Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

Well, looks like Gracie is going to have her wings full!!! We gave her 8 eggs... 4 Australorp and 4 Barred Rock. We hoped for 5 or 6 chicks, but with the cold snap here this past week or so where it was under 20 degrees most of the time we were expecting it to be more like 3 or 4.

Gracie proved us wrong!!! In the first pic above we saw 4 or 5 and were thrilled... we went back out this afternoon and found 8 little fuzzy butts cheeping and moving around under her!
Now they are determined to head out and do their thing and she's trying her darndest to keep them tucked in for a while yet. We have been lucky enough to watch much of the action on
video.
Thought we'd share a couple of them.


A big Thankyou!!!! to all of those with broody experience who have shared on this thread!


It made it so much less nerve wracking to deal with our first broody! I would have been a basket case if I hadn't had so much info and experiences to read through!

 

[dorklingmomma]

Ok i just had 1 of five eggs hatch from my brooding silkie my issue is the feed stores are closed and i only have lay crumbled what can i do till Monday when stores open??????

 

[Johnn]

Ok i just had 1 of five eggs hatch from my brooding silkie my issue is the feed stores are closed and i only have lay crumbled what can i do till Monday when stores open??????

Do you have any mixed corn? well i think yous call is crackled corn if you are in the US? if not if i was you i would give bread crubs of crushed up weetabix or bird seed...

 

[Johnn]

Do you have any mixed corn? well i think yous call is crackled corn if you are in the US? if not if i was you i would give bread crubs of crushed up weetabix or bird seed...

Also they can go the first 24 hours without food...

 

[stonykill]

Ok i just had 1 of five eggs hatch from my brooding silkie my issue is the feed stores are closed and i only have lay crumbled what can i do till Monday when stores open??????

if it just hatched it probably won't eat until Monday anyway but tomorrow you can offer mama either smashed up hard boiled or scrambled eggs or nice warm oatmeal. If she is ready to eat she will feed her lil one as well.

 

[dorklingmomma]

Ok so she will show it to food and water

 

[dorklingmomma]

Ty so much i was really worried !

 

[stonykill]

Ok so she will show it to food and water

yes mama will teach the lil one all it needs to know about being a chicken

. You just need to sit back and enjoy the show

 

[yammafarmer]

Can someone weigh in about timing? I've got a broody Silkie (Fancy Nancy), and a friend who has fertile Silkie eggs and Salmon Faverolle eggs that she is happy to share. (I'm so lucky!). I live in Western Massachusetts and it was so cold this week that I'm rethinking my plan of putting eggs under Fancy at the end of March.

I have one coop, 4'x8', with an attached run 8'x12'. Fancy is one of six hens. I also have three chicks on the way (Feb 17) that I'm brooding inside. I'm trying to plan when it's best to put eggs under Fancy to allow time for me to expand the coop or build a chicken tractor (or both) to allow for a bit of separation and integrate the groups slowly and safely. My issue isn't just how cold Fancy's chicks may be--or the three that I've ordered which will be feathered out and making a mess of my house by the end of April--I also want to keep in mind that I'll be doing some construction in the cold.

When would you put the eggs under Fancy?

 

[ll]

I would put the eggs under Fancy after you're all done and ready.
It's good motivation, but unnecessary stress to "get it done in time".
Good luck!