Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

hi everyone, I may have asked this earlier... but now that I actually have chicks am more concerned... my 3 are doing great, is hatch day for my 4th who is in the bator, mom and the other 3 are moving around in their little enclosure,

here's the QUESTION! our regular sized rooster who is fairly new to the coop is just watching all the time inside the little broody pen and i'm just worried due to his size that he might hurt one of the chicks or our little broody cloudy once I let her out (which will probably be next weekend as we just got a really cold spell here). I have friends that will take the roo and keep him for us, any thoughts? I'd rather error on the side of caution as these little guys won't get a second chance if they get stepped on or anything either by this big guy....

There is always a risk of a chick being injured by being stepped on by an adolescent or adult member of the flock... it is just an inherent danger that can't really be avoided as long as chicks are raised around larger birds. The only way to avoid it is to avoid contact between them, but honestly, I have even seen where a broody hen can accidently injure one of her chicks when scratching or dust bathing.... it is an unfortunate reality, but it does happen. The fewer conflicts within your flock the lower the risk of accidental injuries (many are caused when bigger birds are posturing or squabbling and the chick doesn't get out of the way quick enough)

So there is no 'right answer'... you can only determine what level of risk you are willing to take with the chicks.

We have raised almost 30 hatches in our coop this year with broodies, some had a few days of separation right after hatch but all were back into the flock and experiencing true flock life by a week old. We had 3 fatalities which we assumed were accidental 'step ons' out of all of those hatches. To us the risks were something we understood and having the chicks raised in the flock from the first was just the more practical way to handle the broodies.

I will say that I have no roosters who have harmed our chicks and in fact we have been very blessed with roosters who are actually very good baby daddies who will feed the little ones and tolerate their antics with a great amount of patience!

 

[Eviebella]

Thank you! That's really helpful. Can't wait to see what happens

 

[K Epp]

I have a Silkie roo who let's the chicks sleep under him. He acts just like a Mama hen.

I would watch him and see how he acts. It should be pretty clear how he will be the first time you feed them together.

 

[appps]

Quick question. They say not to hatch on a smooth surface in a brooder. Does it matter under a broody hen?

Her nest is on a pice of cardboard and she clears any hay etc off it till it's smooth. Will the short amount of time they are on it after they hatch under her going to matter for spradle leg problems? I've got a bit of carpet I can put there but I don't want to disturb her that much if I don't have to.

 

[702marine]

I hatch on that non slip stuff. The stuff you line a drawer or put under a cutting board or under a rug. I can't put my finger on what it is called right now. The point is so they can keep there legs together when the bones are still really soft. It helps to prevent spay leg.

 

[appps]

I hatch on that non slip stuff. The stuff you line a drawer or put under a cutting board or under a rug. I can't put my finger on what it is called right now. The point is so they can keep there legs together when the bones are still really soft. It helps to prevent spay leg.

Yeah but my problem is she is already on day 17. Do I risk pulling her nest apart to put something in there at this late stage? Going to do our last candle tonight so if it's not going to risk her getting off them I'll do it then.

Or do I wait till they hatch and swap it then?

 

[Manningjw]

Yeah but my problem is she is already on day 17. Do I risk pulling her nest apart to put something in there at this late stage? Going to do our last candle tonight so if it's not going to risk her getting off them I'll do it then.

Or do I wait till they hatch and swap it then?

I personally like using that green AstroTurf in nest boxes and broody boxes, the shavings and straw stay in place quite well and it's easy to pull up and rinse off. If you catch her off of the nest it would be easy enough to swap it out - day 17 is still before "lockdown" in artificial incubation so it should be safe to manipulate the eggs.

 

[appps]

I personally like using that green AstroTurf in nest boxes and broody boxes, the shavings and straw stay in place quite well and it's easy to pull up and rinse off.  If you catch her off of the nest it would be easy enough to swap it out - day 17 is still before "lockdown" in artificial incubation so it should be safe to manipulate the eggs. 

She comes off most mornings so maybe ill slip something in in the morning.

 

[ChickyChickens]

Wh
What do you do with all the chickens and eggs?

Well, I keep all the hens (I replace the new pullets with the older hens, but not always) and with the eggs, I leave them in the nets for the hens to go broody!!!

 

[kabhyper1]

This is Henley....

This is her second brood this year.
She is different each brood and is quite the diva and acts different each brood, so now I have a couple of questions about this time for you all.
For starters, I just placed 8 shipped eggs under a her 4 days ago. I let them settle for about 18 hours before giving them to her. I checked a couple last night, and since they are darker silkie eggs, couldn't see the air cell quite yet, but did see spider veining in them. I have been concerned about air cell issues also since these are shipped eggs. I have hatched successfully with broodies all year with their own eggs. Shipped eggs are a mystery to me.

Secondly, I was curious what you all would do about a broody that refuses to eat dry crumbles, she will eat some wet down, but not much. About the only thing she will eat is scrambled eggs. If I set those in front of her she devours them, but turns her beak up at anything else. How much scrambled eggs is safe? She wont touch yogurt and only tastes other stuff. I have some grit and cracked corn in her dry crumbles to encourage her to eat more, but she just picks out the corn. Grrr! She's a stinker! Her poops have been normal just very loose from the wet foods she has been eating. Have I inadvertently spoiled her? She is kinda thin since she was broody for a week before her eggs got here. So I'm just trying to get her to eat anything at all right now. She also has food and water right under her nose all the time if she gets hungry, so I'm not sure how much she is eating, her crop is small in the mornings from emptying over night, but her poops are dark green with what looks like crumbles specks in it. She eats grass every morning when she goes out to potty so I think the grass may be the culprit to the dark green color. I haven't seen the bright green empty tummy poos so thats comforting I suppose. I hope one of you can lend some insight to this. Thanks!