Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[This_chicks_place]

I posted on a new thread, but I am not really getting any answers, so I thought I would try here. I have a second time broody sitting eggs for 19 days now and today we caught her eating two chicks each about an hour apart. I don't think they hatched on their own, I think she broke into them. One of the shells still had a bloody lining and the other chick still had its umbilical attached. We took them away from her but they were already dead. Is this normal? Has anybody else ever had this happen? If so, why would she do this??

 

[chiqita]

They will try and get rid of them if they are already broken. Could she have crushed them first? That is all I can think of.

 

[This_chicks_place]

They will try and get rid of them if they are already broken. Could she have crushed them first? That is all I can think of.

We have no idea what happened....just found her pecking at the chicks. Found the shell the first time, but not the second time. She is sitting on the rest of the eggs content again. I hope it was just something like that and the rest will be fine until hatch day. She was such a great mama last year. I guess we will just chalk it up to nature's way and wait 2 more days to see what happens. Thank you for the response.

 

[chicks47]

We had our first natural hatching! I am so excited. Our Orphington went broody a few weeks ago. We put 4 eggs under her, just because it is our first time. The other day.. one egg has gone missing! No shell, nothing. Could find no remains.. just the mystery. She has a rooster that sits in the coop with her and seems to be pretty protective of her. Today, I heard the peeps and felt at least two chicks. I hope they all make it through the night. She is in with 5 other hens and two roosters. Everyone seems to get along okay. But with the babies now, this will be new.

So how will mama get the chicks out if the coop is raised off the ground. The coop sits about two fee up off the ground and has a ramp to the 'basement' going to the great outdoors. Will I need to pull them out myself?
I am so excited. I just hope everyone cooperates and leaves them alone.

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

We had our first natural hatching! I am so excited. Our Orphington went broody a few weeks ago. We put 4 eggs under her, just because it is our first time. The other day.. one egg has gone missing! No shell, nothing. Could find no remains.. just the mystery. She has a rooster that sits in the coop with her and seems to be pretty protective of her. Today, I heard the peeps and felt at least two chicks. I hope they all make it through the night. She is in with 5 other hens and two roosters. Everyone seems to get along okay. But with the babies now, this will be new.

So how will mama get the chicks out if the coop is raised off the ground. The coop sits about two fee up off the ground and has a ramp to the 'basement' going to the great outdoors. Will I need to pull them out myself?
I am so excited. I just hope everyone cooperates and leaves them alone.

Grats on babies.
As for getting them down I couldn't say. My 1st broody myself. I planning on making a temp ramp for her nest since its 2 1/2 feet off the ground. Thought about moving her but when I did that last year she broke her brooding up. So don't wanna dare that. Although she seems determined this year I hate to ruin it because of something I did.

 

[groverlvchx]

I have FINALLY read this whole thread. I've learned SO MUCH! Thank you for teaching me. This broody is my first. She isn't a year old yet. She had five eggs under her. At 24 days she was down to 2 and things were smelling pretty funky so I called my friend who has an incubator. He has week-olds under a heat lamp and said I could get some for my broody to raise. Week olds??? They had never seen a mama chicken?! Well, in the evening we (three of us) made the swap. Husband covered broody with towel and carefully held her. I scooped out the yucky nest and eggs and replaced with clean straw. Daughter carefully placed the week-old chicks (7 of them) into the nest, then husband set the broody back on top and removed the towel. The broody fluffed out, purred, and settled down immediately. Adoption! Today was her second day with them and they are all doing well. She is protective and attentive. One of my other hens (black orpington) was eating some chick food and pecked a chick on the head (she's grumpy with others and doesn't share well). The chick screeched and ran. Before I had time to think what to do, my rooster, Buick, rushed over and chased the grumpy orp right out of the coop! Then he stayed outside with her and shrieked at her a bit. It was comical! He's a good rooster (also not a hear old. Here's a pic:
Except for my three Black Orpingtons, my chickens are mutts from a local farm. Buick sure looks like a Jersey Giant cross. He's a big one but very good with the flock and not people aggressive so far. I just hope he is fertilizing eggs because I have two more hens sitting on nests and am hoping those eggs aren't duds, too! Should find out the first week of June--that's when the next clutch is due. This is SO much fun!!! I just started keeping chickens last fall. I bought 15 mutts from the farmer and three orps from the feed store. It was so hard to integrate the newbies that I started reading this thread and LOVE the idea of letting broodies integrate their chicks. So far so good...

 

[Flowerbh]

Ok. So I watched this video about feather sexing chicks at a day (or 2) old.

. Then I wrote to McMurray's Hatchery and asked them what breeds they used feather sexing on. This is the response I got from them.

Dear Becky

The following breeds may be feather sexed:

Araucana
Buff Orpington
Rhode Island
Black Giant
Dark Cornish
Silver Laced Wyandotte
White Rock,
Buff Minorca
Turkens
Black Minorca
Single Comb Leghorn
Black Australorp
New Hampshire
Pearl Whites

-------------------------------------------------------------
Sincerely,
Murray McMurray Hatchery

So, watch the video and see how it is done. They show some great photos that you can learn from! Hope this helps us all!

 

[cockerels]

if you keep her in the coop mark x's on the eggs. then go out Every day and gather the ones that don't have x's on them but don't shake them around

 

[3 NH reds]

Ok. So I watched this video about feather sexing chicks at a day (or 2) old.

. Then I wrote to McMurray's Hatchery and asked them what breeds they used feather sexing on. This is the response I got from them.

Dear Becky

The following breeds may be feather sexed:

Araucana
Buff Orpington
Rhode Island
Black Giant
Dark Cornish
Silver Laced Wyandotte
White Rock,
Buff Minorca
Turkens
Black Minorca
Single Comb Leghorn
Black Australorp
New Hampshire
Pearl Whites

-------------------------------------------------------------
Sincerely,
Murray McMurray Hatchery

So, watch the video and see how it is done. They show some great photos that you can learn from! Hope this helps us all!

I will have to watch this. I am hatching Black Jersey Giants and this batch is hatching well and I would like to know.

 

[groverlvchx]

That video made me laugh! And taught me something--I'm off to see if I can apply it to my chicks...Thanks for sharing!!