Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[winteree]

That is tooooo cute. That baby's well hidden. It took me a minute to notice it.

i just now realized their was a chick in that pic

 

[bumpercarr]

really? can silkies have clean legs? or could this be another breed of chick?

Only if the parents do not have feathered feet. Three genes cause feathered feet, two are dominant. In other words, it is unlikely that a silkie would have bare legs and feet, but not impossible.

 

[winteree]

Only if the parents do not have feathered feet. Three genes cause feathered feet, two are dominant. In other words, it is unlikely that a silkie would have bare legs and feet, but not impossible.

not impossible just not probable are there any other type of blue\grey chickens out there?

 

[bumpercarr]

not impossible just not probable are there any other type of blue\grey chickens out there?

Lots of them. Where did the eggs come from? One of the things that I've noticed with mine (I only breed/raise brahmas) is that even when I'm sure of the color (dark, partridge) there are often two chicks from the same breeding that may look completely different. Mine always have feathered feet when they hatch, but sometimes the feathering is lighter and difficult to distinguish. Also, the darks will hatch looking either very silver when they hatch or else they look almost identical to the partridge (think quail coloring). As they mature, their final colors begin to show at about 6 weeks. My experience helps me determine what they will end up looking like, but I'm often fooled (just because chickens in general are challenging). I guess my advice is to be content with whatever, enjoy watching them grow and when they are about 4-5 months old, if you still aren't sure of what breed they are, post again in BYC and see if someone can help. Chicken raising is a very exciting project.....even when you "know" what you are getting, you never really know. Makes this farming life sort of exciting doesn't it?

 

[winteree]

Lots of them. Where did the eggs come from? One of the things that I've noticed with mine (I only breed/raise brahmas) is that even when I'm sure of the color (dark, partridge) there are often two chicks from the same breeding that may look completely different. Mine always have feathered feet when they hatch, but sometimes the feathering is lighter and difficult to distinguish. Also, the darks will hatch looking either very silver when they hatch or else they look almost identical to the partridge (think quail coloring). As they mature, their final colors begin to show at about 6 weeks. My experience helps me determine what they will end up looking like, but I'm often fooled (just because chickens in general are challenging). I guess my advice is to be content with whatever, enjoy watching them grow and when they are about 4-5 months old, if you still aren't sure of what breed they are, post again in BYC and see if someone can help. Chicken raising is a very exciting project.....even when you "know" what you are getting, you never really know. Makes this farming life sort of exciting doesn't it?

lol's right on. i got the chicks from a teacher here in Dallas that was told the egg's she hatched where "Pure bred" Brahmas but none of them have feathered legs so i think the guy played her for her money

. i just wanted to have an idea of the breed i wanted to get some more. the temperament is amazing i hope this one is a female i would love to continue the line but if its a rooster i will have to find another home for my other roo looking chick i already have 1 bantam roo and two roo's is my limit.

 

[Dumb Kluck]

OhMyGosh! I have a couple wiggling chirps inside the eggs, they are due today but I expect to give a couple extra days due to having got them from someone else who refrigerated a few while waiting for the rest :/ Mom kept her nest spotless! I have work to do over the next week to prepare the larger run for chickletts as they graduate from their brooder pen...

 

[Sydney Acres]

OhMyGosh! I have a couple wiggling chirps inside the eggs, they are due today but I expect to give a couple extra days due to having got them from someone else who refrigerated a few while waiting for the rest :/ Mom kept her nest spotless! I have work to do over the next week to prepare the larger run for chickletts as they graduate from their brooder pen...

SOOOO exciting!!

 

[poodlechicks]

It's a hard decision, as there are some broodies that won't hold their brood after they've been disturbed. But if she's not moving at all, here are a few things to consider:

1) If her brood trance is soooo strong that she's not taking care of herself, then her hormones are probably "set in place" well enough that she'll go back to brooding after a short break.
2) If you don't have an incubator and she breaks her brood after you remove her from the nest, then the eggs die. If you don't have an incubator and she dies on the nest, then the eggs die AND she dies.
3) A bird that doesn't move around at all is more likely to get pneumonia than one that moves around regularly. A bird that doesn't move around AND gets dehydrated is at severe risk of pneumonia.
4) Brinsea (one of the major incubator companies) is now marketing one of their top of the line incubators to have a cooling cycle in it. Research has shown that chicks that hatch out of eggs that were allowed to cool some every day are measurably more vigorous than those that are hatched out of eggs incubated at a constant temperature (cooled up to three hours a day, but I don't know how cold, and I don't know if that's all at once, or cumulative over the day, as I haven't read the full article yet, only the abstract). So nature does best when the hen has the instincts to take care of herself too, not just the babies.
5) There are several posts on the internet (although I've never seen any on this thread) of broodies starving themselves to death on the nest. I have one hen who's trance is so deep that I have to tube feed her everything that she needs to survive every day to keep her alive (which is easy when she doesn't respond at all!!), and can only wake her up to poop, stretch, and flap her wings by rubbing ice cubes on her face. I would never let this hen brood a clutch, but this has to be done during the 5-6 days that it takes to break her brood.

