Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Tabatha]

Oh, I hate to say this on your birthday, but I have some concerns about the situation with your Silkie Mix.  First, sixteen eggs is a big nest.  Can she cover all those eggs adequately (being a Silkie Mix, she could be either a large or a small bird)?  If there's any question about adequate coverage, it's best to have fewer eggs.  The eggs on the periphery can get chilled and the embryos die. But an even bigger problem is that the broody will move the eggs around as she turns them, so eggs that start in the middle with excellent heat will eventually take their turn on the outside, and those could get chilled and die.  Every time an egg takes its turn on the periphery, the embryo could die.  That could happen to half the eggs, or 3/4 of the eggs, or all of the eggs.  So nests that are too large for the hen tend to have fewer eggs hatch than nests with a smaller but manageable number of eggs.

My second concern is with the potential for staggered hatches.  If the eggs are added to the nests on different days, then the original eggs will hatch several days before the newer eggs.  If there are unhatched eggs, the hen will typically stay on the nest for a few days after the first chick hatches, but by day 3-4 after the first hatch mom has to abandon the unhatched eggs to care for the hatched chick(s).  Otherwise, that chick(s) will starve to death.  So with staggered hatches, there's a high potential to have a perfectly healthy, almost ready chick die because mom was forced to leave the nest to care for the early chick(s).  To avoid this scenario, you have two options.  First, you can put the broody's nest in an area where no other hen can get to her nest, so there's no opportunity for additional eggs to be added.  The other option is to mark the original eggs you place with the broody, then check the nest daily.  If you see an egg there without a mark, then that egg is removed.   Either way you keep the nest to a manageable number of eggs, and you prevent staggered hatches all at one time.  Most people mark the original eggs by drawing a circle around the equator of the eggs.  That way the mark can be seen with the eggs in any position.

I marked last night. Going to candle again tonight to sort and reduce her nest to about 8 or 9. I'll put the rest in an incy to give them all a chance. I tried sharing her eggs with another broody, but she steals them back. I would have thinned last night, but I was trying to show kids, checking multiple broodies, and they were tearing me up. I figured I'd let her calm down and do it when the kids aren't in there too to reduce stress. As for the staggered hatching, I want to avoid that by any means. I just had a phoenix that did that. I got her in the middle of her brood. Evidently she had the same issue with her previous owner. As they would start to pip, I'd stick them under a different broody (momma was outside taking care of her other chicks) to hatch and dry, then steal it back and stick it under momma at night. Don't want that stress again.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Hi Everyone,
I'm coming to the final decision on selecting my incubator, and really liked the cooling feature on the Brinsea but not the design (all that rocking and external movement -- I see an accident waiting to happen in my house). Anyway, I'm going to try to manually imitate the cooling feature that Brinsea offers, so was looking around to find the details. I found this link to Brinsea: http://www.brinsea.com/cooling.html. I'm really surprised at the time recommended for cooling:

"Brinsea® have assessed the available research and recommend that smaller poultry, waterfowl and game bird eggs are cooled for 2 hours each day and larger eggs (e.g. duck and goose) are cooled for 3 hours each day from day 7 through to 2 days before they are due to hatch (the same point that automatic turning would normally be turned off). Cooling is not recommended for parrots and birds of prey because the results of cooling for these species haven’t yet been established. This cooling feature is an option which can be enabled to improve your hatch rates."

Wow, 2 hours a day for cooling! I wonder if this is all at once, or a total of several shorter cooling periods. When I would get my broody off her nest every day I set a timer for 20 minutes to let me know when to take her back. I guess I was being too stingy with her play time!

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hi Everyone,
I'm coming to the final decision on selecting my incubator, and really liked the cooling feature on the Brinsea but not the design (all that rocking and external movement -- I see an accident waiting to happen in my house). Anyway, I'm going to try to manually imitate the cooling feature that Brinsea offers, so was looking around to find the details. I found this link to Brinsea: http://www.brinsea.com/cooling.html. I'm really surprised at the time recommended for cooling:

"Brinsea

have assessed the available research and recommend that smaller poultry, waterfowl and game bird eggs are cooled for 2 hours each day and larger eggs (e.g. duck and goose) are cooled for 3 hours each day from day 7 through to 2 days before they are due to hatch (the same point that automatic turning would normally be turned off). Cooling is not recommended for parrots and birds of prey because the results of cooling for these species haven’t yet been established. This cooling feature is an option which can be enabled to improve your hatch rates."

Wow, 2 hours a day for cooling! I wonder if this is all at once, or a total of several shorter cooling periods. When I would get my broody off her nest every day I set a timer for 20 minutes to let me know when to take her back. I guess I was being too stingy with her play time!

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

I hope you get some answers for your question...I can't give any ideas as I went to natural broody several years ago after purchasing chicks from feed stores and haven't looked back...you've probably done this but if you haven't you may get better response on this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/569950/incubators-anonymous

Good luck finding the right incubator.
Lady of McCamley
(And congratulations on your Buckeye roo winning...that was you right?)

 

[nipper75]

I have 2 Brahma banty sisters laying on eggs in the same next box. The only other chicken in the coop is a little banty roo. Do you think I need to remove the hens before hatching? First time for me thanks

 

[saltandpepper2]

This pic was accidentally missed out

So precious!

