Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[OHfarmerswife]

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keepi.g my fingers cruised for you[/quote


lets try this again.....keeping my fingers crossed for you!

 

[lawatt]

my goodness: my broody Basque is on day 14 of her nest, and the SPPR that followed her is on day 6, still both hunkered down & determined -- and now two ADDITIONAL girls have gone broody, the two of them both crammed into a single nestbox next to the other two, and sitting on two fake eggs between them.

my only question here is, is there any worry with any of the broodies "stealing" the chicks from the first two once they hatch? i.e. if i start the new two on some eggs, will they stick with them or will they try to short-cut to being moms once the first two clutches hatch?

thanks! delighted with all the springtime incubation going on!

 

[Johnn]

my chicken constantly got off hers and they were seriously cold ! They all hatched but those that were not fertile. Give it a few extra days extra if need be. We are cold here mine were left alone as she abandoned them to get on oter nests. We finally put her and er babies into a kennel and all is well. Do you have dog kennel? If so put her in it and in the house if your coop is to small.

She has her own broody hut and the only other hen which goes in there is her daughter from last year and she just goes to lay her egg. I don't know what is wrong with her this year, she did so well last year. I hope I adleast get one chick just so she can be a mother. I did set her off early with eggs so if they do fail she is capable to sit for another 21 days but I don't know if she will sit that long.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I'm trying to convince my hens (mostly americanas, 1 silkie and some LF cochins) to go broody, I've left 14 eggs in a next box for a week and they will take turns getting in there sitting for awhile then leaving. I had to finally switch the eggs out with some fresh ones, as we have more than we can eat here. I've now set up a separate box inside the coop with more eggs, hoping one of them will eventually decide its enough eggs to brood and start to set. I see all the new babies and I'd love to increase my flock, I have an incubator but the whole humidity thing worries me. I'd love for one of the girls to hatch her own eggs (and her sisters eggs) and have some of my own babies!! I have the perfect broody box, a 4' x 8' dog house, totally enclosed with plenty of fresh air and secure from predators... the hens all go in there all the time anyway, we leave it open for them. keeping my fingers crossed!!! I tried putting one of the americanas in the dog house with the eggs in a hand made nest but she didn't want anything to do with it, and sat off in a corner of the box by herself... any suggestions???

The surest way to get a broody is to not need any more chicks! LOL! I can't stop my Bunny (Splash Copper Maran) from being broody. I may have to give in and let her hatch some eggs just so she will quit being broody.

Silkies are notorious for being broody so she will go that way pretty soon if you're leaving fake eggs (or real eggs which I don't recommend) laying around for her. Don't know much about the other two breeds.

 

[bobbieschicks]

my goodness: my broody Basque is on day 14 of her nest, and the SPPR that followed her is on day 6, still both hunkered down & determined -- and now two ADDITIONAL girls have gone broody, the two of them both crammed into a single nestbox next to the other two, and sitting on two fake eggs between them.

my only question here is, is there any worry with any of the broodies "stealing" the chicks from the first two once they hatch? i.e. if i start the new two on some eggs, will they stick with them or will they try to short-cut to being moms once the first two clutches hatch?

thanks! delighted with all the springtime incubation going on!

Good question - don't know an answer to that. I suppose it has a lot to do with the broody's temperment. When I had two broodies hanging together to hatch their respective clutches they didn't get up to grab chicks, but once I noticed that Topsy's baby went over to Smokey's side and didn't want to leave until I moved her over. That was the egg that I shifted just before hatch date from Smokey to Topsy to hatch since Smokey hatched 2 babies but Topsy had only hatched one.

What happens with the chicks and mommas is that while they are still in the egg the mommas talk to them - so perhaps they recognize their voices and stay with the ones they know.

 

[bird-brain]

Hi guys, I have a question. A couple of my hen went broody (LFSF). What started as a four egg nest grew exponentially because Buffy was stealing eggs AND other semi broody girls were laying in it. Hatch date for the first four came and went so I was just going to destroy the nest. There was a broken egg that morning that looked to be about a day 15 chick. So I held off.

In the interim Sookie started sharing the nest with Buffy. They divided the eggs when both were sitting ( there were 17 eggs EEK) and one would brood the nest in turns while the other took a break. (Buffy had been on the nest for 35 days and stuck tight). I thought the tandem brooding was kind of cool, since i had little hope for any hatching left them to it. My nest boxes are very large and have more than enough room for two to sit comfortably. I tried splitting the nest in two but Sookie moved them all again to the other nest.

Yesterday I had a chirping egg! I was over the moon! None of the eggs were pipping so I figured maybe today or tomorrow. Well, this morning I had a dead chick in the nest . I was so upset. I know it happens but I was terribly saddened. So on to my questions...

It got quite cold here last night and so I am guessing this is the reason for the chick's untimely demise as it was not damaged in anyway. First, a friend is giving me a thermal air hovobator. Can I move the rest of the eggs to the bator when it gets set up or is this hatch just still pot luck.

Next, Sookie has consumed all of the polish eggs that were in that nest plus a few others. The polish egg that should have hatched about now was cracked during her moving it from one nest to another. The other polish eggs were past hatching. Yesterday, there were 14 eggs. 14 has turned to eight with one hatch and a cracked one on the floor so 4 eggs went down her gullet. I blame her because I saw her eating one. I don't think she is cannibalizing for the fun it. She takes very good care of the eggs. So... Is she eating eggs from other hens, is she just shrinking the nest to make it more likely to hatch OR can she tell these eggs won't make it and is just disposing of them?

I have obviously never hatched eggs before. Any help is appreciated. I will have one million incubator questions that will go in an incubator thread as soo as I see the thing.lol. I have no idea what to expect.

 

[859007]

I also had a chick die the same way I'm pretty sure it was from suffication or critters and it is possible that the mother killed it two. And with the incubator I don't see why you can't put in the incubator as long as you have a humity machine turn the eggs and keep it at the right temperature 99.5 99-102 degrees is good also

 

[859007]

hens can also tell which egg died or alive I don't know how but the one she is pushing out are possibily dead but you never know

 

[bird-brain]

Thanks! One question that I have about going to the incubator is that I have no way of knowing how old these eggs are so when to increase humidity and go on lockdown would be a craps shoot. I'm interested to know if there is a protocol for incubating eggs of unknown age? I have begun collecting eggs to place and don't know if these older eggs are going to mess up the newer ones?

I had a feeling she was destroying non- viable eggs when she took over the nest.

I have another question, should anymore hatch before the bator is set, is it okay to move them immediately to the brooder? I marked eggs when i realized what was happening with the eggnapping so I would only collect new ones but I didn't date them (with my lovebirds marking eggs is a big no no as you can deprive the chicks of oxygen. I could have eggs hatching as much as a week apart if the hens sit that long. Buffy finally began to abandon the nest for longer periods and Sookie took over. I have two other hens that will surrogate if Buffy gives up (and three with no interest. ). I have a broody that I am about to sequester because my Roos have done a number on her back and she needs a break. Would it be advisable to give her the eggs separated from the others if she will take them or is it best to move the hen currently sitting them? I have an 8x8 coop with an 8x8 run and limited ways to sequester a hen safely due to natural predators namely the resident coyote pack. Argh!

I raise these birds as dual purpose. So chicks would just grown up to enter the freezer but I feel oddly like have somehow deprived the babies.

 

[Johnn]

When she got off the eggs today :