Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

I have two Buff Orph that went broody, 1 - two weeks ago & 1 - a week ago. I build a broody house for the first one, and I have only see her leave it once. I have food & water for her inside, and then I also toss some treats near her nest box. The other one is in the main coop, and is not letting the other hens near her. I also put food & treats in the nest box in front of her, when I come back check her a few hours later it is gone. I know it was not eaten by anyone else, since she has tried to peck at hens or puppies who get too close.

I am going to build a second small house for broody hen #2, and once the eggs hatch, I will move them to their new temp home, that will be fenced off from the main flock.

 

[123ChickieLou]

Ok, so I should be looking at about two weeks, give or take. If I remember, I'll post pics to add to the fun

ETA- What's up with the broody pens and such? Is this necessary or will they be fine with their nest and pen? I haven't had predator problems as long as the pen is shut up at night and I don't have any roos. The only thing I'm even thinking about doing is moving the hen and her brood to a hutch. I may not even do that if all goes well. I wasn't planning on building anything extra for them.

 

[perchie.girl]

I think Broody pens are an excellent idea myself. Thought technically they are not necessary I have had a hen hatch out a clutch of eggs out in the yard under a rosemary bush.... I only found her when she growled at me when I walked by.

But By doing a broody pen you can keep control over other hens trying to lay eggs in with her or near her nest. When My last broody hen was sitting on a clutch of eggs in a little dog house in the coop the other hens kept adding to her egg pile till she had more than twenty. By the time I knew about it I had no idea which ones were the ones she had started with. Only about five hatched because she kept rotating all the eggs in under her. I fenced her off in the coop to keep the chicks from getting separated from her and or messed with by the other chickens. That was seven or more years ago.

So this go round I want to do broody enclosures because I want to control the other birds and keep the hen fed and watered without being messed with. Plus the Wire on the broody enclosure will be finer to keep chicks from getting separated from momma for a while.... I let them all out when the chicks cant get through regular chicken wire.

deb

Ok, so I should be looking at about two weeks, give or take. If I remember, I'll post pics to add to the fun

ETA- What's up with the broody pens and such? Is this necessary or will they be fine with their nest and pen? I haven't had predator problems as long as the pen is shut up at night and I don't have any roos. The only thing I'm even thinking about doing is moving the hen and her brood to a hutch. I may not even do that if all goes well. I wasn't planning on building anything extra for them.

 

[Fuffy]

I was going to leave my broody with the rest of the flock this time. The others were waaaay too curious and kept shoving her out of the way. She became very unsettled and almost gave up!

So she is now in her own house, enclosed with a puppy playpen (Like a wire dog crate without a top), and the whole thing is within the main run.
She can see and hear the others, but is private and calmly sitting on 18 eggs.

Also my cockerel is being rehomed tonight. He is VERY big, and although he isn't aggressive, he tends to chase the ladies until they submit, which is not quite what I want with the little ones around! Have to say he's also very uncoordinated about where he puts his feet!

Until now I have always had the broody well away from the rest of the flock, but found it very stressful when it was time for her to go back, and again when introducing the babies. So this is all a bit of an experiment!

Will let you know how it goes!

I think Broody pens are an excellent idea myself. Thought technically they are not necessary I have had a hen hatch out a clutch of eggs out in the yard under a rosemary bush.... I only found her when she growled at me when I walked by.

But By doing a broody pen you can keep control over other hens trying to lay eggs in with her or near her nest. When My last broody hen was sitting on a clutch of eggs in a little dog house in the coop the other hens kept adding to her egg pile till she had more than twenty. By the time I knew about it I had no idea which ones were the ones she had started with. Only about five hatched because she kept rotating all the eggs in under her. I fenced her off in the coop to keep the chicks from getting separated from her and or messed with by the other chickens. That was seven or more years ago.

So this go round I want to do broody enclosures because I want to control the other birds and keep the hen fed and watered without being messed with. Plus the Wire on the broody enclosure will be finer to keep chicks from getting separated from momma for a while.... I let them all out when the chicks cant get through regular chicken wire.

deb

Quote:

 

[bobbieschicks]

She was an awesome mom to the other chicks........ I am biting at the bit because I would rather have Mama raise them because if not I have to take the ones that hatch on Monday away from Lily (current broody) so the others will hatch.......Her sister was broody but then decided she didn't want the job....
I just don't want to jump the gun too soon.....
Quote:

Are you sure all the eggs about to hatch are all viable with chicks? I wouldnt want to remove hatched chicks from the broody. She may give up on the other eggs. I would say leave all the eggs alone. After she hatches all she wants to hatch, candle and check the remaining eggs and if they are good give them to the new broody to finish the job. The current broody will give up on the unmatched eggs by at least the third day after the chicks are born. My Smokey did. I'd just hate to see the current broody have no chicks to show for her hard work.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I need advice pls...... It looks like I have another broody she is in the nest box now she just hatched out chicks 8 weeks ago...... Should I put the eggs that are under my other broody (she is sitting on a staggered hatch) She will be in lock down tomorrow for the 1 set the 2nd set is suppose to hatch next Monday. Should I take the 2nd set of eggs out tonight and give them to Mama?

