Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

and apparently it was a false alarm, after sitting on her nest and growling for about six hours or so, she hopped off & hasn't been back on since. but perhaps this is a sign of impending broodiness?

If she does decide to sit... you should be fine in the coop unless there is a hen who routinely bothers her. My only suggestion would be that once she decides to sit you should make sure she has all the eggs you want her to hatch on the same day and mark them. Then any eggs added to the clutch by other hens laying in her box you will know they are new ones and can remove them to prevent a staggered hatch.

 

[bobbieschicks]

She might be able to happily sit in the nest box shes in, Bobbiechicks had a hen hatch out in with the rest of the flock (i think). you could put a cat carrier in the coop as her nest then let her out daily so she can go do her buisness

Yes I've done the "separate them" route and the "leave them where they are route"...both produced the same results so I go with the "leave them alone" plan now and just enjoy the chicks after hatch. You do not need to move a broody with eggs or with chicks, unless they are in a dangerous spot like an open field nest. Even then you may not be able to move them without breaking them of being broody.

My petite silky Topsy hatched four of her five silky eggs in the most favored nest box and I rarely had to remove extra eggs from inside it. She did have a co sitter, Vanilla Ice, who was not broody and had never laid an egg. Topsy had previously hatched Vanilla Ice from a silky/white leghorn mix. The nest box is about 20" off the coop floor.

 

[lawatt]

thanks everyone -- the chicklet in question is not acting at all broody today, so i may have jumped the gun. good to be prepared once it eventually happens, though! hoping she changes her mind...

 

[danielnv]

I think 2 of my hens are broody. I collect the eggs about 10pm before work, and the last few nights have reached under these 2 hens to get the eggs. Usually 3 or 4 under each one. Last night one pecked at me while I collected the eggs. So I think I should let one or both of them brood some eggs, do you experienced ones agree?

If so, how many eggs is a good bet? One is a buckeye and the other a cross between a banty and maran that is large fowl size. Her mother (the banty) is the only one that has brooded for me in the past, although she would clean the markings I put on the eggs and would always lose several to cooling off.

I have a smaller coop I could move one or both to, but after reading here, I think Ill leave them where they are for now. I get a dozen or so eggs a day, so I'm thinking I can just add all the eggs from a day to one hen, but welcome all suggestions.

Btw I'm in Virginia. We are getting nights in the 20's and 30's right now.

 

[Johnn]

I think 2 of my hens are broody. I collect the eggs about 10pm before work, and the last few nights have reached under these 2 hens to get the eggs. Usually 3 or 4 under each one. Last night one pecked at me while I collected the eggs. So I think I should let one or both of them brood some eggs, do you experienced ones agree?

If so, how many eggs is a good bet? One is a buckeye and the other a cross between a banty and maran that is large fowl size. Her mother (the banty) is the only one that has brooded for me in the past, although she would clean the markings I put on the eggs and would always lose several to cooling off.

I have a smaller coop I could move one or both to, but after reading here, I think Ill leave them where they are for now. I get a dozen or so eggs a day, so I'm thinking I can just add all the eggs from a day to one hen, but welcome all suggestions.

Btw I'm in Virginia. We are getting nights in the 20's and 30's right now.

If you are sure they are broody then why not hatch anyout , iu would give them a couple of days though to make sure. I think 6 eggs is always a great number but you could easily put more under a large fowl hen. I put 10 lf eggs under mybuff orpington hen, she originally had 12 but struggles to cover them. Good luck

 

[bobbieschicks]

I think 2 of my hens are broody. I collect the eggs about 10pm before work, and the last few nights have reached under these 2 hens to get the eggs. Usually 3 or 4 under each one. Last night one pecked at me while I collected the eggs. So I think I should let one or both of them brood some eggs, do you experienced ones agree?

If so, how many eggs is a good bet? One is a buckeye and the other a cross between a banty and maran that is large fowl size. Her mother (the banty) is the only one that has brooded for me in the past, although she would clean the markings I put on the eggs and would always lose several to cooling off.

I have a smaller coop I could move one or both to, but after reading here, I think Ill leave them where they are for now. I get a dozen or so eggs a day, so I'm thinking I can just add all the eggs from a day to one hen, but welcome all suggestions.

Btw I'm in Virginia. We are getting nights in the 20's and 30's right now.

I'm in VA too, I've noticed my broody prone girls are all lingering in the nest boxes. I won't call them broody until they stop roosting and stop laying for three nights in a row. For a larger broody, maybe 6-8 LF eggs would do at this time of the year. For a smaller broody, 3-4 LF or 4-5 bantam eggs would be my choice. The key is we are still another two months away from decent spring weather, so you don't want to have too many for her to keep warm.

And I just leave them where they are to hatch.

 

[ocap]

. The key is we are still another two months away from decent spring weather, so you don't want to have too many for her to keep warm.

I just checked the Kansas City, MO forecast, zero degrees for a low temperature later this week

 

[delisha]

Pecking does not mean broody..3 days on a nest and you take her off several times a day and she gets right back on is broody.

Still not taking them outside yet...brrrrr to cold..



all that snow and she took them out in the nice sun shine today.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I just checked the Kansas City, MO forecast, zero degrees for a low temperature later this week

You may need supplemental heat in your coop. Not familiar enough with those levels of cold to give good advise on that, but do know you can check with your state thread to see if others are supplemental heating their coops right now.

If the coop is staying above 32F your broody should be fine without extra heat and she will keep her eggs warm enough. And a couple of times of dropping into the 20s won't hurt, but a sustained 20F temp may require extra heat. The problem will be if she's not able to smoosh down flat enough to warm the ones on the outside of the group enough to have them develop properly. That's why we say limit the number she's given in the winter.

I'm complaining that it's 30Fs here, I guess I should be thankful it won't be 0F.

 

[danielnv]

If you are sure they are broody then why not hatch anyout , iu would give them a couple of days though to make sure. I think 6 eggs is always a great number but you could easily put more under a large fowl hen. I put 10 lf eggs under mybuff orpington hen, she originally had 12 but struggles to cover them. Good luck

i

When I give them a couple days to make sure, do I take the eggs or leave them? The cross hen was off the nest last night and laid an egg (my only EE hen laying). The buckeye was still setting with one egg under her.