Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[mcclucker]

Looks like this thread has been quiet for a bit...anyone hatching with a broody now? I have a golden laced Wyandotte broody I am going to let hatch some this month. Last spring I spent a month trying to break her and finally gave up and gave her 2 chicks from my chick order and she did a beautiful job. Now she’s at it again so I ordered some hatching eggs to arrive next week. I just moved her into the “broody pen” I use which is a closed off area inside the big coop so the others don’t bother her. She’s not happy about being moved even though I put the same eggs under her. Hopefully she won’t break before the hatching eggs come. Boy is she mad .

Here she is last April with one of her babies. GLW are not supposed to be a broody breed, but I have two Buff orps who could not care less about brooding

 

[Molpet]

my hens didn't get the memo that spring is the time to be broody. Last year they hatched around 4th of July, Labor day, halloween and Thanksgiving .. silly girls Easter, Mother's Day and Memorial day is when I want chicks if they have to be near a holiday LOL

 

[Faraday40]

@Molpet Yes, My crazy silkie heard about your broody & also had a winter hatch. Those are some very tough chicks. (2 LF English orps) She stayed with them until 8 wks old but has finally started laying again.

Our Cookie Monster was seriously thinking abut going broody, but I think all the snow & rain finally broke her naturally. (Plus I kept taking her daily collection of eggs.)

@mcclucker Your wyandotte should be fine in this weather. My silkie's chicks were out with the flock when we had a week of below zero temps around the last week of Dec. They stayed in the coop/run - but NOT in our house or garage.

 

[mcclucker]

@Molpet Yes, My crazy silkie heard about your broody & also had a winter hatch. Those are some very tough chicks. (2 LF English orps) She stayed with them until 8 wks old but has finally started laying again.

Our Cookie Monster was seriously thinking abut going broody, but I think all the snow & rain finally broke her naturally. (Plus I kept taking her daily collection of eggs.)

@mcclucker Your wyandotte should be fine in this weather. My silkie's chicks were out with the flock when we had a week of below zero temps around the last week of Dec. They stayed in the coop/run - but NOT in our house or garage.

Yeah I’m in Vermont but she is a giant solid fluffball and tolerates our winters better than any of the other breeds My chicken shed is big and I have a panel heater if it gets below zero. I’m sure they’ll be fine. I’m mostly worried about her adjusting to being in the pen. The eggs are already on their way and I do not have an incubator.

That is funny that yours aren’t spring broodies. This hen started to go broody in December but I was able to break her. I can tell she means business this time. We had about 10 days straight of below zero in Jan. It was rough!

Question - it’s hovering around freezing this week/ should I let the eggs warm up in the house after they arrive before I pop them under her? Do you recommend candling at any specific point?

 

[Deltabwa]

I never put mine in the house when they are with a broodie, she hatched Dec 14 and she is STILL mothering them. They stayed in the coop with temps below zero for days in a row and snow on the ground. My nest boxes however, I can't keep them out of those but I am really wanting the momma, who is still mothering them at 10 wks old and

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I finally have a hen sitting. My bantam Cochin amazingly has not been interested yet.

I think Olive is sitting (my very broody experienced olive egger), but her daughters are all grown up now and look just like mum...so I'm not sure if I have Olive or an Olive the 2nd.

Anyway, have been rotating eggs out in prep for a broody hen. Weather has been retched, and I need to clean coops before I can set Olive (or Olive the 2nd) in a nice warm nest that is isolated.

I hope to get to that this weekend. Then I'm trying to see if I can't hatch some 7/8 Barnevelders and get a flock of Barnevelder guys and gals. The last batch produced some really nice results.

I also need to give my Barnevelder rooster conjugal rights to the Cream Legbar (who is in the broody hutch keeping the Cochin company). I'd like to hatch some F1 olive eggers from CL/Barnevelder and a Cochin-Barnevelder to increase the brooding stable....I lost my Silkie due to illness this winter and the other brooding Cochin to a hawk.

