Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[artsyrobin]

Miss Lydia, I am in Oklahoma.

hey myby- where in oklahoma? we have a real active okie thread....

 

[Miss Lydia]

Okay thanks. She is in a nest box right now on pine shavings .... so I am not sure how I am going to close her in .... I guess that is my project for the weekend!
How many eggs can I give her?? She is a bantam cochin ..... She is sitting on 4 dummies right now...
Thanks!

Thats about what i give my bantams especially if they are first time broodys, you can give her more I just wouldn't over do it. Well you could also try making her a place on the floor of the coop maybe in a corner where she can have privacy but be on the floor when hatch begins, just keep in mind that if you don't close her up she'll go back to the same nest box. If you make a broody space for her on the floor, after you get it all done and have the food and water in there, then after dark or dusk go in and pick up as much nesting material along with eggs and and move them to new site then place mama on nest close up and leave her. she'll most likely settle right down on her new eggs. Hoping all goes great and be sure to keep us updated..

 

[bobbieschicks]

That's how I got Topsy to stay put - I moved her about 4 or 5 times during the day and she would immediately go back to the nestboxes as soon as she was finished running around eating/drinking. I finally decided to listen to the "move her at night" advice - and guess what - they were right LOL! So now I will do the moves at night with a towel over their heads and NOT attempt to do it during the day.

Thats about what i give my bantams especially if they are first time broodys, you can give her more I just wouldn't over do it. Well you could also try making her a place on the floor of the coop maybe in a corner where she can have privacy but be on the floor when hatch begins, just keep in mind that if you don't close her up she'll go back to the same nest box. If you make a broody space for her on the floor, after you get it all done and have the food and water in there, then after dark or dusk go in and pick up as much nesting material along with eggs and and move them to new site then place mama on nest close up and leave her. she'll most likely settle right down on her new eggs. Hoping all goes great and be sure to keep us updated..

 

[bobbieschicks]

Since Smokey stayed put in the nest box last night I decided to reward her with fertile eggs. I moved 2 of the Silky eggs from Topsy's nest to her and put 3 Silkies from the bator under her. Smokey is now sitting on 5 Silkie eggs - and I know for sure that 3 had growth as I candled them this morning and saw movement. I tried to give her the Maran egg from the bator and interestingly she wouldn't take it.

Topsy is now sitting on 2 Maran eggs - 1 was already under her and 1 from the bator. The bator one was definitely moving when I candled it this morning. She also has 2 Silky eggs under her that were there from the start. So she is sitting on 4 eggs altogether.

I didn't candle the eggs this morning that were under Topsy before doing the switch - so I'm not sure of growth of those eggs - they were growing about 5 days after I placed them under Topsy. Now I will just leave the two broodies to do their thing and on May 22nd see who hatches chicks and how many!

That way it will be a bit of a surprize.

Of course now I have to prepare the other half of Topsy's area for Smokey. Smokey and Topsy don't get along so that should be interesting. I suppose if I use a solid wall instead of just wire that might make it okay.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I'm thinking about using the 5 gallon bucket nest idea - do I cut out the bottom to make a tube or just put nesting material in it? I figured I could wire off the middle of Topsy's area and then put the bucket on one side for Smokey and leave Topsy where she is. I'll have to put little bowls of food and water on each of their sides, but I think it could work.

What do you think?

Here's the area. It's approximately 2.5' x 5' and wired off from the rest of the coop. This pic is when I had used it as a brooder for my 4 week old Silkies and LOs.


Here's an older view from the other side of the coop - I have a ladder to the roost now that everyone uses and there's chicken wire from the roost to the other door.

 

[nickie]

How long off the nest is too long in 60* weather? She is working on 90 min right now, but is ignoring the rest of the flock to wolf down food and gulp down water... Maybe I'm worrying too much. First 2 days she didn't budge.

 

[bobbieschicks]

How long off the nest is too long in 60* weather? She is working on 90 min right now, but is ignoring the rest of the flock to wolf down food and gulp down water... Maybe I'm worrying too much. First 2 days she didn't budge.

Y

She's making up for lost time. She will be back on the nest soon. If she's still off in an hour catch her up and put her back. The eggs will still be fine. The first few times I usually wait for my broody to finish eating drinking and pooing then I put her back. After that she usually does it herself. Not to worry she will take care of her eggs.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Since Smokey stayed put in the nest box last night I decided to reward her with fertile eggs. I moved 2 of the Silky eggs from Topsy's nest to her and put 3 Silkies from the bator under her. Smokey is now sitting on 5 Silkie eggs - and I know for sure that 3 had growth as I candled them this morning and saw movement. I tried to give her the Maran egg from the bator and interestingly she wouldn't take it.

Topsy is now sitting on 2 Maran eggs - 1 was already under her and 1 from the bator. The bator one was definitely moving when I candled it this morning. She also has 2 Silky eggs under her that were there from the start. So she is sitting on 4 eggs altogether.

I didn't candle the eggs this morning that were under Topsy before doing the switch - so I'm not sure of growth of those eggs - they were growing about 5 days after I placed them under Topsy. Now I will just leave the two broodies to do their thing and on May 22nd see who hatches chicks and how many!

That way it will be a bit of a surprize.

Of course now I have to prepare the other half of Topsy's area for Smokey. Smokey and Topsy don't get along so that should be interesting. I suppose if I use a solid wall instead of just wire that might make it okay.

Our first coop was 3X4 and since building the larger one I use it for broodys that get picked on for one reason or the other, I had hardware cloth down the middle to make 2 rooms well Miss Scarlett my first broody of the year did not like being able to see into the other space where Issabelle is set up so i just took some boards[scrap] and made a wall about half way up so they can't see each other. No problems now. And congrats on 2 broodys. our next hatch days are 23-24th so we'll be hatching close..

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm thinking about using the 5 gallon bucket nest idea - do I cut out the bottom to make a tube or just put nesting material in it? I figured I could wire off the middle of Topsy's area and then put the bucket on one side for Smokey and leave Topsy where she is. I'll have to put little bowls of food and water on each of their sides, but I think it could work.

What do you think?

Here's the area. It's approximately 2.5' x 5' and wired off from the rest of the coop. This pic is when I had used it as a brooder for my 4 week old Silkies and LOs.


Here's an older view from the other side of the coop - I have a ladder to the roost now that everyone uses and there's chicken wire from the roost to the other door.

Looks good to me, I think 5 gallon bucket would work good. I'd secure it to the back of the wall just to stablize it.

 

[countrygirl5]

I am so excited!! Yesterday one of my broody's eggs was pipped, so I patiently check every three hours to see if any progress had been made.

When I went out this morning, there was an adorable little yellow chicken, and the other egg has started to pipp!! I'm like a new mom all over again. I'm so excited that the wyandott actually set the whole time, and that the eggs I picked were fertile and are hatching! Broody hens ROCK!!!

Here's mamma!


Here's baby!!


Here's the other egg with the hole!! YEAH!!!