Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[NorthernChick1]

@BullChick @Faraday40
Thanks for the reply! All the eggs come from my one ee. Broody stopped laying eggs right before she became Truly broody. She started laying on them friday or saturday. I was gone all weekend and this is my first time dealing with a real broody. So i let her be with her 3 (suposed to be) fertile ee eggs. Now its going to be a week friday or saturday for the first egg, now if i chuck them and restart, could she break her broodiness or possibly abandon the next clutch if i were to give her new eggs? Would she stay broody that long?

Im debating on leaving her be. If she hatches just one then thats what it will be and the next time around ill know better and make sure she gets all her eggs at the same time...? Hmmmm decision's decision's.
And fortunately i dont have an incubator

I did mark them and i positive i marked the first one correctly. The other two im not sure but they are one day appart.

 

[Faraday40]

@BullChick @Faraday40
Thanks for the reply! All the eggs come from my one ee. Broody stopped laying eggs right before she became Truly broody. She started laying on them friday or saturday. I was gone all weekend and this is my first time dealing with a real broody. So i let her be with her 3 (suposed to be) fertile ee eggs. Now its going to be a week friday or saturday for the first egg, now if i chuck them and restart, could she break her broodiness or possibly abandon the next clutch if i were to give her new eggs? Would she stay broody that long?

Im debating on leaving her be. If she hatches just one then thats what it will be and the next time around ill know better and make sure she gets all her eggs at the same time...? Hmmmm decision's decision's.
And fortunately i dont have an incubator

If you're leaving the hen in the same nest, I doubt messing with the eggs a little will break her. I like to candle after dark sometime between 7-10 days- just to check for development. Remove egg, shine light light, see veins, slip back under hen. If an egg is clear showing no development, I toss it.

A hen can stay broody for up to 5 weeks (maybe even longer). An extra 7-10 days won't be noticed. They don't have timers, clocks, or calendars, so they simply sit until their eggs hatch. It doesn't matter to them if it takes 21 days, 28 days, or 35 days. However since the hens don't take very good care of themselves while sitting on eggs, you may have to encourage her to eat/drink - especially if she's going to be sitting for more than 3 weeks. She should take little bio breaks to take care of all those needs, but some hens are too dedicated and lose much weight.

So it's a not a big deal for the hen if you swap out the eggs. Several times, I have given a broody hen some golf balls to sit on while I collect eggs for her. (just to keep her broody) Yet, I can't get myself to throw out developing eggs. I feel like I'm murdering her babies. If a hen has been on the eggs for a few days or more, I either let her continue or put those eggs into an incubator and give the hen the preferred eggs I want hatched. (I can always add the chicks hatched from the orig eggs back in with the mama when the newer eggs/chicks are hatching. That's the best time to get a hen to adopt chicks.)

 

[Faraday40]

I did mark them and i positive i marked the first one correctly. The other two im not sure but they are one day appart.

I don't think there's a right/wrong way to mark eggs. Some people label with date laid, date started, or due date. A simple line or "x" is also fine. You just need a way to identify the fertile egg as one that should stay under the hen. The other hens may continue to make deposits, so you'll want to pull out the new additions.

 

[NorthernChick1]

@Faraday40
I marked them 1-3 as i they are all a day apart so at least ill know which egg she layed/sat on first. I will see how many i can collect from my EE if shes still laying fertile eggs and go from there! I will smell and candle them tonight (day 6) out of curiosity, i only have a flashlight at this point. I ordered a candler yesterday but wont be in for another two weeks.

Sorry this all these questions, but how do i know if shes eating or drinking? Can i syringe food or at least water down her beak to make absolute sure she is getting nutrition? I put a bowl of water beside her nest and food all around her. She looks completely determined and she is not budging when i leave her alone in the coop when the others are outside. I work 9 hrs a day so i cant monitor her exactly.

