Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

CluckNDoodle · Feb 16, 2020

@Faraday40 I'm curious, how do you sneak additional chicks under the broody? I've had great success sneaking chicks under the wings of my broody hens after dark but they never seem to accept additional chicks if I try to add extras a day or two later. Maybe it's because I tried to add the additional chick during the day? I didn't think they would know any better but clearly I was wrong.

Faraday40 · Feb 16, 2020

I always start my broody & the incubator on the same day. Basically it's no big deal to add chicks when the hen is in sync. If I start eggs in the incubator and THEN a hen goes broody, she gets golf balls for a few days. Once she's sitting tight and I'm sure she's serious, I exchange the fakes for 1-2 incubator eggs. That way she can sit for 1-2 weeks until the eggs hatch. The eggs all hatch around the same time, so adoption is easy.

What's hard is trying to slip new chicks under the hen when her chicks are 2-3+ days old. Once the hen leaves the nest and starts walking around, she may be able to notice an "intruder." Most of my hens will not adopt after day 3, but a few select broodies will mother anything that peeps.

The pic I posted above is "Cookie" my fav broody. She once went broody just before a hatch was due. I pulled out ONE sacrificial egg which hatched only 5 days later...... along with over 2 dozen more. Cookie thought she was SUPER-HEN ! She sat on 1 egg for 5 days and hatched out over 2 dozen chicks. I was so happy chickens can't tell time, count, or read a calendar! Cookie was just happy to have all those chicks. Because of the large number, I keep them in the big brooder to help the mama safely confine them. Once enough chicks are sold and the number is down to a manageable amount, I allow them to free range.

Faraday40 · Feb 17, 2020

Things are looking better with my odd family. This morning I saw Solo peck at MaiMai's beak to take food. It was so cute! I doubt she'd let another chicken do that, so she must accept her as a chick.

casportpony · Mar 8, 2020

Hey everyone, have you seen the EHAL contests?

11th Annual EHAL - Contest #1: Guess How Many Eggs Will Be Set

11th Annual EHAL - Contest #2: Farthest Shipped Eggs

11th Annual EHAL - Contest #3: Cutest Baby Fowl - Win a Brinsea Incubator!

11th Annual EHAL— Contest #4: Edible Easter

11th Annual EHAL - Contest #5: Natural Egg Contest

11th Annual EHAL - Contest #6: Interesting Places, Funny Antics and Poses of Other Fowl

11th Annual EHAL - Contest #7: Broodies and their Babies

11th Annual EHAL- Contest #10: Guess How Many Will Hatch!

Faraday40 · Mar 8, 2020

Chick update:
I have my odd family. Black orp chick turned 4 weeks yesterday. She still looks very female with no comb, wattles, or color at all. The serama pullet hatched in October..... but mama MaiMai never seemed to notice or care much about the size difference. Of course now there's no longer a size difference.

Then we have mama Xansie who was put in charge of the one lonely serama chick. She turned 3 weeks old today. Also looks female.

Often serama males have a little hint of comb & wattles by now. This one has none.

Last but not least I let my serama, Sesame, sit on 2 orp eggs. They are due tomorrow. I was going to candle the eggs & was surprised to pull out a broken shell. The other egg was pipped.

Look what I found!

Isn't he adorable! (I'm only saying "he" because my last 3 chicks were female. I gotta hatch a male at some point, right?)

CindyinSD · Mar 8, 2020

Faraday40 said:
Chick update:
I have my odd family. Black orp chick turned 4 weeks yesterday. She still looks very female with no comb, wattles, or color at all. The serama pullet hatched in October..... but mama MaiMai never seemed to notice or care much about the size difference. Of course now there's no longer a size difference.

Then we have mama Xansie who was put in charge of the one lonely serama chick. She turned 3 weeks old today. Also looks female.

Often serama males have a little hint of comb & wattles by now. This one has none.

Last but not least I let my serama, Sesame, sit on 2 orp eggs. They are due tomorrow. I was going to candle the eggs & was surprised to pull out a broken shell. The other egg was pipped.

Look what I found!

Isn't he adorable! (I'm only saying "he" because my last 3 chicks were female. I gotta hatch a male at some point, right?)

So sweet, all of them!