Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[elsfieldchickens]

my pekin and her chicks

 

[mebberry4]

Good luck on that. Always remember just because the egg is the cleanest doesn't mean its the most hatchable or fertile.

I am split on my broody as to let her sit the eggs I put under her to make sure she was going to sit or swap them out with others. Its a toss up for me. The eggs I gave her were soiled heavy and I was to lazy at the time to clean them for any reason, probably would of went back to birds as feed anyway. There is a local breeder that has SQ WLH eggs for $10 dz. and I won't have to pay shipping. That way I have a 2nd strain of WLH to use for breeding purposes. I have some pures yet that I might just swap out for her current eggs.

Thank you, I need all the luck I can get!
I came home from my 14 hour shift last night to find one egg bumped out of the nest again.....
She is a pretty big Buff and I only set the 10 eggs under her, so it's hard to think this isn't her rejecting a "bad" egg.
I did number the eggs in pencil right before I set them under her, but forgot to check the number the first time I found one out of the nest. Last night I remembered to check the number before I stuffed it back under her.... Number 4! My favorite/usually lucky number. The egg was cold to the touch, but I will hold out hope for the next week until I can candle them all on day 10.
You bring up a good point about remembering that the egg might not be fertile....I kept the two eggs that I chose not to set under her. I'm thinking about cracking them open to see if I can spot the fertile bullseye, but will have to look up pics of this first. I can't be entirely sure that any of these eggs are fertile as I am going on a complete strangers word!

$10 a dozen for show quality Leghorns? That seems like a great deal! I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I paid that much for my "barnyard mix" eggs
I wish I had found a better option, especially for a specific breed I actually wanted. I guess I did the best I could given the circumstances.
What breed(s) will your broody hatch out if you leave the current eggs under her?

On a somewhat separate note, my broody seems to be the type that only rarely gets off the nest for a break. I saw her go out to the yard to make a huge fuss while dust bathing on Mother's Day, but that was only once in 8 days! It was a pretty hilarious spectacle as she kept squawking and freaking out at the other hens for no reason. Even my meanie Barred Rock left her alone! Should I lift her off the nest and force her to take a break if she hasn't gotten up by tomorrow?

I have a water dish within "beaks reach" that I know she has drank from since Monday and have been bringing her bits of hard boiled egg white and feed soaked in whey for protein. I'm more worried about the infamous broody poop becoming a problem all over the clutch.
Thoughts?

Edited for typos

 

[mebberry4]

I love this pic   BO are one of my favorite!

What an awesome picture! Those broody Buffs are so cute side by side!

Here is my crazy broody on her dust bathing rampage during her very brief excursion off the nest lol

 

[Sydney Acres]

my pekin and her chicks

What a great hatch!

 

[5 Acre Rooster]

Mebbery.

My buff eggs now are just BYM maybe a couple BA and BSL (BA x BPR) but they from my flock. The Leghorn eggs are a local guy, I think he does this every year and has a large breeding flock. Like 6 types of Leghorns. Brown Buff Black and white. Rose and straight comb. The poultry show at county fair is a big thing here. He also ships eggs as he posted what shipping would be. But egg safety and time would make it better for me to pick up. Its only 20 miles from home.
My issue is he does not have the exact leghorn I am looking for. Just plain single comb white leghorn. He has everything but these I think. LOL my luck. His whites are rose comb and his single combs are all colored. Oh well have some in bator now from my new flock additions this month and they ARE developing. If they don't hatch I can either find a rooster (Fair great time to buy a great looking rooster, after judging that is.) or have an Austra-White rooster I can breed and get 3/4 LH and keep culling breeding back for birds.

My broody doesn't seem to move off nest just turns around every so often. She even pulls her water and feed dishes closer to nest. EVery time a hen gets close to her nest to lay an egg she hisses and gets aggravated. I may swap out her eggs for fresher ones. I used eggs I didn't care about to make sure she wasn't gonna give up. If not a few more BYM won't hurt anything on my farm.