So, I just finished checking on my broody hen, and I heard chirping underneath!! I'm going to wait until tonight, then I'm going to check to see what's happening under there.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote: No, it wasn't me. That is a different Sydney. I think it's the real name of the daughter of bluface3, who breeds the darker Buckeyes.

 

[Tabatha]

I have 2 Brahma banty sisters laying on eggs in the same next box. The only other chicken in the coop is a little banty roo. Do you think I need to remove the hens before hatching? First time for me thanks

I don't have knowledge in this area, but best of luck

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I have 2 Brahma banty sisters laying on eggs in the same next box. The only other chicken in the coop is a little banty roo. Do you think I need to remove the hens before hatching? First time for me thanks

@fisherlady has had really good luck with communal brooding with friendly roosters close at hand...but it doesn't work for everyone. It totally depends on the birds and your set up...how much elbow room each bird has, how domineering, distractable, or competitive, the broodies are, etc. How intrusive or friendly the roo is.

Assess your birds and set up. Do you see this continuing in harmony? Or are you already getting subtle signs that someone is unhappy (shifting around a lot, one on while one is off a lot), thehens acting fretful with the roo nearby, etc.

My thoughts
Lady of McCamley

 

[Manningjw]

Hi Manningjw,
You're just down the freeway from me -- I'm in Stanwood, WA. Welcome to the broody thread.

Your timing is perfect -- here's a cut and paste of a post I put on the Buckeye thread a about a week ago for someone who was having a problem breaking their broody:


"The wire bottom cage is the best known gold standard for breaking a brood, but my main breed (Red Dorking) is a very heavy hen that broods frequently, so I didn't want them on wire. I tried many of the other well known techniques and nothing worked. Eventually I found a very reliable technique that doesn't require a wire bottom cage, but works just as well.

Build a small wire run. Mine is about 30" wide, 30" high, and 5' long. It is made out of 1X2" welded wire, just four side panels held together by cable ties (it could be made out of other materials, but this is very stable because of the frequent welds, and has lasted for almost 10 years). The top is divided into two parts. Half is attached by cable ties on the sides and one end. The other half is about 4" longer than the remaining opening on top. One end is cable tied onto the first half (the only remaining unattached edge of the top's first half, spanning across the center of the run), so that it can open and close like a hatch. The other end has the extra length bent down over the end side panel so that the hatch doesn't fall down into the run. I prevent the hatch from opening with a simple latch, which isn't usually necessary, but one hen years ago figured out that she could get out of the run by repeatedly flying up into the hatch until it opened. There is no bottom on the run. It is very lightweight, very secure, and easy to move. It was easy and cheap to build, and can be disassembled and stored flat when not in use, if desired.

My birds free range. I put the run somewhere on the property where the broody cannot see her nest, or anything near her nest. I chose an area that is protected from the weather so she won't get too hot, too cold, or wet, and is very safe from predators and harassment. There should ideally be some dirt to dustbathe, and some grass to graze, but that's not essential. What is absolutely necessary is that there not be anything on the ground that can be used to build a nest -- no leaves, no straw, no shavings, no dry grass, no bedding of any kind. Just food, water, plain ground or lawn to sit on, enough room to pace a little as the brood starts to transition out, and no reminder or sight of her nest or eggs. At night I put her in a pet carrier with cardboard on the bottom, covered with a towel, and put her in the garage (or barn, or coop, or spare bedroom -- just somewhere that is no where near her nest, and is 100% predator proof). I've had 100% success at breaking broods with this method, with 90% of hens taking 3-4 days, and the remaining hens taking either 2 or 5-6 days. And no wire pressed into the plucked, bare brood spot on their chest."

After that post, I got several PM's and one post on the thread saying that it worked perfectly. But it does take typically 3-4 days, and once up to 6 days, so don't give up too early. I once had a bird that had always taken 3 days to break her brood, but that time seemed to be done after the second day. So on day three I let her back with the flock instead of putting her in the run. She foraged and flocked with the other birds for almost the entire day, but by the evening she was back on her nest again. I put her back in the coop for the evening, and back in the broody breaking run the next day, expecting that one more day would do it. But apparently the clock gets reset the moment they see their nest, and she took 4 additional days in the run. So now I'm not anxious to get them out of the run. If there's even a hint of broodiness, they stay in. But it's a nice place for them, and it's not forever, so it's definitely worth making sure they're finished.

Hey there! What other breeds do you have up there? Would love to see pictures of your flock.

Thank you for your very detailed response! Right now I have a broody breaking wire cage hanging in the run for good airflow under it. The whole clock resetting when they see their nest again is new/news to me, I was testing my little broody out every couple of days and letting her forage but then she just keeps going right back to her nest - I try to catch her asap but she still has a little time in it which could explain why she is showing no hint of breaking her brood yet. Her mother was much easier to break.

 

[nipper75]

@fisherlady
 has had really good luck with communal brooding with friendly roosters close at hand...but it doesn't work for everyone. It totally depends on the birds and your set up...how much elbow room each bird has, how domineering, distractable, or competitive, the broodies are, etc. How intrusive or friendly the roo is.

Assess your birds and set up. Do you see this continuing in harmony? Or are you already getting subtle signs that someone is unhappy (shifting around a lot, one on while one is off a lot), thehens acting fretful with the roo nearby, etc.

My thoughts
Lady of McCamley

The sisters do get along and the roo is docile and doesn't bother with the girls. Both hens seem comfortable in their present setting. Just wondering about the chick's when they hatch.