Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Duckies Girls]

Hey everybody! So, I'm pretty sure I've got two broody Marans... again. I got these girls last July (3 days old), I had one start acting broody in January but I thought I must be imagining things because it was cold as .... and she was barely 6 months old. Sure enough within a week I ended up with TWO hunkered down on just over a dozen eggs! I didn't think they would go broody being so young? Any who, they ended up hatching 11/15 chicks in February, stayed with them until about 3 weeks ago and now they have both gone broody again! Is this normal? It's probably a silly question, but can being broody this often be bad for a chicken?

 

[PD-Riverman]

Hey everybody! So, I'm pretty sure I've got two broody Marans... again. I got these girls last July (3 days old), I had one start acting broody in January but I thought I must be imagining things because it was cold as .... and she was barely 6 months old. Sure enough within a week I ended up with TWO hunkered down on just over a dozen eggs! I didn't think they would go broody being so young? Any who, they ended up hatching 11/15 chicks in February, stayed with them until about 3 weeks ago and now they have both gone broody again! Is this normal? It's probably a silly question, but can being broody this often be bad for a chicken?

If they are healthy they will be fine. I have some that hatch 3 to 5 times during the season.

 

[ameliadanielle]

I don't know that we'll ever be hatching out enough to make money on. But at least if we can sell enough silkie babies to pay the food bill we'll be happy with that. We got the turkens and I absolutely love them. They are pretty OK layers. They have a lot less feathers overall so they do better in this hot humid swamp we live in. I also read the naked neck gene is tied to another gene that increases breast size in a chicken. I think it would be good for people around here to keep them if they wanted a backyard dual purpose bird. I only have 4 hens and 4 babies right now. So I may or may not have a rooster for them. I thought about just pairing them with my EE rooster.

My gold laced Wyandotte did stay broody after the move. She's on her nest now. I put her on 9 silkie eggs, two eggs from our silkie mix hen, and one EE egg. We just brought the EEs home from my dad's house the night before last and she laid an egg for me yesterday. The sale on my small layer flock fell through so I'm keeping my broody for now. She was off the nest this morning, her eggs were still warm so I guided her back to the nest box and she got back in. She's a first timer and before my wyandottes have never been good at staying broody. She was on about 30 eggs when I moved her and put her on the new nest. All my hens decided they had to lay in that nest and she is a fighter, 3 of the eggs were broken in the nest box outside. She didn't break any in here last night so I'm sure it was from the other hens crawling in on her and laying more eggs on top of her. I always get worried and cross my fingers that they will stay broody after I move them. Especially this one. She's tried going broody over and over and normally if I touch her she just abandons it.

This is the pile she was sitting on before moved her to a new nest.

 

[PD-Riverman]

We got the turkens and I absolutely love them. They are pretty OK layers. They have a lot less feathers overall so they do better in this hot humid swamp we live in. I also read the naked neck gene is tied to another gene that increases breast size in a chicken. I think it would be good for people around here to keep them if they wanted a backyard dual purpose bird

I have turkens too---Love them. I have around 50 different ages, mostly pullets----just a few are old enough to lay. Nice eggs when they get over the pullet eggs,

 

[ameliadanielle]

I have 4 pullets, should start laying this summer. I'm just going off what I've read about them. I found 4 in the $1.99 bin at Tractor Supply a little over a month ago. I forget how old now. They have black skin... so I really have no idea what they're mixed with. I've never seen them with black skin before so the little ones could be something with the naked neck gene added. But they don't have extra toes or feathered feet so it isn't silkie they got that black skin from. I'm just playing the wait and see game on those, for $2 each not like I broke the bank for them. I think we'll keep the turkens for egg layers just for us. It would be nice if more people around were interested in them enough to buy some if I hatch some out. My husband thinks they look like vultures and are creepy. Lol. He doesn't like them... but the chicken hobby is my hobby so I insisted. My EE we brought home the night before last laid an egg yesterday that I put under the broody last night. My dad told me she was with a red game rooster for the past couple of months. She laid me another egg today, so I gave it to the broody. I really want to get a game mix hen. I'll be crossing my fingers it'll be a good broody. My dad offered me an incubator but the more I think about it... I accumulated up to 55 chickens from 11 in a little over a year without an incubator. I think I'd be downright dangerous and would go beyond neighborhood crazy chicken lady if I had an incubator.

 

[Catandherchicks]

With the helpful advice from y'all on this thread, this first time chicken owner used a broody hen (OE - first time for her) to hatch two chicks this week: one EE and one BLRW. I've never had chicks. I got my three hen's as two young pullets and a matron hen. The two were great layers until they went broody this spring. So I took advantage of it and.....

 

[PD-Riverman]

laid an egg yesterday that I put under the broody last night. My dad told me she was with a red game rooster for the past couple of months. She laid me another egg today, so I gave it to the broody.

You are creating a staggered Hatch----which is Not good. How long has the broody been setting?

 

[stryker]

First chick from my buckeye. She is so mellow that she lets me mess with the chick and check to see if any more are hatching. I block the front of the nest box off so no other hens will try to mess with them.










Now to find a place to put them on Sunday....

 

[PD-Riverman]

First chick from my buckeye. She is so mellow that she lets me mess with the chick and check to see if any more are hatching. I block the front of the nest box off so no other hens will try to mess with them.

It might not effect your hatch, but where I live If I tilt the hen to see her eggs or lift her---I shrink wrap some of my eggs------My hatch rate goes down. I just do not touch my hatching hens while the eggs are hatching. Good Luck!

 

[stryker]

It might not effect your hatch, but where I live If I tilt the hen to see her eggs or lift her---I shrink wrap some of my eggs------My hatch rate goes down. I just do not touch my hatching hens while the eggs are hatching. Good Luck!

Good point! I am fine here with doing that but I will take that into consideration from now on. I am expecting 2-3 more to hatch. Thanks for the luck.