 

[elsfieldchickens]

What a great hatch!

yes we got 24 but lost one!

 

[common coop]

Ok - I've got a Silkie on 5 and Ameraucana on 8 - set up in the brooder coop. Got up at 3am a few nights ago - to gently put the Amaraucana and her eggs into the brooder coop - where the Silkie was already set. They'll be about a day apart - both sitting on Swedish Flower eggs - ordered on Ebay. I lift them off the nest to food and water, and to poop - twice a day, and they're getting quite docile about it - appreciative of the treats I leave for them.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Thank you, I need all the luck I can get!
I came home from my 14 hour shift last night to find one egg bumped out of the nest again.....
She is a pretty big Buff and I only set the 10 eggs under her, so it's hard to think this isn't her rejecting a "bad" egg.
I did number the eggs in pencil right before I set them under her, but forgot to check the number the first time I found one out of the nest. Last night I remembered to check the number before I stuffed it back under her.... Number 4!

My favorite/usually lucky number. The egg was cold to the touch, but I will hold out hope for the next week until I can candle them all on day 10.
You bring up a good point about remembering that the egg might not be fertile....I kept the two eggs that I chose not to set under her. I'm thinking about cracking them open to see if I can spot the fertile bullseye, but will have to look up pics of this first. I can't be entirely sure that any of these eggs are fertile as I am going on a complete strangers word!

$10 a dozen for show quality Leghorns? That seems like a great deal! I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I paid that much for my "barnyard mix" eggs

I wish I had found a better option, especially for a specific breed I actually wanted. I guess I did the best I could given the circumstances.
What breed(s) will your broody hatch out if you leave the current eggs under her?

On a somewhat separate note, my broody seems to be the type that only rarely gets off the nest for a break. I saw her go out to the yard to make a huge fuss while dust bathing on Mother's Day, but that was only once in 8 days! It was a pretty hilarious spectacle as she kept squawking and freaking out at the other hens for no reason. Even my meanie Barred Rock left her alone! Should I lift her off the nest and force her to take a break if she hasn't gotten up by tomorrow?

I have a water dish within "beaks reach" that I know she has drank from since Monday and have been bringing her bits of hard boiled egg white and feed soaked in whey for protein. I'm more worried about the infamous broody poop becoming a problem all over the clutch.
Thoughts?

Edited for typos

Is she a first time broody? If not, how many eggs has she brooded at once in previous clutches, and what was the hatch rate?

Even though she's big enough to cover 10 eggs, she may not be comfortable with that many. Being a good broody has a learning curve, just like any other skill. If she feels overwhelmed with that many, she may be intentionally reducing things down to a more manageable number in order to give the rest the best chance for survival. I've been told by several people that a first time broody should not be given very many eggs. Some people say no more than 6, others say no more than 8. I think a reasonable first-time maximum would be to consider the largest number that she could fully cover with experience, then give her half that many.

Since she's already got 10 eggs and she's been pushing one out of the nest, it was an excellent idea to number each egg so you can see if it's the same one she's repeatedly pushing out. If it is, then obviously remove it. If it's not, then it's a hard decision. Do you return it to the nest, not knowing how long it's been cold and whether the embryo is still alive, or do you respect her decision to remove it? If they're white or light brown eggs you might be able to candle it early to help your decision. I've been told that good candlers can see development by day 4 if the shell isn't too dark. (I'm making the assumption that the nest isn't shaped in such a way that eggs can accidentally roll out, and that she has to actively and intentionally eject them to get them out of the nest.) Since she is pushing egg(s) out, it is probably quite important for you to candle these eggs and remove any that are not developing.

Here is a link to distinguishing fertile vs infertile eggs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures. There are many, many more pictures on the internet, but these are excellent. Don't forget the the embryo spot is only on one side of the yolk. For some reason it usually is on top when an egg is opened into a bowl, but if you don't see it you can use a spoon to gently roll the yolk over and look on the other side. If you're not sure if it's fertile, a very bright light, +/- reading glasses if needed, can make it easier to decide.

