Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[bobbieschicks]

Sorry that so many eggs didn't hatch for your broody - it can be disappointing. Your broody will probably hang in there for another couple of weeks provided she has something to sit on.

As far as putting live chicks out there - I wouldn't put it under anything or there's a possiblity of suffocation. I would either wait until evening and slip them under her like you would an egg (cupping your hand over it so that she doesn't peck it). In the morning she will find her new chicks and start mothering them. Or - take them out to her and put them near, but not under her and wait to see her reaction. She will most likely call to them and try to get them to come under her.

Let us know what happens

I thought this would be the best place to ask this question....

How long is is safe for a hen to be broody? I have a little game hen who started sitting on ceramic eggs so we gave her some real ones that were supposed to be fertile. Well she has been on them for going on 25 days now and nothing. I did toss a few 10 days ago or so that were bad. I haven't checked the eggs again but the last two days she gets really aggitated when I come out there and she starts talking when I toss the others some scratch. She isn't confined, she can get up and eat and drink if she wanted to but she doesn't. So if the chicken eggs are all bad my father in law also put a guinea egg under her that would hatch sometime next week. I am going ot try and candle them this afternoon and see if I can tell what is going on.

In the incubator I have some Muscovy ducks that will hatch in a little over 3 weeks but since she has been on her eggs for 3 weeks already do you think she would take a couple Muscovy duck eggs or would that be too long for her? I could go buy her some babies at the store tomorrow morning when the new shipment comes in but I don't know if I would be able to slip them in on her? She watches me like a hawk when I am out there and if I get too close she pecks at me.

Here was my plan if her guinea doesn't hatch...... I am going to take momma off of the nest and put her in a crate. I was going to boil an egg and peal it carefully so that I get at least half of an eggshell intact or maybe use a plastic easter egg half. I will dig a hole out in the hay and drop the trojan chick into the hole in her nest and put the egg shell on top of it's head. It will still be able to climb out if it wants to.... as soon as I let her out of the crate she is always upset and runs right back to her eggs so when she runs back hopefully the chick will still be hidden, she will hear hear peep peep pee and TA DA~~ Happy Momma Chicken..... What do yall think? Am I totally insane?

Or would it maybe work? She want's babies so bad.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Have you tried giving her an epsom salt drench? I don't see that it cures sour crop - but it may help. During the day I put some water out in a dish with a tablespoon of epsom salts and the girls love to drink it. I also use ACV in their drinking water.

Here's where I learnt about the epsom salt http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2011/02/the-epsom-salt-cure/

So I keep leaving baby food for the babies, but the other girls keep eating it! Mom seems more interested with showing them how to forage anyway, so is there anything to stress about?

A few days ago mom found a worm and made this really loud sound as if to say to them "LOOK this is what we search for to eat and it is good"! The babies pecked at it, but finally mom was like ok I'm gonna eat that. It was soo cool.

I dont think I will ever buy chicks again! I just love how easy it is to have mom take care of the babies.

Now if only I can figure out how to fix my one hens sour crop. It is really starting to irritate me.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Yes, I think she's about to give up on them though because she's away from them more and more. I see her rush away and they are looking around like "where'd she go?" They are also wandering away more and more. She also walked in and out of the coop today boking the egg song - so I think she's close to laying again and that means she'll be giving up mothering them. Probably by next weekend. Sad to see that time happen, but I guess like any family the babies must move onto independence at some point.

Ahh look at how big they are! Last night I went out to lock up and shined the light in on Gracie and her chicks and it was like she was fussing at the chicks because they did NOT want to go to bed. They kept trying to crawl out but mom just clucked and they came back under her.

It still amazes me to see her nurture and care for them.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I hope your broody stays broody for your copper marans' sake Let us know what happens!



Quote:

WE'RE BACK!!!

Finally Hermione has gone broody again!!!!!

So this year I had sworn I would leave her in the hen house and with the rest of the flock. HA! Fat chance!!!! We had egg swapping and a broken egg!!!! And the wrong hen sitting on the falsies! Oh for goodness' sake!!!!
So last night I set up the broody house in the chicken run righ next to the hen house. After dark i scooped up Hermione and ther 4 falsies and put her in the broody house. She snuggles up and seems quite happy.
This morning I go to let everyone out. OH dear! What a rumpus!!!

