Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[MEMama3]

Do those of you in the cold cold north allow your hens to sit in the winter? My silkie/ee is determined to sit on eggs, but we have already had two frosts and it's getting really cold really fast. I am leery of hatching chicks in the late autumn/winter. My concern is not only the cold, but the fact that they tend to stay in the coop more during the winter. I fear the likelihood of the flock going after the chicks goes up being confined. What are your thoughts?

 

[horsefeathers09]

Wow! this is an excellent article. Thanks for posting it. I'm stepping on new territory and this was incredibly helpful.

 

[canofstew]

Is it pretty normal for momma to be protective of the baby? I can't manage to get her out of the nesting box and when I do she gets pretty fierce. I want to check them both out as well as check on the other eggs left. Should I force it?

 

[fisherlady]

Do those of you in the cold cold north allow your hens to sit in the winter? My silkie/ee is determined to sit on eggs, but we have already had two frosts and it's getting really cold really fast. I am leery of hatching chicks in the late autumn/winter. My concern is not only the cold, but the fact that they tend to stay in the coop more during the winter. I fear the likelihood of the flock going after the chicks goes up being confined. What are your thoughts?

Our broody hatched in January with no problems, however, we had the space to allow her and her chicks a separate run/nest area for the first couple of weeks. You will need to make sure her area is draft free and the water doesn't freeze. Many folks allow the broody in with the rest of the flock, which is fine as long as she isn't being picked on by other hens. Each flock behaves differently, so if you do allow her to raise a clutch then just be prepared to brood them somewhere if the flock doesn't leave them alone.
As far as temps, the broody will protect them as long as you don't allow her to hatch so many chicks that she can't cover them when they get older. Remember, if it is really cold they will all still need to fit under the broody till they are feathered at 3 or 4 wks old. So a small broody may only be able to protect 4 or 5 chicks safely during freezing weather and 7 or 8 when it is warm. Just reduce the number of eggs you allow her to plan for that.

 

[fisherlady]

I have a question:  I have a Rhode Island Red hen who went broody around the 17th of September, and she gets off her nest once or twice a day to eat, drink and stretch a little.  I know this is normal, but I also have a Silkie hen who went broody a few days ago.  I'm worried about her because she's not getting off her nest at all... (Unless she gets off at night...  Yes I'm watching pretty much throughout the day).  Should she be lifted off her nest once a day or should I just let her do her own thing?  Don't want her to die sitting on those eggs...

She should be fine as long as she was healthy at the start of the broody period. They can be pretty quick and sneaky about getting out for a break, but you can always provide her a small dish with healthy (and high protein) treats once a day or so if you are concerned she is loosing condition.

 

[fisherlady]

Is it pretty normal for momma to be protective of the baby? I can't manage to get her out of the nesting box and when I do she gets pretty fierce. I want to check them both out as well as check on the other eggs left. Should I force it?

Broody hens are fiercely protective of the little ones... I would wait a day or so rather than upset her too much and even then I would only try to bribe her off of the nest but not force the issue. Broody hens do a 'lock down' similar to what folks do who are using an incubator. It is done that way to keep high humidity levels so the chicks can break out of the egg membrane easier. So let her do her job for at least another day or so. If you gave her eggs multiple days apart you may end up with a staggered hatch and may need to provide food and water close by for the chicks because the broody will still be trying to sit on the unhatched eggs.

 

[canofstew]

Broody hens are fiercely protective of the little ones... I would wait a day or so rather than upset her too much and even then I would only try to bribe her off of the nest but not force the issue. Broody hens do a 'lock down' similar to what folks do who are using an incubator. It is done that way to keep high humidity levels so the chicks can break out of the egg membrane easier. So let her do her job for at least another day or so. If you gave her eggs multiple days apart you may end up with a staggered hatch and may need to provide food and water close by for the chicks because the broody will still be trying to sit on the unhatched eggs.

I bribed her out of the nest with some zucchini muffin She just has the one baby and it's beautiful! The other eggs were gone (did she eat them?- nothing could have gotten in- trust me) except one who I believe had a sticky membrane and bled out inside it She let me clean the box out and was very sweet... Thank you for your advice!

 

[fisherlady]

I bribed her out of the nest with some zucchini muffin She just has the one baby and it's beautiful! The other eggs were gone (did she eat them?- nothing could have gotten in- trust me) except one who I believe had a sticky membrane and bled out inside it She let me clean the box out and was very sweet... Thank you for your advice!

Sorry to hear the others didn't make it, but glad she has a little one to take care of.... enjoy them, there is something very special (and addictive!!!) about watching a broody teach her little one all about the chicken world!

 

[BoereMeisie]

She should be fine as long as she was healthy at the start of the broody period. They can be pretty quick and sneaky about getting out for a break, but you can always provide her a small dish with healthy (and high protein) treats once a day or so if you are concerned she is loosing condition.

Thanks. She actually came off the nest for the first time today to eat, drink, make one biiiiiig elimination, and then she did the cutest dash looking like an athlete running around a track and within 5 minutes she was back on the nest

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Went out to check on my broody today and she tottled off her nest to eat when I distributed their food for the day as she often does. I thought maybe she'd just bumped an egg on her way out because I saw some motion, but I stopped to watch... Sure enough this egg was moving this morning! It would shake just a TINY bit a couple times a minute. Amazing! Nothing to do now but trust my broody lady to hatch them and raise them right! Here's hoping that I get a good hatching percentage out of the dozen I had shipped to me! My first hatching eggs!