What breed is your broody? Some breeds are so broody that there is a lot less risk of her breaking her brood if disturbed.
Is she tame? If so, then she is much less likely to be upset by you handling her.

While I wouldn't recommended it for most hens in most circumstances, I personally do take all my broody hens off their nests 1-2 times a day. I do it because my hens are all very tame and handled daily, they are of a breed that holds its brood very well (Red Dorkings), and they are very large birds which are more prone to medical problems if they don't get up to stretch their legs and flap their wings regularly. Because my birds are pets as well as breeding stock, each hen is more important to me than any chick that she might hatch out, so my primary goal is to maintain her health, and the chicks are secondary. I currently have my third hen that I'm allowing to brood for the full incubation, and have had no problems taking any of them off the nest. (Also, I have probably had 30-50 broods that I have had to break over the last 3 years, and none were affected by me taking them off the nest daily.) I have the nest in an area where the eggs can't be disturbed, and I take the hen into a quiet area of the yard, or into a separate room of the barn, completely away from the nest. Before I lift her up, I extend the wings out just a little to be sure she doesn't have any eggs up in her "wingpits," as those eggs can be dropped and break if not removed before she is lifted. I put one hand on each side of her body, extending under her breast, so that my grip is supportive, secure, and gentle to prevent her from flailing or falling. I set her on a towel and pet her and talk to her as I sprinkle scratch grains on the ground in front of her (much more stimulating than just a bowl set in front of her). Usually she wakes up from her trance within 1-3 minutes. If not, I stand her on her feet and rub under her wings, or gently extend out her wings multiple times (I wouldn't do that on a bird that hasn't been extensively handled, as it could make a hen panic if she suddenly woke up with her wings held extended out). Slowly giving water with an oral syringe, or rubbing a moistened finger on her face, can also wake up some of the stubborn ones, but you do have to be careful not to drown them at first. Once the hen wakes up she is usually frantically hungry, thirsty, then hungry again, then needs to stretch, then flap her wings, poop, then suddenly there's a grooming emergency and there's lots of preening to do. Eventually she notices that I'm there with her and she jumps on my lap or shoulder and coos and talks and plays with my clothes and all sorts of other social interaction, like there's a desperation to make up for all the time she's missed. After 20-40 minutes she winds down and starts clucking and looking for her eggs. At that point I carry her back to her nestbox and put her down just outside of it (don't put her directly back in, as she might accidentally break the eggs). She will gently get back in and settle back down on the nest. If you do this at night and the nest is in a dark area, bring a flashlight and shine it directly on the eggs so she will focus on them only, but don't shine it in her eyes. (Things I learned not to do: 1) Don't carry the flashlight in your pocket if it can fall out and hit the hen, or the eggs. 2) Don't shine the light off to the side in a dark room, as the hen wants to get to the eggs NOW, and may become quite upset if she can't see them because she is looking where the light is shined.)

So overall, yes, it is a risk when you take a broody off her nest, but it may be a greater risk to leave her alone. You have to decide which risk is highest in your specific circumstances. If you do take her off her nest, doing so in a pre-planned manner, in a quiet and controlled environment, where nothing scary happens, can greatly increase your odds of her doing well and still maintaining her brood.

Please keep us posted. I hope everything goes well for her.

Sydney Acres, thank you so much for all the great advice!
I am well versed in poultry diseases and knowledgeable about the poultry industry, but it is my first time with backyard chickens. Their behavior is always catching me by surprise. I have been feeding Summer moistened layer pellets and giving her water with the syringe. She is a friendly bird and will let me handle her, but isn't one to look for cuddles. I found that in her case it is better to handle her during the day when she can see me. I tried to handle her at night and she went for me like she had a thousand beaks working at the same time! My setup is not the best, but it's the best I can do. She has a dog carrier in the run underneath the coop. I have to pull the carrier toward the door a bit it order to get a secure hold on her and although her carrier is well padded, I might already be jeopardizing the eggs by having to move it. Yesterday, I took her out of the coop into the fenced area that surrounds it and let her walk around, eat and drink on her own. She is definitely in a deep trance when inside the carrier, but she managed to walk, eat and drink without my having to encourage her. Now that I know it isn't normal for her to stay days on end brooding her eggs, I'll take her out every day. I sometimes regret giving her fertile eggs because brooding is taxing on her, but it has been a big learning experience so far.
Again, thank you so very much. It feels so good coming here and finding such great support from you and all others here at BYC.
I will keep you posted on Summer's progress.

 

[Dumb Kluck]

Looks like I'm not the only one watching & waiting for the hatch (any minute now)

 

[poodlechicks]

How exciting! Good luck!