Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[dkcrumly]

Here's my latest somewhat successful hatch! They were shipped eggs and we had two of 7 hatch. Bantam Silver Laced Wyandottes.

Mama Madeline (bantam Mille Fleur Cochin) with her new babies:

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
Adorable, Congrats on the hatch.. 2 is better than none

 

[artsyrobin]

ok, here is the last egg- so what do you think? The hen keeps trying- but i don't know......

 

[Miss Lydia]

My candling leaves much to be desired. Did you sit all the guinea eggs the same day? if so then I'd say it's either died along the way or non fertile.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:

Congratulations!!! Much cuteness ...

 

[artsyrobin]

Quote:
this is one i raided the nest- when ten of the eggs disappeared, so i am really not sure on actual day, the others hatched last week, i knew this one was a little less developed than those, but 38 days since i set them...

 

[slurrywidow]

Hi everyone, love all the pics of the babies. Mona and her 4 little puff balls are doing good. I let all of her coop-mates out to free range today and then shut the doors again but opened Mona's crate. I thought I'd give her some private coop time if she wanted it. She literally FLEW out of the coop, into the run, screaming! Crazy hormones. But, the babies immediately started yelling so she did an about face and swooped back into the crate. This happened 2 more times in about 30 seconds so I scooped up her babies and carried them out into the run and set them down. Whew, Mona was much happier. They stayed out in the warm sun for more than an hour. She attempted a dust bath, showed the babies some soft grass to nibble, and even tried sharing a blackberry with them. She also knocked the babies over about 6 times, stepped on one, and slapped one silly with her wing while bathing. Boy, I don't remember being that rough with MY babies.

All in all it was a successful outing.
I did open the run door to see what would happen if the coop-mates came back. One of my sweetest girls was allowed to come close enough to touch but there was a minor issue with another girl. Worrisome for me though because Mona didn't come out the winner. The other hen had her pinned by the neck for a second. I didn't intervene, wanting to see what happened. Is that a sign of something bad to come?
I also have a question about feeding the babies. I have a small chick feeder in the crate but Mona ignores that so obviously the chicks do too. But the small amount of feed that has gotten spilled on the floor Mona scratches/pecks at and clucks to the chicks over. To those of you that keep broodies with the flock, how do you feed the chicks?

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
I keep a feeder in the cage with broody mama and her kids. They use it. She'll show them where the food is when they get hungry, I'm sure. My guys are just over 4 weeks old now and free-ranging full time during the day with mama and the flock. I still keep them caged at night because mama won't let anyone else in the coop with them!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
this is one i raided the nest- when ten of the eggs disappeared, so i am really not sure on actual day, the others hatched last week, i knew this one was a little less developed than those, but 38 days since i set them...

My gut feeling says mama is wasting her time 38 days is long enough, she'll be able to enjoy her babies more and not be attached to the nest. She needs to be up an about mama business. After saying all of that it is still your decision, when my broodys chicks were 3 days old I listened to the last 3 eggs she was still sitting on and heard nothing, so I gave her to the end of the day, she was so wanting to get up and take care of her chicks properly but was tied to those last eggs, so I finally took one and cracked it open, there was a chick in it but wasn't fully formed so it had died somewhere along the way, then I pulled the other 2 one was infertile the other the same as the first egg, she was so happy after that, was ready to bring her chicks out into the world was a great mommie kept her 2 chicks with her for 12 weeks, she went above and beyond the call. It's your gut feeling you have to go with.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
of course she is going to feed them off the ground, thats where they will be getting most of their food once outside, but she will teach them to eat out of the feeder too. you might put a pie pan under your feeder that way they are learning to eat from something, and helps keep the feed cleaner That doesn't sound good about the confrontation but good of you not to intervene, keep an eye on this because if Mona can't defend her chicks one could get hurt, most of the time it's just a peck if they get to close to another hen, but you need to be ready unless a hen gets to mean, and they can be. All an all everything should work itself out. I have noticed with my flock though that our youngest chick from this years hatch is problby 3 months old and she gets picked on the worst of all, sometimes I feel like going in the coop and spanking them girls, I have gone in and sprayed them with oxine, which I spray them with anyway, but enough is enough, she doesn't show any signs of wounds but I hate to hear her screaming because they won't let her on the roost when we have 3 roosts and none are full of birds. It's hard for me to hear it. everytime she tries to get up on a roost one of the adults will peck her till she has to get down. poor baby. I'd find her a new home but then they'd just start on another.