cochins kept squeezing through the barrier (somehow..seriously...how did they get through that tight space??? I will have to watch, when it isn't so dang cold, to see how they do it sometime.) So, I took the barrier out and have locked all up in the broody full hutch.

I'm not too worried as The Queen Mum is truly queen of this group and won't put up with any nonsense of the other two banties, and it may help the others see what good parenting looks like as I want to use them their next broods.

I can hear chicks cheeping, and momma has moved them to the other side. I'll keep checking as I keep adding hot water to keep the water free from ice. (Of course hubby used the extension cord to the broody coop last month and I've got no water heater hooked up in it for this short cold snap, so hauling water it is for a couple of days).

It's been a really good test of "hands off" for me after 3 batches of high expense, special breed eggs, with high maintenance of the hatches. I'm back to letting momma and nature take its course, which honestly always gave me the best results.

LofMc

 

[feistychick]

Well, Blondie is still sitting steady on her 7 eggs - day 15 now. She has surprised me - she's a first time broody and I really wasn't sure how she would do. She appears to be pretty dedicated. I've been leaving her alone except to give her an occasional treat (which she gobbles up). I've only seen her get up once while I was out there, but there's evidence that she's out once a day when I'm not looking That splat that she leaves outside her crate is mighty impressive. I am hoping that she gets to hatch at least a couple of chicks - I really want to see what kind of a mama she is. She's an 8 month old BO, and I'm hoping that she has good chick-raising skills!

They stop leaving the nest a couple of days before the chicks hatch, am I right? Once the babies arrive, I'll move them to their own area out of the main coop (I didn't want to stress her while she was sitting - I don't have an incubator to finish the job if she quits). If all goes well, hopefully little peeps Friday

 

[tjo804]

Good Luck Feistychick!

I had a second Pullet go Broody 3 days before the hatch was due I set a couple of eggs under her to keep her sitting and she finished the hatch for the 1st one.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Well, Blondie is still sitting steady on her 7 eggs - day 15 now. She has surprised me - she's a first time broody and I really wasn't sure how she would do. She appears to be pretty dedicated. I've been leaving her alone except to give her an occasional treat (which she gobbles up). I've only seen her get up once while I was out there, but there's evidence that she's out once a day when I'm not looking

That splat that she leaves outside her crate is mighty impressive. I am hoping that she gets to hatch at least a couple of chicks - I really want to see what kind of a mama she is. She's an 8 month old BO, and I'm hoping that she has good chick-raising skills!

They stop leaving the nest a couple of days before the chicks hatch, am I right? Once the babies arrive, I'll move them to their own area out of the main coop (I didn't want to stress her while she was sitting - I don't have an incubator to finish the job if she quits). If all goes well, hopefully little peeps Friday

Yes, they go on "lock down" about 2 days before hatch. Then they sit steadily through hatch and often for 2 days after hatch as babies acclimate to momma and the environment. You may not see babies much the first week if it is cold as momma will be keeping them under her a lot.

Moving after all have hatched is a good plan as most hens will relocate easily with their babies.

Good luck to Blondie.
LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Good Luck Feistychick!

I had a second Pullet go Broody 3 days before the hatch was due I set a couple of eggs under her to keep her sitting and she finished the hatch for the 1st one.

That can be helpful and I'm glad it worked out for you.

However, many hens will not do well with babies hatching early in their brood. The brood actually has phases, and a hen should be in the deepest phase to sit for chicks that are hatching, so I would not plan an early brood to finish jobs almost ready to hatch as a normal course of action.

My experience.

LofMc