 

[BullChick]

Again, a broody will take care of everything. She will lose a little weight, and only get up once daily. If she does a second clutch after the first, she might need TLC. If you are worried, put food and water nearby, and offer vegetables when you are able. Do not forget that chicks drown. Switch to a chick safe waterer near hatch day.

 

[BullChick]

An incubator can be substituted with a heat lamp and sponge (to help with humidity) inside.

 

[Faraday40]

@Faraday40
i only have a flashlight at this point. I ordered a candler yesterday but wont be in for another two weeks.

A simple flashlight is what I use. I make an "o" with my thumb & pointer finger wrapped around the end of the light. (Your fingers will make a seal between the egg & the light. The egg will glow & you should be able to see inside.) If you want to get fancy, you can tape a piece of foam to the end instead. Any bright flashlight should work. Flashlights with a narrow diameter are easier to use.

Here's a pic of my son candling eggs for his 4H project. The darker the room is, the better it is to see.

@Faraday40
how do i know if shes eating or drinking?

I wouldn't worry about it. Mine have to walk about 20' to get to a feeder & waterer. They should take breaks (every day or every other day) and you may not see them do it. If you discover a giant, smelly broody poop, then you'll know she took a break. LOL If I'm worried about a hen's condition (like if it's 100'F and the hen looks pale/ weak), I just place some food near her. No need to stress her out. She'll eat/drink when needed.

For some reason, when I go out to clean the coop in the morning is exactly when my fav broody hen (named Cookie) decides to take her bio break. She sees me and drops a big smelly present for me to pick up. Even when I switched up the schedule & cleaned a few hours later.... she waited, held it all in, and pooped within minutes of seeing me.

 

[Faraday40]

I kept saying this is "my last hatch" about once a month all summer. My last planned hatch was in August. After that I put the incubator into storage. But 3 hens went broody, so my "last hatch" was Sept 9th. Those hens & mamas are doing great. Then my son's fav serama chick from his spring 4H project went broody.

This is "Coge." She a spoiled little serama. There's nothing special about the way she looks, but to DS, she's perfect. She was hatched May 1st and started laying 3 weeks ago.

What a little brat! (the chicken. My son's OK.) She refused to lay in the reg nest boxes. She kept hopping the backyard fence & knocking on our back door. I put her in a little coop (which was occupied by some older chicks) as a way of containing her and then it became her routine! She insisted that I carry her & place he into the extra broody coop to lay her egg. When finished, she'd beat up the chicks to make them squawk, so I'd let her out. I finally locked her in an unused rabbit cage. She decided that was suitable and after the 2nd day all I had to do was leave the door open for her. After all of that, she only laid eggs for about 10-12 days before going broody.

One of her 1st eggs was completely useless. Here it is next to a Sebright's egg.

This is Coge now. She's sitting tight on some eggs in the rabbit hutch.

As soon as DS noticed his little pullet was broody, he ran inside to grab some of her eggs. I had no idea if any of her eggs were fertile. She started with 8, but one was peeking out. I removed that egg plus one more just in case. Out of the remaining 6 eggs, 4 started developing.

I guess in about 2 weeks, we'll have our last "last hatch."

 

[Kikomommy]

Help I think I'm loosing the eggs, my little bantam and another chicken (I'm not sure of the breed) has hatched 15 guys and I still have 5 eggs left. 2 are from one of my hens that just got killed, so I'm really hoping they hatch. it's been 21 day for at least one of them. They feel cold and at least one of the hens does not seem interested in sitting on them. I did relocate them to a different container because it got really cold outside. Is it possible for them to still make it even if they had a chill spell and have been moved maybe a little too much.

 

[BullChick]

Yes, they can make it. To finish them yourself without an incubator, a heat lamp will work. Use a thermometer to get the right temperature.
If you don’t have that either, do it the farmer’s wife way. In the oven! Put them on a towel with the door cracked open, and use your noggin to keep from cooking them. Chicken nuggets are good, but let them hatch first.