Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[poodlechicks]

whishapup, good luck on your hatch!
Chickenlisa, your chicks are so cute! Hope Meanie has mellowed a bit. My Summer is turning into a monster!

 

[3 NH reds]

Here is a 1st. I have a Red Ranger sitting on eggs for a week. She did not like my taking eggs and pecked at me so I say go for it. I hold little hope because I had a Jersey try it and break eggs at week 2 due to her large frame. Meantime 3 of my buff orps won't do a thing.

 

[LisaLouHoo]

Congrats, Chickenlisa on your mean broody who did a fabulous job. So what if she was a b***ch, sometimes you just have to be!!

I have a pip tonight!!! My BO broody has been finishing up a brood for my silkie because I put day-old chicks under the silkie mama, so was able to put her two silkie eggs under Buffy. We're down to one lone silkie egg and I have a PIP and today is day 19. I'm very excited because I'm just counting on this one to be my splash hen. I know it's a long shot because out of 9 chicks (6 eggs hatched that I sold, 3 I had incubated by a friend, and now this one pipping) from my silkie pair, ALL have been blues. I have a splash roo and a blue hen. It's supposed to be 50/50 between the two colors. This has been a very complicated broody, hatching season for me so far. My other broody sat on 13 marans eggs and only hatched 2. It's been nerve-racking, but fun at the same time. I know only you guys would understand what I mean by that. :yiipchick

 

[chickenlisa]

Congrats, Chickenlisa on your mean broody who did a fabulous job. So what if she was a b***ch, sometimes you just have to be!!

Yep, I know. She did a super job and is such a good mama! She is super protective and that's fine with me...
Good Luck with yours!

 

[halfbakedtulip]

@Sydney Acres and fisherlady ...Thank you so much for your responses!


It has been a little over a week now and the chicks are doing very very well. My problem now is Momma. I had had the wire/mesh down in front of the nesting box which seemed to make Momma more secure. At night I pulled it down and secured it with bricks so there was no chance of any in or out. Well for the last 2 days I have gotten up to find Momma wandering around the cop and the babies in the box still. She managed to squeeze through a 3 inch or probably even less than that gap at the top of the nesting box side. Our nesting boxes are actually one big box with dividers in. How she managed it I will never know. So this morning I thought fine and took the mesh down as clearly it isn't good to have her running around with the babies trapped. Come tonight and I had gotten hubby to gather them up and put them in the coop (They can't seem to figure out how to get UP the ramp...down is no problem!) Anyway I went to lock the others up and there is Momma with babes underneath in one of the frizzles spots under the roost. There was a kerfuffle and at one point Banty went and got a drink and left the babies sitting there with the frizzle. I grabbed the babies and Mom and put them in the nesting box. No screen and now I am worrying...could she be trying to leave them already? What if she decides she wants to go roost? IF and that is a big hope the other hens leave the babies alone would they be ok without her? I was thinking of grabbing the dog kennel and putting everyone in it in the coop.


Am I being crazy? I am still so very green and don't want to find dead chicks. Am I overreacting? What are everyones thoughts on this?

 

[bumpercarr]

@Sydney Acres and fisherlady ...Thank you so much for your responses!


It has been a little over a week now and the chicks are doing very very well. My problem now is Momma. I had had the wire/mesh down in front of the nesting box which seemed to make Momma more secure. At night I pulled it down and secured it with bricks so there was no chance of any in or out. Well for the last 2 days I have gotten up to find Momma wandering around the cop and the babies in the box still. She managed to squeeze through a 3 inch or probably even less than that gap at the top of the nesting box side. Our nesting boxes are actually one big box with dividers in. How she managed it I will never know. So this morning I thought fine and took the mesh down as clearly it isn't good to have her running around with the babies trapped. Come tonight and I had gotten hubby to gather them up and put them in the coop (They can't seem to figure out how to get UP the ramp...down is no problem!) Anyway I went to lock the others up and there is Momma with babes underneath in one of the frizzles spots under the roost. There was a kerfuffle and at one point Banty went and got a drink and left the babies sitting there with the frizzle. I grabbed the babies and Mom and put them in the nesting box. No screen and now I am worrying...could she be trying to leave them already? What if she decides she wants to go roost? IF and that is a big hope the other hens leave the babies alone would they be ok without her? I was thinking of grabbing the dog kennel and putting everyone in it in the coop.


Am I being crazy? I am still so very green and don't want to find dead chicks. Am I overreacting? What are everyones thoughts on this?

Sounds to me like she is ready to rejoin the flock with her babies. I would put something down on the ground that is able to be secured at night for safety for her and the chicks to sleep in. In my experience, momma will try to convince the chicks to come up the ramp with her and then finally give up and stay down below with the chicks. Most of my chicks were able to figure the ramp out at about 1 week old, but she probably won't abandon them if they can't make it up the ramp.

