Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[BCMaraniac]

I did the same.... but I set somewhere around 25 O.O Hopefully people like to purchase mutts in my area... lol.

I just wanted her to have the babies she wanted.....instead of being broody for weeks with nothing to show for it.

 

[bumpercarr]

I did gather up the babies- what a chore!!! I got them into the coop with a heat lamp and they are now dry. They seem so distressed over having no mom.. they keep chirping for her..

The Leghorn mixed hen that originally stole a chick from the missing brood hen has accepted 3 of the chicks that are all the same color as her little one. However when the other chicks try to go with their siblings to her, she pecks them! Interestingly, they are all dark colored or black. Racist chicken!? In any case here is my thinking, if I take out the chicks that are have no mommy, they will have to be re-introduced to the flock.. all the hens and rooster pretty much accept them with only an occasional peck here and there, separating them could pose a problem when introducing them back... They do already have some feathers but not all of them.. they are 4 weeks old and can actually fly across the coop pen and they seem to forage well and eat on their own. On the other hand, I am not sure at what point a chick can go without a heat source from mom.. They don't voluntarily go back to the pen and find the heat lamp during the day and I notice the other chicks tucking in under the leghorn throughout the day while they are out.. What do I do??

Mine are also 4 weeks old and are fine without their mother. She has started to push them away a little bit, tonight she slept on the roost and left the chicks to sleep in a box. I would say that they will be fine without their mother and out of the heat lamp. I think they still like to tuck in under the hen just for security more than for warmth. Good luck, I hope it all works out.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Hi I have a New Hampshire Red that hatched 7 out of 8 eggs from my flock, (some barred Rock and Buff Brahmas in the mix ) on April 30th.  She hatched them in the coop with the 10 other chickens and Rooster in it, and has raised them these last 4 weeks with no problems aside from a broody leghorn that stole one of her chicks to raise as her own.  This morning I went outside to give them some grain and bread scraps and the mother was clucking to her chicks to come eat.. About half an hour later I hear a hen going clucky outside and go to check.. nothing seems amiss but about ten minutes later I hear a chick screaming for its mother.. (chirping..)  And I go out to investigate, and the mom is gone!   I have looked everywhere and can't seem to find any sign of feathers or her! I am wondering if she just decided she has had enough...? It's raining and 50 here.. should I bring all the chicks inside?? Really not sure what to do..
Any advice would be helpful..
Thanks

 

The thing about broodies is they will quit when they deem its the right time and 4 weeks is about right for broody raised chicks. Usually the momma stops mothering them and returns to laying around that time.

No heat lamp is needed for 50F temps. The broody did her job getting those chicks hardy enough to handle the temps and able to defend themselves against the other chickens.

I would leave the chicks in the coop with the flock and NOT provide added heat. They will acclimate to their environment and be some of the hardiest chickens you own. They will huddle together on the floor for a time and around 6 weeks they will get up on the roost at night.

 

[Nike]

I just wanted her to have the babies she wanted.....instead of being broody for weeks with nothing to show for it.

Same here, I feel bad having them go broody and collecting the eggs every day.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I just wanted her to have the  babies she wanted.....instead of being broody for weeks with nothing to show for it.

Just a thought on giving a broody so many eggs each time...my silky Topsy was broody four times last year. As soon as she went off being broody, she laid a few eggs, then she returned to being broody again. She's not the exception either. My Smokey was broody 4 times as well. Vanilla Ice helped Topsy hatch a clutch earlier this year and is now broody along with another silky Shirley Jones.

When my girls first started going broody I would excitedly put half to a dozen eggs under them. But I soon found they are much better at hatching than a bator so the percentage of live chicks was higher than I expected.

My point is that your coop will quickly be over run with chicks if you give them more than a few eggs to hatch each time she goes broody, because I'm guessing she will go broody again and again.

 

[raygirl4386]

I'm going to have to move my 2 broodys in the last 2-3 weeks they have rotated nests. I think they are being kicked out of their box when they get up to get food and water.

 

[BakinInAZ]

Amazing how many chicks some of these broodies would raise if possible.

 

[raygirl4386]

Can I get baby chicks and stick them under them? We are on week 4 of brooding and because they keep switching nests they have to start over.

 

[Johnn]

Can I get baby chicks and stick them under them? We are on week 4 of brooding and because they keep switching nests they have to start over.

I put day old chicks under my hen on week 4 and she accepted them

 

[BearSpringsFarm]

Can I get baby chicks and stick them under them? We are on week 4 of brooding and because they keep switching nests they have to start over.

I put chicks (and ducklings) under my broody after 4 weeks and she accepted them just fine - well actually I just set them in the broody enclosure with her - in broad daylight - I know that is not how it's suppose to be done but I wanted to see what she would do because she is such a gentile hen - then I watched as she pulled each and every one under her with her beak. She would have gladly taken more if I had them.