Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Scrambles55]

Only one more to go! Already pipped!

are they in the coop with the othrs, or are they in a broody pen? i have a broody and eggs are due to hatch on Easter.

 

[Mrs Hutcherson]

Mine are in the back of the coop, I put up a small pen for her in case the rest bothered her but so far no one has,
Here is a pic of her set up

I set her up in a pet carrier you can take the top off, with food and water of her own.

 

[Mrs Hutcherson]

The last one hatched! Yay!

 

[bantambury]

ok so I have a broody sitting on 3 polish eggs on day 2. im nervous because my last broody hatch with a different hen, she almost killed all the babies....was it because other flock members were trying to check them out? I didn't move her from the flock....

what would you all recommend in regards to my broody and anything she will do to these chicks? do I move her out of the flock until the chicks are 2 weeks of age?
I have 3 hens and 1 rooster in her flock. (she is one of the hens)

 

[Scrambles55]

Mine are in the back of the coop, I put up a small pen for her in case the rest bothered her but so far no one has,
Here is a pic of her set up





I set her up in a pet carrier you can take the top off, with food and water of her own.

Mine are in the back of the coop, I put up a small pen for her in case the rest bothered her but so far no one has,
Here is a pic of her set up





I set her up in a pet carrier you can take the top off, with food and water of her own.

That is the dog crate that I plan to move Rumples to when the chicks hatch. I am going to put fencing around it so that she and the chicks can move about. It is out in the pen, but the pen is fully enclosed.

 

[fisherlady]

Only one more to go! Already pipped!

Adorable!!!

 

[fisherlady]

Quote: Mrs Hutcherson... nice set up! I absolutely love the medium pet carriers like that, we use them all the time in the coop, very versatile!

Scrambles55.... that set up looks like it will work very well for the broody and babies. After a few days in there you may be able to remove the fence when you are around to supervise how the rest of the flock behaves around the babies. Our flock hens mostly ignore the chicks, there are just a couple that routinely give them a peck to make them leave them alone and the chicks quickly learn who to avoid! Some broodies will tolerate the flock members being around (but not too close) and others go psycho on anyone within 10 ft of their little ones. You will have to gauge the broody's behavior too.

 

[SunnysMama]

ok so I have a broody sitting on 3 polish eggs on day 2. im nervous because my last broody hatch with a different hen, she almost killed all the babies....was it because other flock members were trying to check them out? I didn't move her from the flock....

what would you all recommend in regards to my broody and anything she will do to these chicks? do I move her out of the flock until the chicks are 2 weeks of age?
I have 3 hens and 1 rooster in her flock. (she is one of the hens)

Some broody's are just homicidal. I wouldn't let that hen hatch out any eggs again because chances are very good that she'll kill the babies again. I have 2 broody's right now and they are in my nest boxes in the main coop. I just set a rabbit hutch on the bottom nest box and a pet carrier on top (they are in the same position on both top and bottom) of the rabbit hutch so that other hens cannot get to them and they can come out to eat, drink, and go potty. 1 hen is sitting on 6 eggs and the other is sitting on 13.

I just had a hen hatch out 2 little babies and they are doing awesome. Right now they are in the brooding pen but I think momma is wanting to take them outside.

 

[Mrs Hutcherson]

Thank you

 

[Mrs Hutcherson]