Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

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?

If she is really broody it won't matter... you don't say how long she's been setting? Did she pluck her chest feathers to give herself a 'broody patch'? Does she get up off the nest only once or twice a day to get a quick bite or drink? Does she remain on the eggs overnight? If the answer to all or most of these questions is yes, then most likely she is broody and is just
not a vocal or aggressive one. Not all hens behave exactly the same... I have a hen who allows me to lift her and check eggs and add straw or whatever I want to do and she never squawks or pecks at all, and I have one who growls and flares her neck if we put a hand anywhere in her general vicinity.

The temps are a bit deceptive. The surface will begin to chill very quickly, and if you don't check the surface temp of the side which was against the hen as it laid in the nest it will be even cooler. I recently used a meat thermometer and stuck it under my ever faithful and cooperative broody.... the temp near the top of the eggs (against her broody patch) was 104.7... temp on the lower third of the egg toward the base of the nest was only 94.9. This broody has hatched many clutches for us, and in all types of weather... so the broodies are able to produce the correct temp when needed. Temps of eggs will also greatly vary from the center of the nest to the outside edge of the nest. Trust your broody to be providing the right temps to the eggs though.

 

[Debs55]

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.

I do not normally take chicks either and the only reason she had the 2 different hatch dates is because another hen abandoned eggs she was on on day 11 so I gave them to this hen. I took the chicks because this is a first time broody and I was not confident she would wait on the other eggs…I am confident however that she will take the chicks because she has raised older chicks that I have bought for her before. Thank you for all of the information, but I felt like you were saying the way I handled this was completely wrong. I don't want to sound harsh I just want some help because I have never had this problem in my 3 years of using broodies

 

[Yoyo with chick]

S

If she is really broody it won't matter... you don't say how long she's been setting?  Did she pluck her chest feathers to give herself a 'broody patch'?  Does she get up off the nest only once or twice a day to get a quick bite or drink?   Does she remain on the eggs overnight?   If the answer to all or most of these questions is yes, then most likely she is broody and is just

not a vocal or aggressive one.  Not all hens behave exactly the same... I have a hen who allows me to lift her and check eggs and add straw or whatever I want to do and she never squawks or pecks at all, and I have one who growls and flares her neck if we put a hand anywhere in her general vicinity.

The temps are a bit deceptive.  The surface will begin to chill very quickly, and if you don't check the surface temp of the side which was against the hen as it laid in the nest it will be even cooler. I recently used a meat thermometer and stuck it under my ever faithful and cooperative broody.... the temp near the top of the eggs (against her broody patch) was 104.7... temp on the lower third of the egg toward the base of the nest was only 94.9.  This broody has hatched many clutches for us, and in all types of weather... so the broodies are able to produce the correct temp when needed.  Temps of eggs will also greatly vary from the center of the nest to the outside edge of the nuts.  Trust your broody to be providing the right temps to the eggs though.

she has been sitting on it for two days and I just went and checked and she does not have a broody patch.

 

[fisherlady]

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

I'd go ahead and candle them as soon as it is dark enough for you to be able to see well... hopefully you see movement. Our hens usually stay on good eggs, but they are all different and new broodies are hard to predict. If you believe the eggs are still viable you can give them another day, you may even be able to give the hen the chicks back even before the others hatch, the
chick's peeping and moving around may encourage the chicks still in the eggs to get their fluffy butts in gear and join the party!

 

[Debs55]

I'd go ahead and candle them as soon as it is dark enough for you to be able to see well... hopefully you see movement. Our hens usually stay on good eggs, but they are all different and new broodies are hard to predict. If you believe the eggs are still viable you can give them another day, you may even be able to give the hen the chicks back even before the others hatch, the
chick's peeping and moving around may encourage the chicks still in the eggs to get their fluffy butts in gear and join the party!

yeah I am gonna candle tonight and see how they look..I just find it hard to believe that none of those 4 have hatched

 

[fisherlady]

S
Quote:
Her hormones are probably getting her into the broody mood, but she isn't committed yet. If she hasn't had the eggs long it is up to you to decide if you want to give her a chance with those particular eggs... or pull those and gather a new batch of eggs over the next couple of days while she decides if she wants to stick it out. You can replace the eggs with golf balls if you decide to do the second.
She may surprise you and settle in to stay the course.... another thing to consider while she is early on in her broody thoughts.... is she in a location you are OK with? I will leave hens in the general coop if they aren't being bothered by other flock members, but sometimes lower ranking hens don't do well if bothered while on the nest. If you are going to want to move her then I prefer doing it before you give her the 'good' eggs, in case she doesn't handle the move well and leaves the nest for extended times trying to go back to her old area.

