Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

HELP!!!! My Rumples cant walk. She hobbles on the back of her hocks. She has been this way for a couple of days that I know of. I just treated her with ivermectin as per my vet and I am going to try and give her scrambled eggs with Vitamin B and D added. I cant lose her. She is trying so hard to keep her babies safe. Thank you!! p/s she has one week old chicks.

I don't know what to advise beyond what you are already doing... You should post this as soon as possible under the 'emergencies' portion of the board... a lot of folks watch those threads and may be able to give you some advice and answers. I hope she improves for you quickly! So sorry she is hurting!

 

[TeaChick]

We have a chick hatching! Boy yet made a hole, but you can hear it chirping!!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

This is so exciting!

What a surprise! I went to the barn this morning and heard peeping. One of my chicks hatched a day early! Has anyone had this happen under a broody? It was still wet and had obviously just hatched. I got a quick peek at the cutie but did not want to disturb the rest of the eggs. It is taking all my will power to leave them be and not keep peeking in!

 

[TeaChick]

Finally!!!!!!!!!




My big black Australorp hatched my little bantam eggs!! So stoked!!

Day 19 for my eggs. Once has a chicken tweeting inside and one has a faint peck sound! Have took the nest box divider out to give her more room but she will make me regret it as she is stupid without it!

and

Surely, it will be okay. =)

HELP!!!! My Rumples cant walk. She hobbles on the back of her hocks. She has been this way for a couple of days that I know of. I just treated her with ivermectin as per my vet and I am going to try and give her scrambled eggs with Vitamin B and D added. I cant lose her. She is trying so hard to keep her babies safe. Thank you!! p/s she has one week old chicks.

All I can offer is:

and

 

[MargaretYakoda]

If your hen is able to get up and out for potty breaks without your assistance (no door or wire that needs moved to allow her out of the nest) then I would allow her to decide after day 18 or 19.... if she is really easy going then you could encourage her to hop out for a particular tasty treat, but it isn't worth getting her freaked by trying to force her. Just make sure she has water and food within easy reach and allow her to choose. Be prepared with fresh bedding available in case she does broody poo at some point in the nest. It doesn't happen all of the time, but it does once in a while.
As far as eating... ours usually eat pretty well through most of their brood but often reduce amounts the last few days. I will put a small dish with bits of her favorites mixed with chick starter in the nest with the broody, tucked into a corner, sometimes they peck at it, sometimes they don't. If your hen's body condition is good then don't worry unless you notice a change. Fine chopped peanuts and hulled sunflower seeds and finch feed are a few that are easily given and can stay for extended periods without it going bad.

WalMart sells some small metal dishes in the pet department (for like a buck a piece +/-) I think they are intended for cats or kittens but they are a nice size for broody feeding and fitting into the corners of a nest box. I have a few of them in each size, the wider, flatter one I use for the new hatched chicks when they are still in the nest with mama (first 48 hours or so). The little ones can easily run in and out of them as mama begins to teach them how to eat.

Thank You Fisherlady!
Yes. We used that exact dish set for our elderly cat, who passed from end stage kidney failure only a couple months ago. I had the brainstorm to use the dishes for our broody on about day three. Those are EXCELLENT dishes for feeding messy cats and broody hens! I just tuck the dishes under her nose and she doesn't even need to get up to feed or drink.

Our coop is three feet off the ground to deter predators, and the broody is in what used to be the nest box up until the day she decided to take it over. The nest box is an old kitchen cupboard turned on it's side so the door opens upward. That cupboard door used to give us easy access to the eggs. Now it's keeping our broody, Bonnie, warm and away from the hustle bustle of the flock.

Because this was the first time Bonnie has set on eggs, and the first time we've ever had a broody, I kept the door shut most of the time since I couldn't be sure - especially in the first days - that she'd stick with it. So I kept the distractions down to a minimum. But this has meant that she's relied on me to give her breaks, and get her back into the coop.

I had been considering putting her in a dog crate to finish up the hatch, but today our rooster ripped his favorite hen's comb to the point where we need to let her recuperate for a few days, so she's going into the dog crate with a companion for a few days. So the dog crate's out for use as a broody pen. Instead I'll be putting up some chicken wire and figure out some other type of broody situation for this brood.

I'll do what I can to set things up so that the broody girl and her babies can get in and out of the nest box safely by themselves. And thanks for the tip about sunflower seeds too. I've got a big bag of them for bread making, so I'll set out a few for her and see if she's tempted.

 

[cubalaya]

springtime asils;

 

[cubalaya]

more ready to hatch;

 

[bantambury]

OK. so, i wanted to add some chicks to marshies chicks once they hatch. Now im thinking only two of her eggs will hatch, so i wanted to add some other chicks feom my breeder.

Heres the thing. My chicks are due to hatch on the 29th of april. My breeder has The BAs i want hatching on the 7th of may, and they wont go on sale until the 9th.

This means any chicks of mine that hatch will be approx. 7 days older than the BAs i want. Is this too old to add day old chicks with week old chicks? Ive done it before but i havent added chicks this far apart for a broody.

 

[Hilarie]

Hello all - here's a question I haven't seen answered.
I have incubated eggs that have begun hatching tonight. This is my first time incubating eggs, and all is going well - two are out and thriving so far; but as luck would have it, one of my hens, an Australorp, has gone broody in the past few days. I was kinda hoping I could recruit her to raise the chicks, but I'm not sure how long she has to have been broody before she'll accept the newcomers as her own and raise them. Can anyone help me? If she's only been broody for 3-4 days, will she take care of the newly hatched chicks if I slide them under her at night? I do have a separate brooder for her/them, to separate them from the rest of the flock. Thank you!

 

[bumpercarr]

Hello all - here's a question I haven't seen answered.
I have incubated eggs that have begun hatching tonight. This is my first time incubating eggs, and all is going well - two are out and thriving so far; but as luck would have it, one of my hens, an Australorp, has gone broody in the past few days. I was kinda hoping I could recruit her to raise the chicks, but I'm not sure how long she has to have been broody before she'll accept the newcomers as her own and raise them. Can anyone help me? If she's only been broody for 3-4 days, will she take care of the newly hatched chicks if I slide them under her at night? I do have a separate brooder for her/them, to separate them from the rest of the flock. Thank you!

You can try. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. You don't tell us if she has raised a clutch before. If she has, there is a stronger possibility that she will accept the new peeps because she knows what the results of her broodiness is going to be. Just watch carefully and remove them right away if it looks like she's rejecting them. I'd put them under her at a day old, not freshly hatched. Let us know how it goes if you decide to give it a try.

 

[bumpercarr]

OK. so, i wanted to add some chicks to marshies chicks once they hatch. Now im thinking only two of her eggs will hatch, so i wanted to add some other chicks feom my breeder.

Heres the thing. My chicks are due to hatch on the 29th of april. My breeder has The BAs i want hatching on the 7th of may, and they wont go on sale until the 9th.

This means any chicks of mine that hatch will be approx. 7 days older than the BAs i want. Is this too old to add day old chicks with week old chicks? Ive done it before but i havent added chicks this far apart for a broody.

I think all you can do is try. I suspect that it is too far apart. Generally by the time they are a week old they are pretty active and out of the broody, following momma around. That doesn't mean that she will know the difference. After all, chickens can't count very well. Just be prepared to take them away from her if she rejects them by having a brooder set up and ready to go.