Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Sylviaanne]

If you can see the cage next to her and the red crate in it, there is a Fawn Indian Runner duck in it. We didn't expect her eggs to start hatching until the 5th to the 7th. We found one little ducky under our Salmon Favorolle. LOL

When we pushed mama duck out of the way, there was a freshly hatched little ducky. I haven't checked today to see if more have hatched but she had 9 eggs and there were only 6 eggs and the 2 little duckies last night. I wonder what happened to the other egg.

 

[calichicken]

That's trickier. When they hatch you can try and see if she will raise them by slipping them under her in the evening and checking to see what happens, but with the week olds already there she may reject the day olds. I guess it will come down to whether the week olds are troubled by the day olds and whether she wants to momma anything that cheeps. I've had broodies take over chicks from other broodies, usually it's a silky who will take over the mothering.

Right now I have three girls with chicks. Two of the girls have 3 weeks olds (silky and Maran) and one has 4 week olds (RIR). I've noticed that the silky and her chicks stay pretty much by themselves, but on occasion the little OE will mingle with the EE and WL chicks. But the Maran and RIR often mingle their chicks. The Maran is the one who doesn't mind the older chicks with her younger ones. The RIR tolerates it because she's lower on the pecking order then the Maran. None of the younger chicks has minded the older ones with them.

So I guess I'm saying it's a risk, but you could try it.

I have another question

How long should I give my broody sitting on the 2 remaining eggs before I remove them to the bator and make her get up from the nest with her new chick? I am still giving the other egg a chance to hatch in case this one was the wrong date too(when I candled they looked about the same point in development) and she hasn't abandoned it so thinking it is still living. I am just worried if these eggs due date is truly next weekend then she will stay on it because it is still alive???

This is my first broody hatch and having eggs with different hatch dates was not in the plan

 

[bobbieschicks]

If you can see the cage next to her and the red crate in it, there is a Fawn Indian Runner duck in it. We didn't expect her eggs to start hatching until the 5th to the 7th. We found one little ducky under our Salmon Favorolle. LOL When we pushed mama duck out of the way, there was a freshly hatched little ducky. I haven't checked today to see if more have hatched but she had 9 eggs and there were only 6 eggs and the 2 little duckies last night. I wonder what happened to the other egg.

Did you say one ducky was under your SF? How cute! Wonder how the ducky got from under the duck to under the chicken. congrats on the new ducky.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I have another question  How long should I give my broody sitting on the 2 remaining eggs before I remove them to the bator and make her get up from the nest with her new chick? I am still giving the other egg a chance to hatch in case this one was the wrong date too(when I candled they looked about the same point in development) and she hasn't abandoned it so thinking it is still living. I am just worried if these eggs due date is truly next weekend then she will stay on it because it is still alive???

This is my first broody hatch and having eggs with different hatch dates was not in the plan

Usually the broody will leave the nest on day two after the last chick has hatched. So figure that date and then expect her to leave the nest by that day.

 

[calichicken]

Usually the broody will leave the nest on day two after the last chick has hatched. So figure that date and then expect her to leave the nest by that day.

OK..thanks! That would be today so watching to see what happens

 

[ShaylaFox]