Also I forgot to say, the timing of arrivals of chicks may not be far enough apart to worry about. I'd let the first clutch hatch and then if she abandons the eggs gather those and candle. Then decide to pass them on.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I have two Buff Orph that went broody, 1 - two weeks ago & 1 - a week ago. I build a broody house for the first one, and I have only see her leave it once. I have food & water for her inside, and then I also toss some treats near her nest box. The other one is in the main coop, and is not letting the other hens near her. I also put food & treats in the nest box in front of her, when I come back check her a few hours later it is gone. I know it was not eaten by anyone else, since she has tried to peck at hens or puppies who get too close.

I am going to build a second small house for broody hen #2, and once the eggs hatch, I will move them to their new temp home, that will be fenced off from the main flock.

That's great! Keep us posted and pics when they hatch please!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Ok, so I should be looking at about two weeks, give or take. If I remember, I'll post pics to add to the fun

ETA- What's up with the broody pens and such? Is this necessary or will they be fine with their nest and pen? I haven't had predator problems as long as the pen is shut up at night and I don't have any roos. The only thing I'm even thinking about doing is moving the hen and her brood to a hutch. I may not even do that if all goes well. I wasn't planning on building anything extra for them.

Yeah! Not much longer now! Please remember the pics Broody pens just help control the broody environment. If you have an aggressive flock or a particular layout where others might interfere, you could block off the broody for her & the eggs/chicks protection until she is ready to defend them. Usually by the third day after they hatch. It can be elaborate or simple. Putting a wire cage around her area inside the coop with access to food and water is the simplest. You know your flock dynamics so that will help decide. Also, some people prefer to let the broody take total control of where and when things happen and not worry about the chick survival rate. It works sometimes and sometimes not. I controlled as much as possible, but looking back I didn't need to. I had sectioned off my main coop and eventually moved Smokey there. She still preferred a hidden nest, so I put a box in there to give her the illusion of being hidden. She did fine hatching, when I opened the door on the 1st day after there was a lot of nosy pullet and rooster activity. So I kept her locked up with the chicks until I felt they were ready to come out. It actually worked to be her day 3. She brought them out into the yard and immediately showed them what to do. I let her defend them because she was the best source to do it. Helped her reestablish her pecking place and the others learned quickly to stay away from her and the babies. Hope this helps.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I was going to leave my broody with the rest of the flock this time. The others were waaaay too curious and kept shoving her out of the way. She became very unsettled and almost gave up!

So she is now in her own house, enclosed with a puppy playpen (Like a wire dog crate without a top), and the whole thing is within the main run.
She can see and hear the others, but is private and calmly sitting on 18 eggs.

Also my cockerel is being rehomed tonight. He is VERY big, and although he isn't aggressive, he tends to chase the ladies until they submit, which is not quite what I want with the little ones around! Have to say he's also very uncoordinated about where he puts his feet!

Until now I have always had the broody well away from the rest of the flock, but found it very stressful when it was time for her to go back, and again when introducing the babies. So this is all a bit of an experiment!

Will let you know how it goes!

I think Broody pens are an excellent idea myself. Thought technically they are not necessary I have had a hen hatch out a clutch of eggs out in the yard under a rosemary bush.... I only found her when she growled at me when I walked by.

But By doing a broody pen you can keep control over other hens trying to lay eggs in with her or near her nest. When My last broody hen was sitting on a clutch of eggs in a little dog house in the coop the other hens kept adding to her egg pile till she had more than twenty. By the time I knew about it I had no idea which ones were the ones she had started with. Only about five hatched because she kept rotating all the eggs in under her. I fenced her off in the coop to keep the chicks from getting separated from her and or messed with by the other chickens. That was seven or more years ago.

So this go round I want to do broody enclosures because I want to control the other birds and keep the hen fed and watered without being messed with. Plus the Wire on the broody enclosure will be finer to keep chicks from getting separated from momma for a while.... I let them all out when the chicks cant get through regular chicken wire.

deb

Quote:

Yeah, I've decid next broody will be in the main coop just like Smokey. And whether I wire her off for not will depend on roosters at the time and what kind of eggs I'm hatching.

 

[Nigellas]

Your current discussion is very timely for me - I was just coming to ask if I could move my broody after I gave her eggs. It's not working great having her in the main coop with everyone and I'd like to try her in her own space but worried she will abandon the eggs... Advice?