Hermione gets up, only to be jumped by the cockerel. The other hens get in the broody house and remove all the lovely clean straw! And 2 of the falsies are gone! I have NO idea where they are!!!!
So now what?! Imagine me in my pj's, in the rain trying to set up a puppy play pen around the little broody house without catching any toes or squishing Hermione, who was shut in hthe house!!!
So then she decides she's not going to be broody any more!!! ARGH!!!!

But she did go back on and hasn't moved all day. So maybe those seemingly gold-plated blue copper maran eggs that should be getting here on Tuesday won't be wasted!
What a palaver!

Could we have some fingers crossing, please?

 

[hennypenny99]

Sorry that so many eggs didn't hatch for your broody - it can be disappointing. Your broody will probably hang in there for another couple of weeks provided she has something to sit on.

As far as putting live chicks out there - I wouldn't put it under anything or there's a possiblity of suffocation. I would either wait until evening and slip them under her like you would an egg (cupping your hand over it so that she doesn't peck it). In the morning she will find her new chicks and start mothering them. Or - take them out to her and put them near, but not under her and wait to see her reaction. She will most likely call to them and try to get them to come under her.

Let us know what happens

I am not sure what I will do just yet. I am just worried about her getting dehydrated and hungry but I guess she will eat and drink when she needs to. I just haven't seen her voluntarily get off of her nest in well over a week now.
I put eggs under my silkie hen but this hen scares me. She uses her beak like a dagger and has death in her eyes.

I am hoping her own egg hatches. She had one of her own in the nest and it could be half chicken half guinea. I wonder how long those take since chickens are 21 days and guineas are 28?

 

[hennypenny99]

Oh a friend of mine saw this on facebook and I think you will get a kick out of it.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Oh a friend of mine saw this on facebook and I think you will get a kick out of it.

Too funny!

 

[Long Last Farm]

Ok Im going to answer the question that I have the most experience with. Which is to move? Or not to move?

I had a hen go broody with 8 eggs in her nest 4 feet off the ground. Had I known it wouldve been so complicated I wouldve moved her after I was sure she was serious. But we learn from mistakes. You can move yours or leave them. Just be ready when the chicks start hatching to be able to grab the first hatchers while the other hatch because the chicks may fall out. I had one hatch in 15 minutes and she still had 3 more eggs to go the chicks was diving in and out of mom and soon got bored with the nest so I had to stay and make sure it didnt fall out. But the chicks dont really like to leave mom much.

My hen had 4 eggs and 3 of them hatched then she was ready to leave so I picked her up and moved them into the hutch I had prepared for them. She didnt like that idea. She paced an paced and then frantically began making a nest. She soon calmed down but it freaked me out and her and the chicks.

Now that they are out with the flock she takes the 2 chicks (2 weeks old now) up to the nest they hatched in and sleep there every night. So Momma thinks that the nest she chose is best so she will constantly try to go back to the original nest.

My advice if it isnt to late. Move her but if it is you should be ok just be on standby. Oh and sorry for the LONG story I tend to ramble....

Thank you so much! The othe two broodies have chosen lower nesting boxes, but I think I will move the one that is higher up when it gets closer. It is only about day 10 or so of setting....

 

[Morganwood]

We moved our hens and their chicks this morning and the one broody still sitting on some eggs. It went relatively smoothly for getting 5 hens and 12 plus chicks out of the cramped area they chose to brood in and into a pen in the house.


The first to arrive.


In transit



Everyone is settled in now and going about their chicken ways. We have had 3 eggs that only partially hatched. So six total that didn't make it. If no more eggs hatch by Saturday I think I'll remove the rest. We've had something hatch every day since last Saturday. This Sat will be 4 weeks since I penned them up so I'm guessing if they don't hatch by then, they aren't going to.

 

[JakRat]

I havent tried the epsom salt drench on her yet. I wasnt sure if that would be used for sour crop, but I will see how she is when I get back into town. I gave her some anti fungal meds today. I am starting to think that maybe she has pendolous crop on top of that. She is still running around, eating and drinking fine. I have had to vomit her a couple of times. My husband will be watching them while I am gone and he is a "let nature work itself out" kind of a guy so any treatment will have to wait until I get back. The one thing she does that makes me worried to is she looks as though she is trying to throw up randomly. Luckily if anything takes a major turn for the worse, I can just call the vet and her can take her there.