Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Miss Lydia]

Peach,
Loved hearing about Buffy and seeing her ix with her babies. she is wonderful.

X2!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Is these signs of a hen going broody? when i went she was in the nest box and the eggs were warm then she heard me put the food out and ran out for some, she ate for 5 mins but then went back in the shed to a different nest and then the wint blew something on the nest box and she got scared and ran away and i looked in the nest and she plucked about 12 feathers out of her self

Could be the beginning, sometimes they will get confused and get on the wrong nest especially if it has eggs in it.

 

[Johnn]

well after she got scared off she hasnt been back on but hopefully it could be some sort of intrest in going broody

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yeah! Pictures please

X2!!!!

 

[Atomic Ranch]

X2!!!!

Good morning Miss Lydia! I love photos too. I'll try to capture Party Rock with her two potential fuzzies. Of the four eggs, it looks like I have one quitter, one possible, and two very active day 11/12s. She moved herself out of the main egg box overnight and took the eggs with her! She's in #2 now, and shows a bit of pecking on her comb. Impatient ladies!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Okay the question of the hour for me, once my broody has hatched her eggs, how long before she will start to lay again?

 

[stonykill]

Okay the question of the hour for me, once my broody has hatched her eggs, how long before she will start to lay again?

within 2 weeks of her letting the chicks go

 

[Miss Lydia]

Good morning Miss Lydia! I love photos too. I'll try to capture Party Rock with her two potential fuzzies. Of the four eggs, it looks like I have one quitter, one possible, and two very active day 11/12s. She moved herself out of the main egg box overnight and took the eggs with her! She's in #2 now, and shows a bit of pecking on her comb. Impatient ladies!

Very exciting, hope to see your fuzzy butts soon.

 

[cielo]

I will totally post pictures! The turkeys went back in the incubator, the chickens left them, they are focused on the baby chicks now and chasing them around and sitting on them!

I just stopped the auto turning, I'll start it up again when the turkeys hatch which should be by tomorrow if all goes well. They are already well into it.

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[Scooter&Suzie]

I would like an opinion on this...

I have been keeping my broody silkie in a rabbit hutch w/ some golf balls under her. I'll be picking up the fertile eggs in two days, and then will swap the golf balls for the eggs. When her chicks hatch (all silkies) I will move them over to a coop, so they have more room. My question is... Should I move my broody over to the coop now, before I give her the eggs and allow her to hatch them in there? Or should I move her and her babies after they hatch? The hutch she is in now is rather small to begin with, but after I added in a cardboard box for a nesting box (

) and a feeder and a water it got quite squishy. There really isn't any room in it, except that the run has 'bout 4 square feet in it. Of course, the run is shut off during the night. I've heard that broody hens LIKE small places to hatch their chicks in. I'm trying to figure out what would be best to do... Put her in the big coop ('bout 6 sq. ft.) with a more inclosed nesting box, or let her hatch her chicks in the hutch then move them. I just don't want her to stop being broody, or stop taking care of the chicks. Which would be best?