Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

Found another good thing for broody hens. My meat birds are laying but they do not sit on eggs so they all freeze and crack. MY egg coop all went for the 1st big molt and nobody was laying . then one a started to lay but my bad golden comets were eating them. I was deciding how to do the mustard egg trick but it was buff orp to the rescue. She sits on them and this am there were 4 eggs. I wont call it broody yet and I don't want to hatch until spring but I hope she continues to sit and keep them from freezing or getting eaten.

Sounds like a 'guard chicken' was the perfect answer for you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Found another good thing for broody hens. My meat birds are laying but they do not sit on eggs so they all freeze and crack. MY egg coop all went for the 1st big molt and nobody was laying . then one a started to lay but my bad golden comets were eating them. I was deciding how to do the mustard egg trick but it was buff orp to the rescue. She sits on them and this am there were 4 eggs. I wont call it broody yet and I don't want to hatch until spring but I hope she continues to sit and keep them from freezing or getting eaten.

Orp to the rescue.

 

[Chickinn]

We have 3 beautiful baby chicks!! They are SO cute! I will try to get a picture of them soon. Right now they hide under mom. I have a heater and heat lamp on them because I'm like a mother hen. I would sleep down there if there was room
We had 4 eggs but unfortunately 1 baby didn't make it

 

[Miss Lydia]

We have 3 beautiful baby chicks!! They are SO cute! I will try to get a picture of them soon. Right now they hide under mom. I have a heater and heat lamp on them because I'm like a mother hen. I would sleep down there if there was room
We had 4 eggs but unfortunately 1 baby didn't make it

Exciting, Congrats.. Now get a thermometer and place it close by because you don't want to over heat mama, and those chicks will stay comfy under her. I know you want to keep them cozy but believe me mama will see to it.

 

[fisherlady]

Exciting, Congrats.. Now get a thermometer and place it close by because you don't want to over heat mama, and those chicks will stay comfy under her. I know you want to keep them cozy but believe me mama will see to it.

We have considered getting a 'remote' read outdoor thermometer to put in the broody box with our hen... with this recent cold snap we were worried about it stressing her more.
Anyone else experienced a broody in the winder? How cold is 'too cold' for the broody to do well in? We are figuring to get a ceramic heat lamp bulb (like they use for lizards, just heat, no light, 125 watts) to place in near her water to prevent it from freezing. I don't want to put a heat source too close to her for fear of warming her too much. I'm not really worried about it as much after the chicks hatch... more worried about her not being able to keep her eggs warm enough for development because of coop temps.

Yep... we are worry warts... even though I am trying to just let her do her job, I'm just hoping to hear from folks with experience with cold weather broody hatches to see if their are problems we can avoid.

 

[stonykill]

We have considered getting a 'remote' read outdoor thermometer to put in the broody box with our hen... with this recent cold snap we were worried about it stressing her more.
Anyone else experienced a broody in the winder? How cold is 'too cold' for the broody to do well in? We are figuring to get a ceramic heat lamp bulb (like they use for lizards, just heat, no light, 125 watts) to place in near her water to prevent it from freezing. I don't want to put a heat source too close to her for fear of warming her too much. I'm not really worried about it as much after the chicks hatch... more worried about her not being able to keep her eggs warm enough for development because of coop temps.

Yep... we are worry warts... even though I am trying to just let her do her job, I'm just hoping to hear from folks with experience with cold weather broody hatches to see if their are problems we can avoid.

born December 23rd. This pic was taken on Christmas day. 23F was the high that day. Today it is in the single digits and mama and babies are out and about. Mama provides all of the heat a baby needs. Heat will only do harm in the long run.

 

[pinkyglory123]

fifteen degrees outside and my silkie hen hatched out five chicks yesterday. Three light chipmunk colored Naked Necks, one light chipmunk and one yellow naked neck. All eating and drinking today safe and sound. Mom is a grayish silkie and dad the ugliest rooster in the universe IMHO-a dark mahogany red naked neck frizzle. But he is a nice rooster to the hens and humans. Love the Naked neck hens but the roos not so much. once they start to feather out I will see if he passed on his frizzle along with his naked neck traits. She is in a small crate with babies to keep them safe and sound from other hens. What a good mama. SUCH a miracle 21 days from egg to this.

 

[Miss Lydia]

born December 23rd. This pic was taken on Christmas day. 23F was the high that day. Today it is in the single digits and mama and babies are out and about. Mama provides all of the heat a baby needs. Heat will only do harm in the long run.

Well said stony.

 

[tommysgirl]

I am trying to organize this broody business in my head. None of mine have gone broody yet but amongst the chicks I am getting this year will be a couple of breeds that I specifically chose hoping that they would go broody.

Please correct or clarify the following This is what I think I know...

*When hen goes broody she stays on the nest and refuses to leave other than to eat and drink a little and poop

*You officially call her broody when she has done this for what, a couple of days???

*At this point you can either let her keep her won eggs under her or you can buy/order hatching eggs to put under her

*In the interim other hens may lay on top of hers which can be a good or bad thing depending upon if those eggs are fertile and/or you want them hatched too.

*Some people remove her at night with her eggs to a smaller secluding nesting area so that her eggs and subsequent chicks are out of possible danger from the others. Others don't.

*At this point you just let the mama handle things until/unless there appears to be a problem

*About 21 days after she starts setting in earnest, you will have a hatch.


Do I have this right? Now here come my questions:

If there is a rooster in the coop can we assume all eggs are fertile?

Does the egg laid on the Monday she goes broody hatch (if it's going to) on the same day as the egg she laid 5 or 8 days later?

If all the eggs don't hatch, how long would you leave her with an unhatched egg before you call it a day and then what???

 

[bobbieschicks]

I guess it worked out well for the 12 week old silky babies that Topsy has gone broody again. Vanilla Ice has abandoned them now and has made her way to the roost with the other girls. So the babies are again huddling down around Topsy on her nest on the floor while it is in the 20F degrees tonight and all week long. I'm so tempted to give her some eggs to hatch just because I feel sorry for her sitting there with nothing to hatch.