Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Lady of McCamley]

HELP!  ok, so quick background.... my broody of forever (poor girl has been broody for like 3 months) went on strike 5 days prior to hatch....  I hatched out 10 nice little fuzzy chicks, who are now in my brooder in the house.  I had another hen just go broody today....  (chicks hatched yesterday).  it is FREEZING in my coop, and outside, was -22 this morning....  can I move this broody inside somehow???  have read other threads where they moved her at night??? this broody has hatched successfully for me before and been a great mom (one sitting now).  or do I have to bring chicks to the coop and set up heat there somehow??  I'm just worried is too darn cold.... is to warm up tomorrow (to the teens) and sunday to the mid 20's....  would really like to get these guys to a broody, and since this little hen is so nice was thinking of trying to move her in the house tonight in the dark putting her with chicks (had read another thread where this worked...)  ideas anyone???

thanks!

If you really want these chicks hen brooded, since you have not attempted this with any of your hens to know what thdy will do, I would bring your faithful hen into a cooler area of the house and attempt to graft the new hatches there or if safe (I have burned a coop down this way) set up a heat lamp in your coop area.

Watch very closely as your hen has not been broody very long and that often determines how ready she is to foster...some hens need to brood for a couple of weeks before they are deep enough to foster; others will foster anything at the drop of a hat from the first day. Some need fosters added at night, others claim them eagerly in broad daylight.

Since it is cold weather I would recommend the heat lamp be available so the chicks have warmth to run to if they are not grafting well at first or if momma is not keen to the idea of fostering right off...compliant but not vigilantly calling wayward chicks to get under her (remove if she is aggressive). Momma should be able to avoid the heat lamp as she will get too warm being an outdoor bird.

If you are lucky, this faithful hen will scoop them under her wings and glare at you. You can then turn the heat lamp off after you are certain all is well for a day or two.

Normally I would just take chicks to the hen outdoors but I personally have had trouble with feed store chicks (ie heat lamp brooded) not grafting well at first and I have had losses in cold weather fosters vs warm weather fosters as the chicks that take time to learn to graft will huddle by the hen and not beneath her (even if she is welcoming) and several succumbed to the cold.

I also noticed a difference in my Silkies mothering style with quick fosters vs chicks she got after several weeks of sitting...she still cared for them but wasn't as fiercely protective.

Good news is you are working with day old chicks which is within the grafting window...it gets harder after 8 days and nearly impossible after 2 weeks.

Just my experiences and thoughts.
Lady of McCamley

 

[KV Silkies]

@Lady of McCamley thank you so much! I will be giving this a try and let you know how it goes, no internet access through the weekend so will post monday.... stay tuned!!! gonna attempt tonight in the cover of dark and hope my little silkie will enjoy grafting... she was pretty fiesty growling at me this morning while she brooded so fingers crossed....

 

[fisherlady]

I agree with Lady of McCamley, it is very possible to do, but it totally hinges on the hen's mentality. Many hens are tricky about fostering... it isn't their fault, and it doesn't make them bad broodies, it is just a hormonal thing, this seems more pronounced when the hen is a newer broody (only one or two hatches). I have found my more experienced broodies seem much less phased by odd things

Remember that the natural progression of brooding is (from my observations)

a). Pre broody.... the hen's hormones are starting to act up, they tend to be vocal and grumpy, mine often walk around emitting a low 'clook, clook, clook' noise for a few days during this phase. This is also the time they start hogging a nest box during the day and gathering eggs when they can. They often still roost at night during this early phase, so it is easy to miss if you aren't around them for extended periods during this time. I have come to recognize these as an early warning sign.

b) Setting broody... the hen has committed to setting full time on the nest now, her hormones have fully kicked in and she wants eggs no matter what! She may still take in extras she can find so it is up to us to prevent that during the setting period. While setting she will instinctually turn the eggs multiple times a day and shuffle their position in the nest to what she feels is the best benefit to the eggs. During this time she will only leave the nest one or maybe two times a day (if even that often) during which time she will be the whirling dervish queen of speed scratching, dusting and drinking.

c) Hatching broody.... it seems that the last few days of a normal clutch the hen senses the increase in movement of the chicks in the egg and you will often hear her softly purring and clucking to the chicks. This period seems to help prepare her for the sudden appearance of the newly hatched chicks. Although a broody can't count the number of days she has been setting she does recognize the changes in the vibe from the eggs as hatch nears.

d) Mama broody.... usually this kicks in on day 2 after the hatch (give or take 24 hours) At this time the hen decides it is time to leave the nest and care for all of the little ones which are out and about. She will often give up on late eggs, sometimes even viable ones, because the instinct is to care for the already hatched, not hope for more. I re-purpose an old phrase to explain this..... 'a chick in the open is worth 2 in the shell' Some folks don't understand the importance to general survival that this is... and it is also the reason that staggered hatches are so dangerous to the hatching process.