Watch her a few days to see how she progresses, it would be easy for her to go either way yet... hopefully she decides to settle in for you though!

 

[Yoyo with chick]

Her hormones are probably getting her into the broody mood, but she isn't committed yet.  If she hasn't had the eggs long it is up to you to decide if you want to give her a chance with those particular eggs... or pull those and gather a new batch of eggs over the next couple of days while she decides if she wants to stick it out.  You can replace the eggs with golf balls if you decide to do the second.
She may surprise you and settle in to stay the course.... another thing to consider while she is early on in her broody thoughts....  is she in a location you are OK with?  I will leave hens in the general coop if they aren't being bothered by other flock members, but sometimes lower ranking hens don't do well if bothered while on the nest.  If you are going to want to move her then I prefer doing it before you give her the 'good' eggs, in case she doesn't handle the move well and leaves the nest for extended times trying to go back to her old area.

Watch her a few days to see how she progresses, it would be easy for her to go either way yet... hopefully she decides to settle in for you though!

She's been sitting on the nest all day today and I have the large carrier she is in in the coop also it is covered up so she can't see the other hens... so let's cross our fingers. It's okay is she doesn't she was forced In to broodiness...

 

[bumpercarr]

I do not normally take chicks either and the only reason she had the 2 different hatch dates is because another hen abandoned eggs she was on on day 11 so I gave them to this hen. I took the chicks because this is a first time broody and I was not confident she would wait on the other eggs…I am confident however that she will take the chicks because she has raised older chicks that I have bought for her before. Thank you for all of the information, but I felt like you were saying the way I handled this was completely wrong. I don't want to sound harsh I just want some help because I have never had this problem in my 3 years of using broodies

Sorry, not saying that you mishandled them, just saying what I do. I never take chicks, I will lose eggs to a non-hatch because I think a chick in hand is better than eggs that may or may not hatch. I've had the same problem with a second hen abandoning the nest, or trying to steal the nest from my #1 broody. I have taken eggs away before and put them in the bator because of the squabbling over nests (usually only with valuable eggs though). I have one broody that is tough, a silkie mix, and she won't abandon her nest or leave it until everything hatches. Then I have two others that if the weather changes they will leave the nest and then try to steal #1 broodies nest when she's not looking.

I do have a question though, this is a first time broody but she's raised other chicks? So, she took chicks in when she didn't go broody first? I love it, wish mine would do that.

 

[fisherlady]

Quote:
Sounds good... if she stays it is because she wants to... one thing I've found out without a doubt.... you can't make a hen be broody, you can't wish her out of being broody and you can't plan on them wanting to be broody when it is convenient for us silly humans! LOL

Good luck with her! Hopefully she sticks it out for you!

 

[Debs55]

Sorry, not saying that you mishandled them, just saying what I do. I never take chicks, I will lose eggs to a non-hatch because I think a chick in hand is better than eggs that may or may not hatch. I've had the same problem with a second hen abandoning the nest, or trying to steal the nest from my #1 broody. I have taken eggs away before and put them in the bator because of the squabbling over nests (usually only with valuable eggs though). I have one broody that is tough, a silkie mix, and she won't abandon her nest or leave it until everything hatches. Then I have two others that if the weather changes they will leave the nest and then try to steal #1 broodies nest when she's not looking.

I do have a question though, this is a first time broody but she's raised other chicks? So, she took chicks in when she didn't go broody first? I love it, wish mine would do that.

yep she took chicks in without being broody when she was 8 months old. I had some broiler chicks who were being picked on in the brooder and had no where else to put them…stuck them in the silkie pen because they are so gentle and she started sitting on them and raised them