Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Sydney Acres]

X2. I feed Flock Raiser year round and offer oyster shell on the side. I just find it easier to not change feeds as I am usually hatching 3-4 times a year. Because of the heat that we are experiencing right now, I'm wetting the feed in pans for them rather than using the feeders so much (keeping feeders full though in case they want some dry). The difficulty with this method is that they tend to walk in the pans, squish (is that a word?) down the food, packing it into the bottom of the pan where they can't eat it. I don't give the cockerels any oyster shell, it doesn't seem to affect them not having it, but then again I've yet to get a cock bird to live beyond a year due to the neighborhood dogs. I should say though, that when they are in with the girls to breed, they can certainly have some of their oyster if they want it....I don't recall ever seeing them take any though.

I've been told that the need for calcium creates a craving in layer hens to consume the oyster shells, so they tend to eat a lot of them during their laying cycle, and much less during their off cycle. I don't know if that's true or not, but that would explain the behavior I see while my hens are laying. Most of them (not all) will frantically run to the oyster shell area or feeder when they are first let out in the morning when laying. During their rest periods, the oyster shells are just a mere curiosity. My roosters like to go to the oyster shell area, hold up a shell and call the hens, but don't tend to eat much of the shells themselves. I jokingly call that the chicken version of the dinner date -- the rooster feeds the hen and expects sex afterwards. It seems to work for them!

My turkey hens seem to dislike the layer pellets, but will consume huge amounts of oyster shells, so I don't even bother with layer pellets for them anymore.

 

[mebberry4]

Thanks. I still miss them. Sometimes it is hard to remember how gorgeous that rooster was. He died trying to protect his girls, so he did his job. Fortunately, all of the partridge Brahmas that I have now are his children.

That made me tear up a bit

poor things. That is so wonderful that you have his offspring to continue with though!
I was so hoping that I could hatch a few of my nice NH roos offspring before we had to get rid of him, since I am not allowed to have roosters on my property, but it didn't work out.
I'm glad you will have a flock to remember him by!

 

[ocv chicks]

Hi, still very new to chickens. I'm trying to increase my flock due to predator losses (problem fixed). I want to try hatching with a broody hen, but right now I hear 3 red rocks and one welsummer. Should I not even try with these birds? If I separate one from the flock and out a heated mat will it encourage her to be broody? My hens are about a year old now. Any advice? I'm looking at getting a dozen Buff Orphingtons eggs locally. Thanks. Mike


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[Johnn]

Hi Johnn,
If you don't want her to brood, I've posted this information about breaking a broody within a week, and have had many people say that it worked well for them. Hear is a cut and paste copy of the information:

"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.

Thanks. I'm just keeping her locked out of the broody shed as thats the only place she will lay and sit. She's still doing her broody cluck so when she stops I will open it up again

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Hi, still very new to chickens. I'm trying to increase my flock due to predator losses (problem fixed). I want to try hatching with a broody hen, but right now I hear 3 red rocks and one welsummer. Should I not even try with these birds? If I separate one from the flock and out a heated mat will it encourage her to be broody? My hens are about a year old now. Any advice? I'm looking at getting a dozen Buff Orphingtons eggs locally. Thanks. Mike


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There's no way to make a hen go broody. They can but I've never had a rock or welsummer go broody. If you want reliable setters, start with Orps, Cochins, Brahmas, Silkies, Penedesenca. Even then there is no guarantee but if you had one or two of each of those breeds, I guarantee you would have broody hens.
Rather than heat, IMHO, leaving eggs accumulate in the nest may help.

 

[Johnn]

Have set the broodies up at college with some eggs

 

[Sydney Acres]

Thanks. I'm just keeping her locked out of the broody shed as thats the only place she will lay and sit. She's still doing her broody cluck so when she stops I will open it up again

Oh, she's one of the easier ones. I have a few like that, who will break their brood if they can't get to their favorite nest or if you simply take their eggs away or pick them up off their nest a few times a day. Most of mine, however, are much more determined.

 

[Tabatha]

FINALLY! My silkie mutt broody demon is hatching eggs! She's the one that kept letting other hen lay eggs on top of her and then dutifully tucking them under her. She wound up with 16 eggs under her, but I candled, marked, and whittled it down to ten good eggs. She has 2 pipped right now...little beak is sticking out of one hole. Today for some reason, she had moved all of her eggs out of her box to the middle of the doorway of the coop. She still sat on them so I let her be where she was most comfortable. But then huge storms came and water seeped into the bedding by the door. Is it OK to move her and the eggs to maybe a different nest? More secluded? She seemed happy to sit on them in her nest, and hens are no longer laying eggs in there with her, but maybe she got picky when they started to pip? I don't know :/ . What do you guys think? Happy hatching everyone!

 

[winteree]

FINALLY! My silkie mutt broody demon is hatching eggs! She's the one that kept letting other hen lay eggs on top of her and then dutifully tucking them under her. She wound up with 16 eggs under her, but I candled, marked, and whittled it down to ten good eggs. She has 2 pipped right now...little beak is sticking out of one hole. Today for some reason, she had moved all of her eggs out of her box to the middle of the doorway of the coop. She still sat on them so I let her be where she was most comfortable. But then huge storms came and water seeped into the bedding by the door. Is it OK to move her and the eggs to maybe a different nest? More secluded? She seemed happy to sit on them in her nest, and hens are no longer laying eggs in there with her, but maybe she got picky when they started to pip? I don't know

. What do you guys think? Happy hatching everyone!

it is up to you. from what i saw with my grams hens the hen is most determined to sit during hatching so moving her shouldn't be an issue if you are fast.

 

[winteree]

Hi, still very new to chickens. I'm trying to increase my flock due to predator losses (problem fixed). I want to try hatching with a broody hen, but right now I hear 3 red rocks and one welsummer. Should I not even try with these birds? If I separate one from the flock and out a heated mat will it encourage her to be broody? My hens are about a year old now. Any advice? I'm looking at getting a dozen Buff Orphingtons eggs locally. Thanks. Mike


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https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/encouraging-or-discouraging-broodiness-in-your-hens
i don't know about those breeds but be sure if you do try to hatch with them you have a back-up plan (cheap incubator) if one of the hens drops the brood because it is always a gamble letting first time broodys hatch out chicks i would suggest a small clutch first then if your hens do well a bigger one next time they go broody.