I'm hoping a bantam Cochin-Barnevelder will be a better size. I've had really good luck with broody mommas, brooding and hatching very broody daughters. Rosie needs a daughter to keep her company so that the CL can join the main flock.

LofMc

 

[Faraday40]

Yeah I’m in Vermont but she is a giant solid fluffball and tolerates our winters better than any of the other breeds My chicken shed is big and I have a panel heater if it gets below zero. I’m sure they’ll be fine. I’m mostly worried about her adjusting to being in the pen. The eggs are already on their way and I do not have an incubator.

That is funny that yours aren’t spring broodies. This hen started to go broody in December but I was able to break her. I can tell she means business this time. We had about 10 days straight of below zero in Jan. It was rough!

Question - it’s hovering around freezing this week/ should I let the eggs warm up in the house after they arrive before I pop them under her? Do you recommend candling at any specific point?

Are you using your own eggs or having some shipped? If using my own, I just collect for a few days to a week & pick the best ones to give her. If shipped eggs, I'd let them rest in the house for about 12 hrs (up to 24 hrs) with the air cell up. Shipping can partially detach the air cells, so giving the eggs a little time to settle may help your hatch. I never tried hatching shipped eggs with a broody. I have picked up eggs (via my car) from another flock & then just handed them to my broody.

Most hens are spring broodies, but I have 2 that seem perpetually broody. This year, a young inexperienced silkie wanted to go broody in Nov. I guess she didn't want to wait until spring. I think she's going to turn out to be a 3rd consistent broody.

 

[mcclucker]

Are you using your own eggs or having some shipped? If using my own, I just collect for a few days to a week & pick the best ones to give her. If shipped eggs, I'd let them rest in the house for about 12 hrs (up to 24 hrs) with the air cell up. Shipping can partially detach the air cells, so giving the eggs a little time to settle may help your hatch. I never tried hatching shipped eggs with a broody. I have picked up eggs (via my car) from another flock & then just handed them to my broody.

Most hens are spring broodies, but I have 2 that seem perpetually broody. This year, a young inexperienced silkie wanted to go broody in Nov. I guess she didn't want to wait until spring. I think she's going to turn out to be a 3rd consistent broody.

I don’t have a rooster, so they are shipped. How long can I let them sit in the house before putting them under her? What is the max amount of time before they’re toast? I’ve always gotten chicks so this will be my first hatch! We have plenty of chickens so this is really just an experiment to see how my broody does with it.

 

[Faraday40]

I don’t have a rooster, so they are shipped. How long can I let them sit in the house before putting them under her? What is the max amount of time before they’re toast? I’ve always gotten chicks so this will be my first hatch! We have plenty of chickens so this is really just an experiment to see how my broody does with it.

1-10 days is the amount of time from being laid until starting incubation. If the egg is over 10 days old it could still hatch but chances go down significantly. If the eggs were being collected for 3-4 days, then mail adds another 2-3 days, you'll have only a couple days to get them under the hen. I find it's still worth it to let the eggs rest for a day before setting. If the air cell is detached , the rest period will help that. Shipped eggs are known to be difficult to hatch. Sometimes you may get 75% or more hatch, but that's very, very rare. Sometimes you can get zero chicks because the eggs got cracked, internally scrambled & xrayed. Since your hen is sitting anyway, it doesn't hurt to try.

 

[pitbullmomma]

Hi guys, I am brand new to hatching eggs and just found this thread. (hi @Molpet ! )

There are like a million posts here, so I apologize if this has already been answered.

I am hatching ~half my Serama eggs under a broody Silkie, and half in the bator. This is day 5. So far, Olive, my broody, has been sitting faithfully on her nest in the coop and
the other girls have been leaving her alone.

I know people recommend a separate broody area, but I was wondering, could I just risk having her hatch out the babies and brood them, along with all the others? Can they integrate peacefully that way if mama hen stays by them and the others leave the babies alone?

Sorry if this is a dumb question. But I'm thinking--somehow the chickens perpetuated their species for thousands or millions of years without our interference, so if I can safely do it this way I would rather. Thanks much!