Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Fuffy]

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They know all the controls, sometimes you might see them actually standing up in the nest box, they have pulled all the feathers out of the under body just for that purpose. It's in their DNA!

Remember how my eggs didn't hatch? My broody didn't pluck herself--could this be the culprit?
I'm also wondering if they need a nutritional boost befor I save the eggs. Some folks have told me my flock must surely be malnurished since I give them primarily a locally produced grain feed, but since they lay and seem happy I disregarded that

, but...is there a particuler feed they should get prior to hatching babies? I'm looking at it this way--my personal diet keeps me reasonably healthy, but I still took vitamines when I was pregnant...should I use a supliment in order to have better luck hatching my own eggs?

I also saw a thead on encuraging broodieness. Is that ethical? Is it too late in the year for my central PA climate?

If you recall my first clutch of the year....I had jumping eggs and a whole lot of peeping on day 21

. One little chick got out of the shell but was stuck and died a horrible slow death

. And everything else died in the shells

.

I decided it was a humidity problem. So when the hen was broody for the 2nd time and we were having a drought, I took a watering can, and watered the gravel and the house where she was.

There were those that laughed

. But I got chicks, at least!

 

[Gerry2011]

I had a RIR hen that I caught stealing eggs from another nest and moving it to hers.

She carried it under her wing! I watched the whole thing in total disbelief.

 

[heatherkh]

My broody momma gives herself a dust bath early in the morning when the earth is moist - I'm sure she's providing moisture for her clutch. She's being a great setter, still getting up 1-2x a day for food/water/dust bath. Yesterday evening when I dropped in some fruit/veg scraps, with much commotion she popped off the nest and came sprinting down the run, feathers a-fluffed, bok-bok-boking so she could grab herself a grape or two. She looks like a turkey next to the rest of the flock! Once she grabbed her treat, she was back on the nest within five minutes, give or take.

So far I haven't noticed her stealing eggs. One of the White Leghorns had pushed her out of the nest a couple days ago to sit on it herself (I assumed to lay, but I didn't find a new egg in there), but since that time I haven't seen her give up her post to anyone. Go momma!

<edited because yes, I can spell.>

 

[dkcrumly]

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That's amazing!!! I had no idea they could do that!

kristen

 

[BarnGoddess01]

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Dang!!! You mean even with a broody, I have to worry about hatch humidity???? I so do NOT want shrink wrapped chicks ....

 

[heatherkh]

My understanding from my neighbor is that for the most part (conditions being favorable) broodies can take care of their own moisture/humidity by doing things like early morning dust baths, walking through dewy grass (if they free range). But I would imagine with over half of the country being so hot and dry this summer, the hosing down of the coop area wouldn't be a bad idea!

 

[Gold Griffin Chicken Mom]

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Dang!!! You mean even with a broody, I have to worry about hatch humidity???? I so do NOT want shrink wrapped chicks ....

If you are from near Lake Erie you probably don't need to worry about humidity. Phoenix, Dallas, Baja, or Vegas, well let's just say "Your Mileage May Vary".

Hatching them in an incubator inside your house in Winter is different from doing it while the air conditioner is going full blast. Heaters will usually really dry the air. Air conditioners TRY to dehumidify, but in my experience not as much.

As others have said, Mama Hen knows more about being a chicken and raising chicks than we do. Even if they don't pluck their breast, they splay out the feahers and then rest upon the eggs. Moist skin touches the eggs. If Mama Hen decides something doesn't feel right, she stands up, rearranges eggs, and tries to settle down again. My couple of broodies this year knew to stay on the eggs in the chilly mornings, even when others were racing around eating. They got off the eggs during the heat of the day when it was over 100 degrees. I found one hen sitting next to her eggs when it was hot.

Now I need to convince a RIR that she needs to leave the BR's eggs alone. Either that or find some more hatching eggs.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

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Humidity is off the charts here right now so, hopefully, not an issue. Major rain last night and it wasn't needed. (We weren't dry.) My Red Sex Link broody is less than ideal (she hasn't plucked any feathers) so I don't entirely trust her instincts. Although she was out for a run first thing this morning (day 19) (no dust bath, however) so maybe I'm giving her less credit than she deserves. I hope!

I know the eggs are developing. I will be CRUSHED if they don't hatch!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Dang!!! You mean even with a broody, I have to worry about hatch humidity???? I so do NOT want shrink wrapped chicks ....

If you are from near Lake Erie you probably don't need to worry about humidity. Phoenix, Dallas, Baja, or Vegas, well let's just say "Your Mileage May Vary".

Hatching them in an incubator inside your house in Winter is different from doing it while the air conditioner is going full blast. Heaters will usually really dry the air. Air conditioners TRY to dehumidify, but in my experience not as much.

As others have said, Mama Hen knows more about being a chicken and raising chicks than we do. Even if they don't pluck their breast, they splay out the feahers and then rest upon the eggs. Moist skin touches the eggs. If Mama Hen decides something doesn't feel right, she stands up, rearranges eggs, and tries to settle down again. My couple of broodies this year knew to stay on the eggs in the chilly mornings, even when others were racing around eating. They got off the eggs during the heat of the day when it was over 100 degrees. I found one hen sitting next to her eggs when it was hot.

Now I need to convince a RIR that she needs to leave the BR's eggs alone. Either that or find some more hatching eggs.

Thank you! You've made me feel MUCH better.

 

[Alexander]

Havent been in the forum for quite a while but i have an update from my previous broodies.

My turkey hen managed to hatch 8 little poults out of the 15 eggs she had while the other hatched 2 poults out of 5 eggs but unfortunately one died.

I am up to 17 Bronze turkeys now