Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Lady of McCamley]

Oh, I hope so for you. I have had terrible luck in incubators (both homemade and big cabinets) some worse than others. Some orders arrived with eggs totally smashed up, some looked great but none developed, some almost made the 50% hatch mark. I have 2 broodies, I ordered as close as possible (one state over) and am just keeping my fingers crossed they get here in good shape. My broodies are pros so I have no worries there. I just hate the thought of wasting more money if broodies just don't usually work for shipped eggs. Help. Anyone else?

The good news is research shows broodies run at 80 to 100% efficiency as compared to most incubators which run at 50% or less unless you buy a really expensive one uwhich would run close to 100%)

So a good broody is always my first choice for any egg project.

This is just my first personal attempt with shipped eggs...mine bounced all across the US so I am only expecting 50% but as fisherlady said that is not due to the broody but the thorough rattling the USPS gives the eggs which is why I candled before setting to remove those with detached air cells and shipping damage.

I think you can be confident that if anything will get those eggs to hatch it will be the care of a good broody.

Lady of McCamley

 

[bumpercarr]

Hi everyone! I currently have a broody Seabright, she is on 6 eggs right now. They are due to hatch on May 9th or 10th. She chose a nest box that is inside a large dog crate. Every evening I have been closing the crate door and not opening it again till the next afternoon when my other 4 girls are done laying their eggs for the day, this way no one bothers her with wanting to lay in her nest. This is my first experience with a broody hen so I have a couple questions... As the supposed hatch date approaches should I leave the door closed all the time in case her eggs hatch? (Of course I would open it while I was outside in case mama wants to come out) Or should I just leave it open? my small flock free range during the day, so the other members would be around mama and chicks. Also once mama is with her chicks will she consider the crate her new home and take her chicks in and out of it? Or will she try to lead them to the roost box where everyone else sleeps? One last question, would it be okay to move mama and chicks into a chicken tractor once they all hatch? If I did this they would be separate but still visible from the rest of the flock. Moving her and chicks to the tractor seems to be the best idea. Any input is appreciated

I can only answer from my experience. As long as none of the others are bothering her, I'd leave her where she is and continue your program. I would not leave the door closed all of the time unless you find that others are bothering her. Sometimes, when the chicks start to peep, it attracts the others as they are interested in what is going on. Most of the time, broody momma wants nothing to do with them being anywhere near her chicks, so she will keep them away but it can cause a ruckus and eggs to break or chicks to get trampled. If it becomes a problem, then I would lock her down with a small amount of food and water in the crate. Generally, she won't leave the nest once she hears the chicks anyway.

Once the chicks hatch, she will try to rejoin the group after they are a few days old and mobile. Until then, she will usually take them out of the (in your case) crate a few times a day to teach them to scratch, eat and drink but then will take them back into the crate. Also, she'll be trying to hatch anything that is left in the nest, usually giving the eggs an extra two or three days to hatch. When her chicks are mobile enough and have learned everything that she wants to teach them in the proximity of the safe nest, she will take them out into the world. At that point, she may try to take them with her into the coop or she may continue to take them to the crate until they are bigger. She will be fiercely protective of them, she won't let the others very close to her chicks and will puff herself up and squawk at them when they get too close. Depending on your coop set up and whether the chicks can get in there easily or not, she will eventually bring the chicks into the coop, but usually will stay on the floor or in a nest box with them until she thinks that they are old enough to be on their own. Then she will start moving further away from them, eventually leaving them on their own and even pecking at them if they try to duck under her (usually 4-6 weeks old).


Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[bumpercarr]

The good news is research shows broodies run at 80 to 100% efficiency as compared to most incubators which run at 50% or less unless you buy a really expensive one uwhich would run close to 100%)

So a good broody is always my first choice for any egg project.

This is just my first personal attempt with shipped eggs...mine bounced all across the US so I am only expecting 50% but as fisherlady said that is not due to the broody but the thorough rattling the USPS gives the eggs which is why I candled before setting to remove those with detached air cells and shipping damage.

I think you can be confident that if anything will get those eggs to hatch it will be the care of a good broody.

Lady of McCamley

So far I am 0 of 82 shipped eggs this year, all tried to hatch in the incubator. Not very happy, and don't have a broody anymore to set any eggs under. If the 28 in the bator right now don't hatch, I'm just going to buy a couple of trios. I've already spent as much on eggs as I would have spent to buy a trio.

Fresh egg hatch was good though (my own, not shipped), 14 out of 18 in the bator hatched.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
Wow, that's a huge difference between the cheap and expensive incubators. Which "expensive" incubators were used in the study? I want to use broody hens as much as possible, but need an incubator for chicks of different parents to hatch out in pedigree cages and be leg banded before being put with a broody. My first experience with a borrowed styrofoam still-air incubator had a 0% hatch, so I'm looking to upgrade!

