Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Johnn]

 

[chickydee64]

Johnn,

Hi!..we have missed you................

What a beautiful chick....looks like a pullet for sure................
What kind of eggs did you give to your broody?

 

[Doughboy75]

.........We Have Baby Chicks

 

[Johnn]

Johnn,

Hi!..we have missed you................

What a beautiful chick....looks like a pullet for sure................
What kind of eggs did you give to your broody?

Thanks! and she did have CLB but she smashed 3, left the nest for 6 hours and wasnt acting broody so I smsahed the eggs, one had a chick in and then she went back to sit on an empty nest straight after I smashed them!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Well! Got my first hatching eggs today! B&C Maran eggs. They're resting right now. It's a little late in the season but my Australorp broody doesn't wanna stop brooding so I will try to hatch something out from under her...

We have a small coop with a small run, no room to expand and nowhere to isolate Mama bird outside of the normal nestboxes that would be good. Now there's only five hens in the pen and two nest boxes so they DO have somewhere else to lay... But any idea on how I could try to give her a bit more privacy to discourage the rest of the hens from crawling in and breaking my $2 eggs while trying to lay their $0.08 eggs? XP I'm thinking a bit of a cardboard flap between the nestboxes (she's brooding on the one closer to the wall) may help. Thoughts?

 

[LisaLouHoo]

My first time hatching ANY eggs and my broody successfully hatched out 5 mixed chicks. I've raised day old chicks twice, but nothing beats watching mama raise her own babies. She's turned out to be an excellent caretaker, too. Here's a pic of their first "outing" free ranging in the yard.

 

[perchie.girl]

Well! Got my first hatching eggs today! B&C Maran eggs. They're resting right now. It's a little late in the season but my Australorp broody doesn't wanna stop brooding so I will try to hatch something out from under her...

We have a small coop with a small run, no room to expand and nowhere to isolate Mama bird outside of the normal nestboxes that would be good. Now there's only five hens in the pen and two nest boxes so they DO have somewhere else to lay... But any idea on how I could try to give her a bit more privacy to discourage the rest of the hens from crawling in and breaking my $2 eggs while trying to lay their $0.08 eggs? XP I'm thinking a bit of a cardboard flap between the nestboxes (she's brooding on the one closer to the wall) may help. Thoughts?

Is there a way to divide the coop to allow your broody to get down to eat and drink and poo without any of the other hens getting in her nest? if not then make sure you remove their eggs as they are layed in the nest. For what its worth a broody hen often times will let another hen get right in on top of her and lay an egg....LOL.

I had to do that for one of my broodies. Just a chicken wire divider with a top that doesnt block off the rest of the hens from getting out and about.

deb

 

[lvchickens]

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Broody setup by FuffyKing, on Flickr[/img]


This is my broody nursery Mom and babies will be in here until they are around 6 weeks old.

After that they go into a sectioned off bit of the main run. This way the grown up flock can see the little ones, but not get to them and they can all meet through the fence. Momma will tell me when she wants to be a laying hen again, I hope

This is my momma hen taken last year when she was broody and grumpy

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Nope. It's a small coop; built for a 6 chicken maximum, really. I intend to sell off most of the pullets as teenagers and just keep one female, and eat the boys if I can't sell 'em.

 

[sharol]

My first time hatching ANY eggs and my broody successfully hatched out 5 mixed chicks. I've raised day old chicks twice, but nothing beats watching mama raise her own babies. She's turned out to be an excellent caretaker, too. Here's a pic of their first "outing" free ranging in the yard.