Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[FL Crowing Hen]

My Marans eggs typically pip/hatch 12 - 24 hours after the others. I'd give them the rest of today to see if they will hatch. If they have not pipped by the time you put the foster chicks under the hen then it is probably time to remove them. You can leave them one more night and then take them out in the morning. Just my opinion. If you have a strong flashlight you could try to candle them. If all you can see is an air cell at one end, you'll know they are fully developed. If you can see light in the whole egg or black blobs, you'll know it is time to toss them.

Thanks! I'll wail until tonight and candle one last time.

 

[KrystalRose]

Well, last night was uneventful, this morning after some puzzled looks and a couple pecks, she gave in and they were hers. They were pecking at her eyes and waddles and she was trying to teach them to eat, although they already had that figured out. They know that she is their heat source but a little clumsy at getting under her. So I would say the adoption is successful. YAY!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Well, last night was uneventful, this morning after some puzzled looks and a couple pecks, she gave in and they were hers. They were pecking at her eyes and waddles and she was trying to teach them to eat, although they already had that figured out. They know that she is their heat source but a little clumsy at getting under her. So I would say the adoption is successful. YAY!

Good news...keep checking on them periodically today, and into tomorrow...that is when I have the most wandering...with fosters I don't feel I am over the hump until one week has passed...I've had late failures from the environment stress (simply finding a dead chick under the hen).

Adding some chick saver into the water helps with the transition stress.

And the only time I ever had a hint of coccidiosis was with fosters under a hen...they were not hatched under the hen, so they do not yet have her immunity...and that takes time to develop...and the transition stress can kick in an overload. Watch for any sluggishness or ruffled/rumpled feathers and treat with Sulmet in the water for all of them....unless you have them on medicated feed, which I do recommend doing at least through the next 4 weeks to also help with transition.

Just my experiences.

LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Drat...went out this morning and found the foster chick dead, still warm, in the middle of the nest.

Momma had apparently just left the nest and taken her one OE hatchling to a new corner. She abandoned the 2 unhatched eggs I left her and the dead foster in the middle of those eggs....still limp and very warm. None of the other eggs are hatching...they are starting to semll. I cracked them open and found no formed chicks only yellow slush so it doesn't look like they had formed much at all...apparently my candling on darker eggs needs some improvement (and maybe a new flashlight). I'm pretty sure a couple had started, but apparently quit.

The little California Grey had stayed under her after being replaced back into the nest yesterday after its long escapade...I kept checking throughout the afternoon and evening.
I can only assume it overstressed its system too much, or possibly the fall caused some internal damage, or it succumbed to transition stress. (It was pretty wobbly when replaced).

I had supplemented it with Chick Saver, but had not done any antibiotics. Another poster had discovered through necrospsy that chick death after shipping was almost always caused by bacterial overgrowth in the chick.
Arggggg.

Now what...I have the hardest luck with fosters in cool weather (while my hatchlings always thrive with just momma...and adding a heat lamp is not an option for me...too risky).

So the decision today...do I attempt to place one more? Mom will be transitioning soon to teach the hatchling OE the ways of being a chicken so I have a very narrow window. Weather will be milder in the day (high 50's) but cool at night (mid 30's).

Otherwise the little OE will grow up a one and only...not the best for transitioning into the flock....but my flock may be more laid back since I got rid of some more aggressive hens.

@fisherlady any ideas?

Thanks
LofMc

 

[bumpercarr]

Just thought I would chime in here about when to remove eggs that haven't hatched. Provided that the eggs are intact and are not weeping, seeping or doing any damage to the nest, I leave them until the broody leaves the nest. She KNOWS if something is hatching and won't leave. If she leaves, she KNOWS that they are done (or so far behind that she can't feel/hear any chicks). So, my advice (hard learned by the way, nothing worse than doing an eggtopsy on an egg that was going to hatch the next day) leave the eggs until she leaves the nest. She KNOWS, we don't.

 

[KrystalRose]

Sorry LofMc for all the trouble you are having! I would hate to have a lone chick, if it was me now that you know the other eggs aren't going to hatch maybe get 2 chicks at the store, maybe if they have a buddy though the transition it would help? Plus if one (heaven forbid) dies from the transition again you still would have one left to be your little ones buddy. Hopefully I don't have any problems with my new adoptees, I have them on 1/2 medicated 1/2 organic feed, and I am switching their water from vitamin/electrolyte/probiotic chick additive to apple cider vinegar water every other day. Mom isn't getting off the nest yet, but they are in a large dog crate until they bond enough for me to try them out with the general population, plus it will give their immune systems time to adjust. And the crate is in a room that gets to about 45-50 degrees at night, instead of the 20 degrees we got to last night outside. But again, I am brand new to all of this so I am not speaking from experience, just my 2 cents, whatever that's worth. Of course my way might be wrong too?

Here are some pictures I took this morning:



Gotta love her face in this one! Ahhhh motherhood!

Here are my 7 home brewed chicks today.

 

[ochochicas]

Here are my 7 home brewed chicks today.

You have some seriously cute chicks - especially the light one in the front!

 

[fisherlady]

Drat...went out this morning and found the foster chick dead, still warm, in the middle of the nest.