Here are some links to egg candling:
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=73884.0
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750122/share-your-candling-pics-and-videos
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/868751/ive-candled-my-first-eggs-day-7-pics
http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/pfs32.htm
http://www.metzerfarms.com/Candling.cfm
http://shilala.homestead.com/candling.html

Please don't feel bad about paying $10 for a dozen "barnyard mix" eggs just because someone is able to get show quality leghorns for the same price. First, it's only $10, not $110. Many people spend that much on coffee every week. But second, it's not normal to find SQ eggs of any breed for only $10 a dozen. Most people are paying $50-150 for a dozen eggs from SQ birds, and sometimes more, depending on the breed and the line (I know of a line of BCMs that sells for $150 per 6 eggs). The Leghorn eggs are probably so cheap because anyone who breeds SQ birds is breeding LOTS of birds, and well, its a Leghorn. They're the most common of the "layer breeds," and lay more eggs per year than almost any other breed, so this breeder is probably up to his/her eyeballs in eggs and would likely give them away for a thank you and a smile. (OK maybe not, but you get the idea. Those of you that love Leghorns, I'm not trying to be mean, please don't send me ugly PMs. Just trying to put things in perspective.) Realistically, if they're truly SQ leghorns, $10 a dozen is a great deal. Depending on the line, they should probably sell for a higher price. But if you've got a lot of eggs and not many buyers, the price will come down. I think $10 a dozen for fertile hatching eggs, which are fresh, unwashed, unrefrigerated, and stored properly for maximum hatch rates is completely fair for a barnyard mix. After all, there needs to be some compensation for keeping and putting up with a rooster!!

Whether you should take your broody off the nest or not is a difficult decision. Theoretically you shouldn't, as nature should have provided her with all the appropriate instinct to get up and eat, drink, poop, dustbathe, and stretch when needed. In all likelihood, she is getting up more frequently that you know, but just doing so when you're not watching. If you provide her with food and water within reach, in bowls that won't spill into the nest, then nature should take care of the rest. Picking a broody up off her nest does have some risks. She could stop brooding, she could stay off the nest too long and the eggs could get chilled, or she could damage the eggs when she returns to the nest. If the nest isn't isolated, another chicken could also damage the eggs. So it is a risk to remove her. Having said that, I will say that I take my broodies off the nest 1-2 times a day throughout the brood. But my hens are VERY tame, and their brood is very stable. They are also quite large, so they really need to stretch and flap their wings and breathe deeply to keep from getting too stiff or getting lung problems. Realistically, they'd probably still be fine if I left them alone, but they are pets, much more important to me than the unhatched embryos, so I'm willing to take the risk in order to keep my girls as comfortable as possible. And being tame, they really enjoy the company when they wake up from their trance. I cover the eggs with a towel and bubble wrap and set a timer for 20 minutes. The eggs are always still warm when I take the hen back, and she calmly gets back on her nest and makes little happy sounds to her eggs as she arranges them underneath her.

If she does soil the eggs, you can wipe them off with some soft bedding (shavings or straw). If the egg hasn't been washed, the bloom will minimize the likelihood of infection getting into the egg.

 

[chick lovers]

I have two broody hens, and I am wondering if it would be okay to let them brood in the same coop until lock down. The coop is a brooder that is about 8 ft. long and 4 ft. wide. The one is in a milk crate the other is in card board box. I will move one right before hatch and let the other one stay. Is this OK, or should they be separated completely.

 

[common coop]

I have two broody hens, and I am wondering if it would be okay to let them brood in the same coop until lock down. The coop is a brooder that is about 8 ft. long and 4 ft. wide. The one is in a milk crate the other is in card board box. I will move one right before hatch and let the other one stay. Is this OK, or should they be separated completely.

4 x 8 sounds plenty big to divide in half for the two broods.. Any chance you could set up separate quarters with cardboard divider - easy and quiet to put up - screw to walls - with doorway for you to get in and out. That is pretty much my plan - with an 8 x 6 brooder coop, and two hens on the nest.