I have a flock at my house which is made up of four golden sex link hens, who are breed to lay eggs, and not go broody. Along with one golden sex link rooster, and 5 pullets. I knew the hens would not set on the eggs so I bought an incubator. The first hatch was amazing, but the second was BAD.... 14 out of 33 hatched. None of my chicks die if they hatch out of the egg. My sister has chickens at her grandma's, her chickens are mostly pets. Don't get me wrong I love all of my hens, but I expect them to lay eggs or they will go to the crook pot. Her hens are broody, they have cochin and other breeds in them. SOOO I traded one of my chicks for a broody hen. The hen they traded with me is cochin/and some asian breed. She does not lay every day like my hens, her eggs are VERY small and white. I thought she just needed time to get comfortable. But I have noticed that she HATES my rooster. Mama San (the hen) will run away from him like her life depends on it. He usually does not chase her down often. I know he does breed with her though, I eat her eggs and sell my golden sex link hen's eggs, I see the blastoderm when my dad cooks them. She is not a dominate hen so i first put her in with my pullets who where at that time separated from the older hens her back was torn up. Mama San did not have ONE tiny little feather on her back. I bought her a back protecter and the feathers have already begun to grow back. She bonded with the pullets. She became there mother and stays with them now that they are turned out with the other hens. The two groups stay away from each other, they are allowed to free range. She has hatched out eggs before, so i know she has the instinct and is old enough. I leave three fake eggs in every one of my nest boxes (snake problems) I was hoping that would trigger her, but it didn't. I have had her for about 3 weeks now. She is eating and drinking fine. Its a cool summer here so the weather is perfect. She even roosts near the pullets. The woman i got the 4 hens and the rooster from clipped the wings because she kept them in a pen. The roost lets Mama San and her adopted pullets to get way from the other hens and sleep peacefully. The other hens cant fly very high, and dont like to roost up on the stand.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I have a flock at my house which is made up of four golden sex link hens, who are breed to lay eggs, and not go broody. Along with one golden sex link rooster, and 5 pullets. I knew the hens would not set on the eggs so I bought an incubator. The first hatch was amazing, but the second was BAD.... 14 out of 33 hatched. None of my chicks die if they hatch out of the egg. My sister has chickens at her grandma's, her chickens are mostly pets. Don't get me wrong I love all of my hens, but I expect them to lay eggs or they will go to the crook pot. Her hens are broody, they have cochin and other breeds in them. SOOO I traded one of my chicks for a broody hen. The hen they traded with me is cochin/and some asian breed. She does not lay every day like my hens, her eggs are VERY small and white. I thought she just needed time to get comfortable. But I have noticed that she HATES my rooster. Mama San (the hen) will run away from him like her life depends on it. He usually does not chase her down often. I know he does breed with her though, I eat her eggs and sell my golden sex link hen's eggs, I see the blastoderm when my dad cooks them. She is not a dominate hen so i first put her in with my pullets who where at that time separated from the older hens her back was torn up. Mama San did not have ONE tiny little feather on her back. I bought her a back protecter and the feathers have already begun to grow back. She bonded with the pullets. She became there mother and stays with them now that they are turned out with the other hens. The two groups stay away from each other, they are allowed to free range. She has hatched out eggs before, so i know she has the instinct and is old enough. I leave three fake eggs in every one of my nest boxes (snake problems) I was hoping that would trigger her, but it didn't. I have had her for about 3 weeks now. She is eating and drinking fine. Its a cool summer here so the weather is perfect. She even roosts near the pullets. The woman i got the 4 hens and the rooster from clipped the wings because she kept them in a pen. The roost lets Mama San and her adopted pullets to get way from the other hens and sleep peacefully. The other hens cant fly very high, and dont like to roost up on the stand. 

I've had broody girls who would go broody immediately after they finished their last clutch. They would hatch the chicks, raise them to four weeks, leave them on the floor in a huddle and move to the roost, start laying shortly and within a couple of eggs be back to broody. I've had other broodies who went broody once and then waited months before going again. Each broody is different, but sounds like you have a good chance for her to go broody again.

 

[ShaylaFox]

That makes a lot of since, I have never had a broody hen. Even with the years of chickens I have ever had. I just never got a breed that was broody. I just thought that she would go broody all the time.

 

[bobbieschicks]

That makes a lot of since, I have never had a broody hen. Even with the years of chickens I have ever had. I just never got a breed that was broody. I just thought that she would go broody all the time. 

Keep leaving fake eggs laying around in the nests and she will go broody in no time. Better yet decide you don't need any more chicks and you will definitely find her and two other hens broody, oh wait, that was what happened to me.

 

[bobbieschicks]

OK..thanks! That would be today so watching to see what happens

Anything happen?