I have encountered problems when messing with the normal progression of brooding, but the problems can be minimized and/or avoided when you understand that they are possible to begin with.

a) hens can't count days, but their hormone levels evidently do fluctuate and some hens just don't do well with being suddenly presented with chicks when they have only been in 'setting' mode for a short period. I had a hen who had been a great broody before when I gave her a group of eggs which were due to hatch only 10 days into her brood. She just didn't transit to hatch mode and the first two eggs which hatched she suffocated because she just was sitting too tight.... she just wasn't understanding that hatch time had kicked in. We removed the remaining eggs and gave them to another broody and we replaced them with fresh eggs to this hen. She happily sat on them for the 3 weeks and hatched 6/6 and was an awesome mama to them. Her failure to short hatch didn't mean she was a bad broody, her hormones just didn't adjust in time. I now normally wouldn't short hatch a hen with less than 2 weeks of brood time to avoid the possible problem.

b). some hens are great fosters but others can seem very confused when chicks suddenly appear without the 'hatch mode' preparation time. These hens aren't bad broodies, they just need a bit of time to transition to mama mode. These situations need very close monitoring to help lost chicks get back under the broody and also sometimes some chick protection, a confused hen may peck at a chick and hurt or scare it during introduction. Simply cupping the chick under your hand and sliding it under broody without her even seeing it or having the chance to peck at it can drastically reduce stress to both broody and chick. Broody will hopefully begin getting into the mama mode with just hearing the chick under her for the first 12-24 hours.

c) mixed foster method. This is my preferred and I have done well with it. A hen who has recently hatched (within past 2 days) will usually readily accept more chicks with very little fuss. Her natural hatchers have already helped her transition through the hatching mode to mama mode and hens can't count, so more chicks just appearing with her own seems to be pretty simply and acceptable to her. The only risk is if the new ones are a different color. Some hens do seem to show preference to their own if they are old enough that she was out of the nest with them. Some hens may reject an odd colored chick. So watch for that risk. If mama has 6 yellow fluff balls and you try sneaking in a black australorp chick she may object.

Now remember that these stages and situations are just some general observations in my coop, and their are exceptions to every rule... I have a hen who will have nothing to do with chicks which aren't hers (a rarity in our coop, but she is a character) and I have a couple of hens who will adopt anything that cheeps, even if it is a much older chick.... some hens will adopt chicks at the drop of a hat when they haven't even been broody or only broody for a short time. We are totally at the mercy of the hen's personality on this.

. Our faithful Janeway, with her own chicks (maybe a week old) and a group of almost 5 week olds she decided still needed a mama when their own broody went back up on the roost (see the little white head poking out from under her right side? that is one of the older group). Janeway kept that older group with her until her own were 6 weeks old, in fact, the older chicks abandoned her more so than the other way around, I think she would have kept them longer yet, even though they were nearly as big as her by the time they were 10 weeks old!

 

[aatx]

We built an additional brooder and moved it into the chicken room. I was able to move Dahlia and her nest into it without disturbing her. Hers are due to hatch in week.

 

[KV Silkies]

I agree with Lady of McCamley, it is very possible to do, but it totally hinges on the hen's mentality. Many hens are tricky about fostering... it isn't their fault, and it doesn't make them bad broodies, it is just a hormonal thing, this seems more pronounced when the hen is a newer broody (only one or two hatches). I have found my more experienced broodies seem much less phased by odd things

Remember that the natural progression of brooding is (from my observations)

a). Pre broody.... the hen's hormones are starting to act up, they tend to be vocal and grumpy, mine often walk around emitting a low 'clook, clook, clook' noise for a few days during this phase. This is also the time they start hogging a nest box during the day and gathering eggs when they can. They often still roost at night during this early phase, so it is easy to miss if you aren't around them for extended periods during this time. I have come to recognize these as an early warning sign.