This is what I would do. After providing a box, dog kennel or something else that can be used as a nest for the momma and babies, I would wait to go out until it is almost completely dark and see where everyone is. I know that that is a scary situation, what if you can't find them, etc. Sometimes, I'll take a chair out and sit a short distance away, but not interfere with the nighttime settling down. Wait and see what happens, but be there so that I can assist if it truly gets dark and nothing is resolved. My broody would frequently wander a short distance from the babies to get a dust bath, eat, even sometimes just to see what everyone else was doing. As soon as one of the babies was in any sort of distress (such as another hen approaching) she'd tear back to them all puffed up ready to do battle. Your hen must trust the frizzle or she wouldn't leave the chicks with her/him. Mine always slept under the coop (4 feet above ground) for the first week with her babies, then would move into the house once they could all get up the ramp (sometimes this could take close to an hour for everyone to figure it out) but slept in one of the nest boxes on the floor of the coop....not in or on roosts or higher nest boxes. Then she would leave them at about 4-6 weeks and they would have to figure out where to sleep until they felt they could join the rest of the flock on the roost (usually on the floor huddled together).

Hope this helps to settle your worries.

 

[fisherlady]

Sounds to me like she is ready to rejoin the flock with her babies. I would put something down on the ground that is able to be secured at night for safety for her and the chicks to sleep in. In my experience, momma will try to convince the chicks to come up the ramp with her and then finally give up and stay down below with the chicks. Most of my chicks were able to figure the ramp out at about 1 week old, but she probably won't abandon them if they can't make it up the ramp.

This is what I would do. After providing a box, dog kennel or something else that can be used as a nest for the momma and babies, I would wait to go out until it is almost completely dark and see where everyone is. I know that that is a scary situation, what if you can't find them, etc. Sometimes, I'll take a chair out and sit a short distance away, but not interfere with the nighttime settling down. Wait and see what happens, but be there so that I can assist if it truly gets dark and nothing is resolved. My broody would frequently wander a short distance from the babies to get a dust bath, eat, even sometimes just to see what everyone else was doing. As soon as one of the babies was in any sort of distress (such as another hen approaching) she'd tear back to them all puffed up ready to do battle. Your hen must trust the frizzle or she wouldn't leave the chicks with her/him. Mine always slept under the coop (4 feet above ground) for the first week with her babies, then would move into the house once they could all get up the ramp (sometimes this could take close to an hour for everyone to figure it out) but slept in one of the nest boxes on the floor of the coop....not in or on roosts or higher nest boxes. Then she would leave them at about 4-6 weeks and they would have to figure out where to sleep until they felt they could join the rest of the flock on the roost (usually on the floor huddled together).

Hope this helps to settle your worries.

This is about identical to our handling of broodies within the flock... it is a scary thing to see, but usually works best to just provide a couple of 'safe spots' for mama hen to choose from and then let her do her thing. If your flock is new to broody chicks then just be very observant of their behavior toward mama and chicks so you can provide interventions as needed. Remember, not every peck at the little ones is a sign of impending doom.... they have to learn their place in the pecking order and when they are within the flock from a young age they begin learning that at a young age. Certainly watch for overly aggressive actions and intervene with that...
Also... the more feeders and waterers you can provide for the flock when you have little ones involved the fewer causes of conflict... I have little food and water dispensers scattered throughout to avoid issues of 'resource guarding'.

 

[halfbakedtulip]

Thank you everyone!!! I checked periodically throughout the night and Momma had stayed in the box with the babies "whew"! This morning was rather hilarious...Babies running everywhere, the frizzles practically standing on top of one another to try and stay away from them so Mom's wrath wouldn't come their way and Dot high on the perch just surveying and not moving. Mom flew up to the perch for a moment or two (I would too haha) I can't believe that chicks are never quiet...or atleast mine aren't. How can you constantly be making sound and still have a "voice" left?

I have always had separate feeding stations as she took them down into the run at 1-2 days old and none was getting near anything!

 

[poodlechicks]

One more chick!

But I could only see its light yellow legs. No feathering, though. I wonder if a cochin cross would always have feathered legs. Today is a cool, rainy day and the chicks are staying under momma. Summer doesn't let me get close, only to wait on her with food and water, of course

I want to leave her alone because there are still eggs under her. Today is day 22, so I am planning on leaving her be till tomorrow afternoon before I check the unhatched eggs.

What is the latest you all have experienced with hatches under a broody?

 

[fisherlady]

One more chick!

But I could only see its light yellow legs. No feathering, though. I wonder if a cochin cross would always have feathered legs. Today is a cool, rainy day and the chicks are staying under momma. Summer doesn't let me get close, only to wait on her with food and water, of course

I want to leave her alone because there are still eggs under her. Today is day 22, so I am planning on leaving her be till tomorrow afternoon before I check the unhatched eggs.

What is the latest you all have experienced with hatches under a broody?

In my case I know the eggs are all set at the same time... so other experiences may vary... but I have found that if any eggs don't hatch within 24 hours of the first out then they aren't going to hatch, or they are weak and don't make it. but again, that is on hatches that are all set at the same time and from the same source.... there are a lot of variables which can change it.