Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[stonykill]

good idea. I have interveined a few times. keep her warm in the bator for the night

ok, went to check and the egg shell had crushed- not sure if moma was too aggressive or what, so i intervened- everything i have read says not to, but i did, at first i thought he was gone, hubby said to put him in the bator to keep him warm, so i got an egg carton and put him in it, shaped like he would in the egg, he was faintly breathing, just went and checked and his little head came up and he look around and was chirping, so i thought i may want to leave him in there over nite?

 

[CakePrincess21]

About the humidity .Im going to lockdown tomorrow. and I have a sponge itside it seems to dry up by the end of the day. Since i resoak it each morning. During lockdown i know your not suppose to open the incubator. So should i just put more sponges in. Humidity suppose to be 50 to 65%?

 

[artsyrobin]

just went and checked, cuz the chicks on the other side were chirping loud- i think they heard the new one chirping, he is half dry so i am thinking he will make it- will keep you posted- in the meantime.... the mama that decided to intro her chick to the flock


... and another broody!

 

[perchie.girl]

About the humidity .Im going to lockdown tomorrow. and I have a sponge itside it seems to dry up by the end of the day. Since i resoak it each morning. During lockdown i know your not suppose to open the incubator. So should i just put more sponges in. Humidity suppose to be 50 to 65%?

Try a baby food jar with strips of sponge poked into it. then the jar will act as a reservoir and the sponges like a wick. A gal on the Guinea site recommended this to someone who was having probs with low humidity. Just a thought from someone who is afraid to fire up her own incubator for the first time.

deb

 

[PoultryPedia]

.... the mama that decided to intro her chick to the flock

What a devoted mama!!!

 

[Chicken Chat]

Hey everyone, I've got a broody cochin sitting 12 bantam eggs, that are due to hatch on the 19th! It an unplanned birthday hatch, as my birthday is 20th, I'm so happy! This is my second time trying to hatch eggs under a broody. The 1st time all the eggs were duds

. But now with 6 days to go I've got some questions.… I have her in a small pen inside my coop but new chicks could easily go thru the wire, can I move her into a breeder pen inside the coop after they hatch?
How long should I keep her and the chicks seperate from the flock?
And if she leaves the nest with the 1st chick out, can I confine her and the chick to the nest box(large tote) so she'll stay on the eggs?
Thanks!

1st- perchie, love your roos!

wildriverswolf90- she should stay on the nest until the rest hatch. Sometimes you have to remove the eggs that didn't hatch under a broody so she will finally get off and take care of baby, so don't worry about her leaving. Some separate from the flock and others don't. I usually put mine in a fenced off area in the coop for a week or two, since I have room, just to give them a chance to work things out about leaning how to eat and drink without the rest of my flock trying to eat all the chick food. I zip tie the small plastic poultry netting to the fencing to keep baby from being able to walk through it.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Adorable! And what a pretty mama!

I finally got a picture of my little one with mama. Its 17 days old. In the smaller fenced off area, mom seems to be taking good care of him and not walking off without like she did on Friday.

 

[Chicken Chat]

SO here is a question: Should I bring my little banty rooster in to hang out with my silkie and her babies when they hatch so that he protects them when they go outside? When I had my other 6 week olds he kept them warm and was a good daddy. He didnt protect them as much as I would have liked though. I am worried about putting them all back in the coop. My silkie is the lowest on the pecking order and I just dont want any mayhem. Any ideas other than putting a dog crate in the coop?

The few times I have had a broody raise her chicks in the flock, I have never had any of my roos try and protect the chicks, mama did that. My first two broody moms actually kicked some roo butt for coming too close. You have a really gentle roo there if he helped sit on your babies! Usually having chicks elevates status and the aggressive moms usually take on the rest of the flock to protect the chicks so I don't think you would have problems in the pecking order but there are always exceptions.

 

[Chicken Chat]

Adorable! And what a pretty mama!

Thanks, Two Toes is one of my fluffier silkie hens although she is the only one without feathering down the legs. She has two fused 5th toes on one leg, hence her name. I think she is starting to molt if you can't tell in the pic. I came home yesterday to feathers all over the place in there.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Interesting way to incubate - hopefully it will work. I would only be worried about the yogurt getting into the eggs and somehow harming the chicks. I put blue food coloring in my water wells of the bator to easily see the water levels without realizing that the shells are porous and they can absorb through the walls. I ended up with blue tinted chicks until they lost their baby feathers. LOL!

This is by no means proper...it was a case of some of the eggs that had been pushed out were SO close to hatching, I thought it worth trying to help them along. I have a meat thermometer in there but no way to check humidity, so I just crack it a bit as needed. I've been able to keep it between 99-102 for 3 days now. I don't know if it'll work but was all I had on hand.