b) Setting broody... the hen has committed to setting full time on the nest now, her hormones have fully kicked in and she wants eggs no matter what! She may still take in extras she can find so it is up to us to prevent that during the setting period. While setting she will instinctually turn the eggs multiple times a day and shuffle their position in the nest to what she feels is the best benefit to the eggs. During this time she will only leave the nest one or maybe two times a day (if even that often) during which time she will be the whirling dervish queen of speed scratching, dusting and drinking.

c) Hatching broody.... it seems that the last few days of a normal clutch the hen senses the increase in movement of the chicks in the egg and you will often hear her softly purring and clucking to the chicks. This period seems to help prepare her for the sudden appearance of the newly hatched chicks. Although a broody can't count the number of days she has been setting she does recognize the changes in the vibe from the eggs as hatch nears.

d) Mama broody.... usually this kicks in on day 2 after the hatch (give or take 24 hours) At this time the hen decides it is time to leave the nest and care for all of the little ones which are out and about. She will often give up on late eggs, sometimes even viable ones, because the instinct is to care for the already hatched, not hope for more. I re-purpose an old phrase to explain this..... 'a chick in the open is worth 2 in the shell' Some folks don't understand the importance to general survival that this is... and it is also the reason that staggered hatches are so dangerous to the hatching process.

I have encountered problems when messing with the normal progression of brooding, but the problems can be minimized and/or avoided when you understand that they are possible to begin with.

a) hens can't count days, but their hormone levels evidently do fluctuate and some hens just don't do well with being suddenly presented with chicks when they have only been in 'setting' mode for a short period. I had a hen who had been a great broody before when I gave her a group of eggs which were due to hatch only 10 days into her brood. She just didn't transit to hatch mode and the first two eggs which hatched she suffocated because she just was sitting too tight.... she just wasn't understanding that hatch time had kicked in. We removed the remaining eggs and gave them to another broody and we replaced them with fresh eggs to this hen. She happily sat on them for the 3 weeks and hatched 6/6 and was an awesome mama to them. Her failure to short hatch didn't mean she was a bad broody, her hormones just didn't adjust in time. I now normally wouldn't short hatch a hen with less than 2 weeks of brood time to avoid the possible problem.

b). some hens are great fosters but others can seem very confused when chicks suddenly appear without the 'hatch mode' preparation time. These hens aren't bad broodies, they just need a bit of time to transition to mama mode. These situations need very close monitoring to help lost chicks get back under the broody and also sometimes some chick protection, a confused hen may peck at a chick and hurt or scare it during introduction. Simply cupping the chick under your hand and sliding it under broody without her even seeing it or having the chance to peck at it can drastically reduce stress to both broody and chick. Broody will hopefully begin getting into the mama mode with just hearing the chick under her for the first 12-24 hours.

c) mixed foster method. This is my preferred and I have done well with it. A hen who has recently hatched (within past 2 days) will usually readily accept more chicks with very little fuss. Her natural hatchers have already helped her transition through the hatching mode to mama mode and hens can't count, so more chicks just appearing with her own seems to be pretty simply and acceptable to her. The only risk is if the new ones are a different color. Some hens do seem to show preference to their own if they are old enough that she was out of the nest with them. Some hens may reject an odd colored chick. So watch for that risk. If mama has 6 yellow fluff balls and you try sneaking in a black australorp chick she may object.

Now remember that these stages and situations are just some general observations in my coop, and their are exceptions to every rule... I have a hen who will have nothing to do with chicks which aren't hers (a rarity in our coop, but she is a character) and I have a couple of hens who will adopt anything that cheeps, even if it is a much older chick.... some hens will adopt chicks at the drop of a hat when they haven't even been broody or only broody for a short time. We are totally at the mercy of the hen's personality on this.

. Our faithful Janeway, with her own chicks (maybe a week old) and a group of almost 5 week olds she decided still needed a mama when their own broody went back up on the roost (see the little white head poking out from under her right side? that is one of the older group). Janeway kept that older group with her until her own were 6 weeks old, in fact, the older chicks abandoned her more so than the other way around, I think she would have kept them longer yet, even though they were nearly as big as her by the time they were 10 weeks old!

Thank you for the information!!! am taking note of everything, hoping for the best, worst case scenario they will just be in the brooder by themselves and I will not use my broody, gonna give it a shot though. will keep everyone posted monday! thanks again!!!

