Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[chickeneer45]

I am really interested to hear the answer to this question: We get a few eggs a day. How many days can we keep adding eggs so they will hatch around the same time? We only have 4 under her now.
that was posted earlier
any answer would be great!

 

[CoopChick719]

I just got the two hatched ones and they are back and under, she went absalutey crazy at me trying to take the eggs!, I have never had a hen go for me so much in my life!, she was swinging her head back to do a power peck, the way she was carrying on I am surprised she didn't get up and start flapping at me! She could also here the chicks so I think that provoked her because she thought I was taking her chicks because she started shaking to pull them back under. When I shoved the chicks in, they were peeping then I shut the nest box and went around to the pop hole and she was doing the broody cluck. Hope she accepts them!

Sounds like she was more than ready to protect them so hopefully she'll accept them. Good Luck!!

Everyone is still setting well here so heeerrre we go! Hatch Day is May 24th.

 

[fisherlady]

I am really interested to hear the answer to this question: We get a few eggs a day. How many days can we keep adding eggs so they will hatch around the same time? We only have 4 under her now.
that was posted earlier
any answer would be great!

If you want them to hatch at about the same time then they need to be set at the same time. You can spread out a hatch by as much as 3 days but if you do that you are risking problems when the little ones hatch because they hen may need to decide if she is going to stay on the remaining eggs or take her little ones out for food and water. Best to avoid that conflict if you can. Eggs may hatch over a number of hours, or even a day or 2 apart just because of other, out of our control, situations. We should be careful to not make it worse. Speaking for myself I wouldn't add aggs past the second day.

Most folks give the hen a few 'dummy eggs' to set on and keep them in a broody mood while they collect other eggs for her. Just collect eggs daily and store them with pointy side down in an egg carton in a cool area, such as a basement. If they are stored in 50-60 degree temps they will be fine for up to 7 days or so. After that time then their viability drops off. I would think that if you type in 'storage for hatching eggs' in the search block you should find more info on the subject of storage.
So you can gather a few eggs a day for 3 or 4 days, just add them to the stored eggs. Then when you have the quantity you want just add them all at once to your broody, swapping out the dummy eggs for the good ones in the evening.
Good luck.

 

[chickeneer45]

Thank you! Also my broody hen is a bantam so she is relatively small. How many eggs should she be sitting on? There are ten under her now and as far as I can see, none are peaking out from underneath because of lack of room. Is this okay or should I lessen the number?

 

[fisherlady]

Thank you! Also my broody hen is a bantam so she is relatively small. How many eggs should she be sitting on? There are ten under her now and as far as I can see, none are peaking out from underneath because of lack of room. Is this okay or should I lessen the number?

The number for incubation depends on the size of the hen and how well she 'pancakes'... if you can't see any then I'd say leave it how it is. You can candle around day 5-7 and check for veins... if any fail to develop you can remove them after you are sure they aren't viable. Most hatches loose an egg or two because of failure to develop.

The only other consideration is the breed of the babies and if the hen will be able to keep them warm after they hatch. If weather conditions are cold and damp the hen will have more trouble with a large clutch. If the chicks are a large breed the babies will outgrow mamma's wings after about 2 wks and if the weather isn't good then mamma may need supplemental heat to help keep the babies warm. Our silkie hatched out 8 large fowl babies in January and did great, but she was in a draft free broody area and we provided a small ceramic lamp (60watt I think) in her area after the chicks outgrew her wings, which was by about week 2! But they did fine.
Just keep those factors in mind when deciding what you think is the right number for your broody.

 

[karlamaria]

I'm not new to hatches, but I learned a valuable lesson on a first time mom.
1. sometimes it's best to crate a broody girl who is a first time mom instead of letting all the other hens get on her eggs every time she went to poop or eat

2 . Never and I mean never bother a mama and her eggs just before hatch day !

My girl killed all the eggs that were hatching or just about all opened. She was mad because the birds were bothering her, and she was upset so much she killed all but 2 babies. I put her in the crate with the last three eggs, and she let two live, the third never hatched.
I crated my other girls, but decided to let this one have her nesting box and do it naturally. Well for her anyways this never worked and I lost 9 babies .
The other mama I crated had 6 leghorn mixes, those are the funniest birds ever ! Lively and so fun. Bold, and not one bit afraid of the big girls.

 

[melissaG]

Well the crazy buff orp hen's running late, but . It has begun!!

and the first one appears to be the Birchen Cochin egg!!!

Woot!!

 

[Island Roo]

Wow - 8 chicks out of 8 eggs ! Not bad considering that rooster had to satisfy 27 hens. These are Brahma-Rock chicks (yes the "mom" is an orp).

The eggs under the other hen in background are starting to hatch.

I moved this mom and the chicks to my "young family" coop where I have another mom with week old chicks. Both moms got agitated and one gave a harsh peck at the other's chick. I did the move just as it was getting dark.

I just assumed that they would only be focused on their own chicks and not bother with each other.

Have I blundered into a situation that could turn deadly for the chicks? I guess I could move them back into this brooder tractor.

 

[melissaG]

Wow - 8 chicks out of 8 eggs ! Not bad considering that rooster had to satisfy 27 hens. These are Brahma-Rock chicks (yes the "mom" is an orp).

The eggs under the other hen in background are starting to hatch.

I moved this mom and the chicks to my "young family" coop where I have another mom with week old chicks. Both moms got agitated and one gave a harsh peck at the other's chick. I did the move just as it was getting dark.

I just assumed that they would only be focused on their own chicks and not bother with each other.

Have I blundered into a situation that could turn deadly for the chicks? I guess I could move them back into this brooder tractor.

Wow, Good Job Mom!!

I'd definitely move them back for now at least. Broodys getting into tiffs is pretty precarious, esp when they're still getting their bearings as to the big world. Chicks do get wounded and killed too often in those situations.
Congrats on the lovely lil BR!

 

[Aris]

Broody mania in my bantam flock goes on ...

broody no3 ,mutt LF and bantam chicks from our flocks


broody no4 ,1 LF mutt chick from our flock and 9 European araucana (mothers) x unknown fathers ,I guess I can call them easter eggers


and broodies no 5,6 and 7 out of a flock of 9 bantam hens ,the remaining 2 hens we switched them for a gosling and a goose egg with a friend ,we couldn't handle more broodies

from left to right this is what they have settle on, the 1st has a goose egg and 2 LF mutt chicken eggs ,the 2nd has 8 LF and bantam mutt chicken eggs and the 3rd has 16 Chukar eggs 4 are Alectoris Rufa and 12 are either Alectoris graeca or Alectories cypriotes I am not sure.
Yesterday I had 1 of my 2 hatchery bought black sex link pullets (6 1/2 months old) gone broody

,but i will break her broodines.
Statistics so far ,out of 20 LF chicken eggs 19 hatched ,1 died less than a week old and one of the European araucana x dead in shell , out of 19 mutt bantam eggs 19 hatched ,3 died less than a week old.