Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Sydney Acres]

One of my girls went broody so I gave her some eggs, does anyone know what a blue laced red wyandotte rooster over a barred rock hen would look like?

Don't know, but color genetics can be very complicated. There is probably a color genetics thread for chickens on BYC where you can get an answer. I know there is one for turkeys.

 

[bumpercarr]

One of my girls went broody so I gave her some eggs, does anyone know what a blue laced red wyandotte rooster over a barred rock hen would look like?

Try the chicken calculator: http://kippenjungle.nl/kruising.html I like using the new one with tabs, you have to navigate through the pages to get there (look on the bottom of the page where it says "try the new chicken calculator").

Basically, I think you would get 50% barred blue and 50% barred (cuckoo) black for the males, females would probably be solid (maybe a little splash), 50% blue, 50% black. I say splash, although in all probability it wouldn't happen. I don't think the red of the lacing would come through as the silver in the barred rock would be dominant. I'm still a bit of a novice with genetics. Let us know when they hatch how they came out!

If you breed blue to blue, you would expect to get blue, but you will get white. In order to get the blue, you have to breed with black.

 

[Mrs Hutcherson]

Thanks!

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
Bumpercarr, this calculator is great! Thank you for posting it! I've pinned it in my favorites list for future reference.

 

[chickenwisper44]

Is your double layer nest box down on the floor?? I have nest boxes up off the floor and add two larger boxes below them. Since Feb.26th my hen has been on 13 eggs to start and now is down to 6. She and another hen who now is in with the rooster only- have taken eggs out to the pen area -- broken open . I know they will take out bad eggs but wow 7 of them?? One had a chick in it . We have 6 eggs left and it is now day 27days. Should I candle the eggs to see if there is any chicks in them -- if not I'll take the eggs away from her. This is her first time and she poo poo in the nest and I had to wipe down some of the eggs and move her to a clean nest area and clean out the other area. she lets me touch the eggs with a little reluctance-- not sure of the spelling--lol .

 

[fisherlady]

Is your double layer nest box down on the floor?? I have nest boxes up off the floor and add two larger boxes below them. Since Feb.26th my hen has been on 13 eggs to start and now is down to 6. She and another hen who now is in with the rooster only- have taken eggs out to the pen area -- broken open . I know they will take out bad eggs but wow 7 of them?? One had a chick in it . We have 6 eggs left and it is now day 27days. Should I candle the eggs to see if there is any chicks in them -- if not I'll take the eggs away from her. This is her first time and she poo poo in the nest and I had to wipe down some of the eggs and move her to a clean nest area and clean out the other area. she lets me touch the eggs with a little reluctance-- not sure of the spelling--lol .

yes, at day 27 I would definitely candle and check for any signs of life. If you want her to have chicks then you may need to find some day olds for her. If she is still physically still in good shape for weight and muscle strength (no problems with balance or walking) she may sit on another clutch of eggs, but it is pushing the limits to what may be OK for her.

So either find her eggs right away, give her day olds to (hopefully) adopt and raise or plan to begin removing her from the nest daily to try to break her out of the broody mood.

 

[Debs55]

Ok guys this is about my hen who had the two clutches that were supposed to hatch 2 days apart (the 20th and the 22nd). Well the 20th came and none hatched..then on the 22nd I had 4 hatch..all of the same clutch (I found the egg shells and could see where I had marked them). I'm pretty sure these were the eggs that were supposed to hatch the 20th so I just assumed they would be late and the other set would be late too...well they still haven't hatched. Not even one. Should I candle them tonight? I'm having a hard time believing that none of them finished developing. Right now the 4 original chicks are inside and I'd like to give them back to mom but I don't want to risk her leaving the eggs if they are still good

 

[bumpercarr]

Ok guys this is about my hen who had the two clutches that were supposed to hatch 2 days apart (the 20th and the 22nd). Well the 20th came and none hatched..then on the 22nd I had 4 hatch..all of the same clutch (I found the egg shells and could see where I had marked them). I'm pretty sure these were the eggs that were supposed to hatch the 20th so I just assumed they would be late and the other set would be late too...well they still haven't hatched. Not even one. Should I candle them tonight? I'm having a hard time believing that none of them finished developing. Right now the 4 original chicks are inside and I'd like to give them back to mom but I don't want to risk her leaving the eggs if they are still good

Normally, I don't remove chicks or eggs from the mother. She can take care of chicks and continue to sit on the nest for several days before she will abandon the nest to take care of the chicks. She knows whether the eggs are viable or dead, my broody has stayed on the nest for up to 5 days past when the first egg hatched waiting for that last chick. That said, try to give her back her chicks as soon as possible. If they are too old, she will not accept them back. Hopefully, she'll stay on the nest and finish hatching the others.

For future reference, I take all of the eggs from the hen until I'm ready to set a full batch under her. I leave her with golf balls or wooden eggs to keep her in the mood. Then, I put all of the eggs under her at the same time (removing the golf balls of course). I'd use gloves to do that, my broody tends to protect her "eggs" viciously. 22 days later (remember, the first day is considered day 0), usually chicks will start to hatch. It sometimes takes 3-4 days for them all to hatch, probably some are delayed because they weren't as warm or something. The hen handles the chicks and the remaining eggs until she determines she is done. I put a small feeder and waterer within reach of her nest so that she can take a short break and teach the chicks to eat and drink.

After she leaves the nest for good (you'll know she's left when she's out for more than an hour), I clean the nest area out of any unhatched eggs. My coop is on stilts, so the babies can't really get up the ramp with the others once they've come down that first time. I usually put out a box that she can take the chicks into to go to sleep. The box needs to be in a safe area, where no predators can get to either the hen or the babes. The hen will try to coax the babies up the ramp, but when they can't make it, she'll come back down with them to find a safe place for the night. By the end of the first week, usually the chicks have figured out the ramp and I can remove the box.

I do not remove my broody from the rest of the flock. She is perfectly capable of taking care of keeping the other hens away from her nest. You may have to remove one if they are at the bottom of the pecking order and are picked on. My broody was at the bottom of the pecking order, but once she went broody she became a real witch to the rest of the hens so I didn't have any problems there.

I know that there are lots of different ways to handle a broody, but this is what works for me. I try to mess with mother nature as little as possible. If you really want to try to get the others to hatch, you can always stick them in an incubator.

 

[bumpercarr]

Bumpercarr, this calculator is great! Thank you for posting it! I've pinned it in my favorites list for future reference.

It will do feather footed, comb types, etc. You can put in almost anything, but it gets more complicated the more information you put in. If you are just interested in colors and patterns, it is pretty easy.

 

[Yoyo with chick]

I have a buff orp. Setting on eggs but she is not showing signs of broodiness she will try to peck at my hand but she won't skwak and puff up her feathers. Is that a problem? Also she had too many eggs under her so I removed a couple. I used a normal forehead thermometer and theywere only 83 degrees. Is this also a problem?