Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

I forgot to post the hatching of my chicks, I put 8 eggs under 2 of my bantams and 7 0f the 8 hatched. I dropped one of the eggs
one week in.

anyway they are a week old tomorrow the 11th. Mamas and chicks doing fine..




Don't ya love it when they play peek a boo?

.

Beautiful... and I could look at 'peek-a-boo' pics all day!! So cute!

 

[OHfarmerswife]

The hatchlings are a week.old!!
Next 7 were placed under broody #2 Gertie....wish us luck : )

 

[OffGridMAMA]

Well I did get to see two babies peek out from broody #1 but wasn't quick enough to get a pic.... black and yellow

Broody #2 was given 14 eggs today... she's a game bird mix about two years old. Excited that she has my hrir, Marans, Swedish flower, &silver penciled rock purebreds... from my own flock.... yaaaay

 

[Eva2012]

All 8!

 

[OHfarmerswife]

Well I did get to see two babies peek out from broody #1 but wasn't quick enough to get a pic.... black and yellow

Broody #2 was given 14 eggs today... she's a game bird mix about two years old. Excited that she has my hrir, Marans, Swedish flower, &silver penciled rock purebreds... from my own flock.... yaaaay

wow 14 eggs!
How many is too many?

 

[melissaG]

All 8!

oh my goodness!

She's lovely too ^^

 

[OffGridMAMA]

wow 14 eggs!
How many is too many?

Well she hatched 17 last spring at my dads house (all her own eggs, on the sly under a trailer ) so she is brave.... but I am thinking some will be duds since this will be my first attempt at hatching from these particular pairs. Also..the Swedish flower eggs are tiny... and she is a big hen too.

 

[Newtoit]

Our Australorp went broody- our rooster is also an Australorp- so she got one of her eggs ( we were eating her eggs prior, so we only had one of hers to hatch), plus two EE eggs, 2 RIR,, and a Red Star egg. One of the EE eggs broke 2 days before hatch and the chicky didn't make it. One of the RIR eggs broke last weekend. Our pure Australorp hatched today, and we are waiting with baited breath to see if the other 3 hatch. We got our first chickens this past January, so it's all very new to us!

 

[Pennoppom]

I'm in Virginia and we might get down to low double digits occasionally, but 8F is crazy talk! JK. I've had the girls sitting on eggs that hatched just fine while the coop was around 13F, but that was night time temps and it quickly elevated in the daylight. Plus the girl who did that hatch had a buddy with her to keep her warm. I'd make sure there weren't any drafts and have plenty of pine chips or bedding to nestle into. Hopefully Stony can pipe in because his weather would be closer to yours.

Well, it has been darn cold (8F when I woke up) but I have been reaching under her to make sure she's keeping the eggs warm. Seems to be okay, although I can't actually tell the egg temp. I don't think she's been getting off the nest at all since it got cold, so I think she's gonna be a very tender and attentive mama. Temps should be back up to the mid 40s or low 50s tomorrow.

Should I go through with candling this weekend? It will be 14 days on Saturday!!!

 

[fisherlady]

Well, it has been darn cold (8F when I woke up) but I have been reaching under her to make sure she's keeping the eggs warm. Seems to be okay, although I can't actually tell the egg temp. I don't think she's been getting off the nest at all since it got cold, so I think she's gonna be a very tender and attentive mama. Temps should be back up to the mid 40s or low 50s tomorrow.

Should I go through with candling this weekend? It will be 14 days on Saturday!!!

Ours sat on her eggs in January... with average coop temps in the 20's for most of her 21 days. And she hatched out just fine. I would put in a handful of straw in front of her and she would happily rearrange it and tuck it around herself. When we had temps get really low (like you, into single digits) she just stuck tight and waited it out. We didn't candle past about 10 days or so, but it was for a number of reasons. We aren't very experienced with candling, so I didn't expect to be able to see subtle differences anyway. I figured the broody would kick out eggs she thought went bad. It was so cold I didn't want to disturb the nest any more than I needed.... and last, but not least, I was afraid I'd drop one! LOL
So basically, candling with a broody is personal choice. Weigh your expected pros and cons and go from there.