 

[Hayduke27]

That is very good info, thanks for that post fisherlady! I have a question that sort of builds on the foster mom discussion. I have 2 hens that are sitting on 9 eggs total, all 9 are due to hatch on the same day in approximately 2 weeks. I am letting the hens hatch from the nests in the coop, though I will probably build a little "chick corral" once they hatch to give the moms and chicks some private space. This is where my question comes in. I am going to have a number of chicks of the same age and 2 momma hens, and was planning on having them all in the same area. Will this work? Will one of the moms steal all of the chicks? Should I be prepared to have separate areas for each mom?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Well...the Isbar eggs and the last OE egg have no signs...day 22....sigh. I candled the Isbar eggs, and one looks full, and I *think* I felt something in it, pretty sure a peck...the other one was less full, the third one pretty sure is a dud. DIdn't bother with the OE as it is so dark.

Well...only one chick hatched, a penguin OE...and very healthy...still in total snuggle mode...and mom is still sitting tight...now what to do....I am hoping the one Isbar will hatch by tomorrow, but am not overly hopeful. Bummer.

So I've got a very tight window...I plan to put a call into my favorite feed store today to see what they've got by way of very young chicks and if nothing is showing by tomorrow morning, try to sneak in a foster tomorrow am.

I had noticed the Isbar seemed slower in development than textbook charts. I may put them in an incubator to see if they are simply just very slow. I have read some breeders have had problems with Isbar failed hatches. Hmmmmm.

News tomorrow.

Lady of McCamley

 

[kristin07035]

My last broody hatch hatched on days 23 & 24...I'd leave them and wait another few days

Well...the Isbar eggs and the last OE egg have no signs...day 22....sigh.  I candled the Isbar eggs, and one looks full, and I *think* I felt something in it, pretty sure a peck...the other one was less full, the third one pretty sure is a dud.  DIdn't bother with the OE as it is so dark.

Well...only one chick hatched, a penguin OE...and very healthy...still in total snuggle mode...and mom is still sitting tight...now what to do....I am hoping the one Isbar will hatch by tomorrow, but am not overly hopeful.  Bummer.

So I've got a very tight window...I plan to put a call into my favorite feed store today to see what they've got by way of very young chicks and if nothing is showing by tomorrow morning, try to sneak in a foster tomorrow am.

I had noticed the Isbar seemed slower in development than textbook charts. I may put them in an incubator to see if they are simply just very slow. I have read some breeders have had problems with Isbar failed hatches. Hmmmmm.

News tomorrow.

Lady of McCamley

 

[KrystalRose]

Aw Crap! Darn that chicken math! So I made the mistake of going to the local feed store to get some pasture fertilizer, and left with 3 chicks. So now I have to figure out where to put them. Right now they are in a large tote all warm and cozy under a heat lamp. I tried to put them with my broody mama that has chicks the same age of less than a week but even with me being sneaky and waiting until it was dark and throwing them under her and whatnot like I have read to do. She figured out that she had intruders in her midst. A couple hours later after she did fine for a while. I found the new chicks in a corner staying away from her because she was trying to pick at them, in a way that made me worry she would hurt them and she obviously wanted them gone. So that option is out.

Thankfully I still have 2 options left: I can keep them on their own. Or I have another broody hen that has been brooding as long as my mama hen, she has ripped out all her chest feathers, and when I get her down everyday to go eat scratch with the others she lays there on the ground like she is ****** that I picked her off the nest. She is a Buff Orpington and so I am thinking that she may be the perfect adoptive mother. I have her sitting on some fake eggs right now. So this is uncharted territory for me so please let me know if I am on the right track or not.

I am going to put her in the crate and cover it so it is dark, and let her sit in there for tonight and through until tomorrow night. Tomorrow night I am thinking of sneaking the chicks under her and seeing what she does. My question is, since my coop is cold at night (getting around 25-30 degrees at night) do I put a heat lamp above the crate for the first night or so? Or will that ruin them wanting to be under mama? Or should I not put the crate in the coop, and put it somewhere warmer at first? This crate is a wire one all the way around, not solid anywhere and is made for an XL dog so it is good size, and I would put a blanket, or wood or something over it to keep it darker and keep the other hens from roosting on top. Any advice on grafting chicks to a hen are welcome!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

My last broody hatch hatched on days 23 & 24...I'd leave them and wait another few days

I am leaving for now but am also getting 1 foster to slip in tonight as feed store just got them in today. Hopefully the one Isbar will hatch tonight but doubtful.

Unfortunately I am on end of day 23 now...mistyped 22...day 21 was wednesday and 1st chick hatched then fluffed by thursday morning....so foster timing is tight as I need mom sitting tight with cool weather.

She should handle 1 foster with 1 chick sitting tight 1 more day.