 

[MargaretYakoda]

Long ago in another life I worked for the Post Office as a contract carrier in a small northwest town.
The problem with shipping via Post Office is that the packages are all nearly all sorted by machines. They can go along conveyor belts and then drop some distance into big sorting bins, and then of course, more packages fall on top.

For things like books, clothing, and mom's cookies, that's not generally a big deal. Eggs? I'm surprised any hatch after a long trip through the Post Office. And I wouldn't expect any other carrier to be any better.

If you can get eggs that are hand carried from point A to point B you'd probably have better luck. But that's a big if.

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

The good news is research shows broodies run at 80 to 100% efficiency as compared to most incubators which run at 50% or less unless you buy a really expensive one uwhich would run close to 100%)

So a good broody is always my first choice for any egg project.

This is just my first personal attempt with shipped eggs...mine bounced all across the US so I am only expecting 50% but as fisherlady said that is not due to the broody but the thorough rattling the USPS gives the eggs which is why I candled before setting to remove those with detached air cells and shipping damage.

I think you can be confident that if anything will get those eggs to hatch it will be the care of a good broody.

Lady of McCamley

Not argueing but it would seem that the expensive incubator manufacturers had a hand in the test. Many people use still air basic models. As well as home-made types with great success. If I have a poor hatch its likely my fault or poor eggs (Fertility, handling hatchability etc.) Many times I have had 100% and even more nearly so. A few times with shipped eggs. Personally I think that "study" was another big named ploy to sell costly incubators. My opinion anyway.

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

Sry wrong message quoted. I think everyone will get the jest though.

 

[bumpercarr]

Long ago in another life I worked for the Post Office as a contract carrier in a small northwest town.
The problem with shipping via Post Office is that the packages are all nearly all sorted by machines. They can go along conveyor belts and then drop some distance into big sorting bins, and then of course, more packages fall on top.

For things like books, clothing, and mom's cookies, that's not generally a big deal. Eggs? I'm surprised any hatch after a long trip through the Post Office. And I wouldn't expect any other carrier to be any better.

If you can get eggs that are hand carried from point A to point B you'd probably have better luck. But that's a big if.

Last year, I had pretty good luck with shipped eggs (50%). But, I hatched them under my broody. This year, there is something wrong with my incubator, it isn't holding it's temperature. I turn it up, it stays steady for a day or two and then it drops two degrees, then I turn it back up, then it drops. Obviously, there is something wrong with the bator. I'm watching it closely this hatch to try, try, try to get a few out of the batch. And using the infrared thermometer about twice a day.

Hand carried would be best, unfortunately, if you want eggs from Florida and you are in New Mexico, the only choice is USPS.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
In many ways I would agree -- simple incubators can work well in experienced hands, often just as well as the expensive ones. But for some people it can be a long road to acquire those "experienced hands." I'm not looking to invest thousands of dollars in automation. But if I can invest $250-400 in something that will give me long-term use and will allow me to bypass such high losses until the learning curve levels out, I can save up for that without too many sacrifices. In the long run, the amount I spend on the incubator will probably equal the amount I would have spent on eggs that I'd lose learning how to use the simpler model, so it's not really money wasted on convenience when you look at it that way. Plus I end up with a nice machine for the long run, and bypass the stress of so many losses.

 

[bhj123]

Hi everyone! I currently have a broody Seabright, she is on 6 eggs right now. They are due to hatch on May 9th or 10th. She chose a nest box that is inside a large dog crate. Every evening I have been closing the crate door and not opening it again till the next afternoon when my other 4 girls are done laying their eggs for the day, this way no one bothers her with wanting to lay in her nest. This is my first experience with a broody hen so I have a couple questions... As the supposed hatch date approaches should I leave the door closed all the time in case her eggs hatch? (Of course I would open it while I was outside in case mama wants to come out) Or should I just leave it open? my small flock free range during the day, so the other members would be around mama and chicks. Also once mama is with her chicks will she consider the crate her new home and take her chicks in and out of it? Or will she try to lead them to the roost box where everyone else sleeps? One last question, would it be okay to move mama and chicks into a chicken tractor once they all hatch? If I did this they would be separate but still visible from the rest of the flock. Moving her and chicks to the tractor seems to be the best idea. Any input is appreciated

For this being your first broody I would like to congratulate you!
The tractor idea seems pretty good as it will let the other hens see the new momma and babies, while shielding the small group from potentially other jealous hens. After day 18 I would leave the door shut until the babies hatch, as long as you have a way for momma to eat, drink, and poop. Generally hens don't make other nests unless they can't get back into their original nest. The current one in the photo will give the chicks a hard time trying to get out and look for food, so it might be a good idea to allow the momma to make another nest once the babies hatch. I had a question of my own regarding your momma bird. Are Sebrights broody? I have personally never had any sebrights but I see a lot of them go broody. Have fun with your little tykes when they hatch and don't forget to post pictures!!