Momma had apparently just left the nest and taken her one OE hatchling to a new corner. She abandoned the 2 unhatched eggs I left her and the dead foster in the middle of those eggs....still limp and very warm. None of the other eggs are hatching...they are starting to semll. I cracked them open and found no formed chicks only yellow slush so it doesn't look like they had formed much at all...apparently my candling on darker eggs needs some improvement (and maybe a new flashlight). I'm pretty sure a couple had started, but apparently quit.

The little California Grey had stayed under her after being replaced back into the nest yesterday after its long escapade...I kept checking throughout the afternoon and evening.
I can only assume it overstressed its system too much, or possibly the fall caused some internal damage, or it succumbed to transition stress. (It was pretty wobbly when replaced).

I had supplemented it with Chick Saver, but had not done any antibiotics. Another poster had discovered through necrospsy that chick death after shipping was almost always caused by bacterial overgrowth in the chick.
Arggggg.

Now what...I have the hardest luck with fosters in cool weather (while my hatchlings always thrive with just momma...and adding a heat lamp is not an option for me...too risky).

So the decision today...do I attempt to place one more? Mom will be transitioning soon to teach the hatchling OE the ways of being a chicken so I have a very narrow window. Weather will be milder in the day (high 50's) but cool at night (mid 30's).

Otherwise the little OE will grow up a one and only...not the best for transitioning into the flock....but my flock may be more laid back since I got rid of some more aggressive hens.

@fisherlady any ideas?

Thanks
LofMc

Sorry to hear the little one didn't make it.... the stress from it's walkabout may have just been too much. If the queen seems willing to set yet I would get her 2 more and give it a try. We have 2 right now we are brooding separately (a miracle egg and a companion we pulled from one of the hen's clutches) and during the day we put them in with one of the broodies who has chicks near their age and let them socialize. They haven't imprinted on the broody but they do enjoy seeing their 'cousins' even if for only an hour or two a day. I am hoping it will help with integration later on.

 

[fisherlady]

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?

We often have 2 or 3 hens with hatches at the same time and it can work well, sometimes it turns out great, it will depend on the broody's attitudes. What we do is provide each broody with a separate nest area, well away from the other and then we have a common 'scratching' area. The scratching area we normally divide for the first 2 or 3 days so each hen has her own little spot and can teach her chicks her vocalizations. After a couple of days we remove the divider so the hens and chicks can mingle and use the entire area. There are usually a few spats between the broodies when the fence is initially removed, they establish a 'temporary pecking order' since in a way they actually become their own mini-flock, so to speak. Once that is done then they usually are content to roam the scratching area with minimal fuss and each hen tends to return to her own nest with her own little ones for warm ups or sleep time. Some hens cooperate more than others, and some are great at working out a co-brooding schedule and they freely share chick duties and nest areas. When that happens it is awesome, but even the hens who choose to remain a bit more separate will tolerate reduced interactions with the other birds. The hens rarely ever go after the other hen's chicks, it seems that the bad attitudes are reserved for the adult birds, which is good.
Last year we had enough broodies who cooperated that DH and I gave up trying to figure out what chicks belonged to which hens, because the chicks didn't seem to worry and neither did the hens. We would watch on our coop cameras in the evening and see 3 hens each parked in their own separate nest while chicks would roam from nest to nest to visit and get warmed up. The chicks acted like it was neighborhood trick or treat every night and rarely spent more than an hour or two in any particular nest before roaming for a while.

Now with the above being said their is always a cautionary warning.... there are just some hens who will absolutely not tolerate other hens or chicks. If you have a hen who just seems psycho about any other birds being around then you will have to house her in her own space. Hopefully that won't happen, but have a back-up plan in place in case it does.

 

[FL Crowing Hen]

Drat...went out this morning and found the foster chick dead, still warm, in the middle of the nest.

Momma had apparently just left the nest and taken her one OE hatchling to a new corner. She abandoned the 2 unhatched eggs I left her and the dead foster in the middle of those eggs....still limp and very warm. None of the other eggs are hatching...they are starting to semll. I cracked them open and found no formed chicks only yellow slush so it doesn't look like they had formed much at all...apparently my candling on darker eggs needs some improvement (and maybe a new flashlight). I'm pretty sure a couple had started, but apparently quit.

The little California Grey had stayed under her after being replaced back into the nest yesterday after its long escapade...I kept checking throughout the afternoon and evening.
I can only assume it overstressed its system too much, or possibly the fall caused some internal damage, or it succumbed to transition stress. (It was pretty wobbly when replaced).

I had supplemented it with Chick Saver, but had not done any antibiotics. Another poster had discovered through necrospsy that chick death after shipping was almost always caused by bacterial overgrowth in the chick.
Arggggg.

Now what...I have the hardest luck with fosters in cool weather (while my hatchlings always thrive with just momma...and adding a heat lamp is not an option for me...too risky).

So the decision today...do I attempt to place one more? Mom will be transitioning soon to teach the hatchling OE the ways of being a chicken so I have a very narrow window. Weather will be milder in the day (high 50's) but cool at night (mid 30's).

Otherwise the little OE will grow up a one and only...not the best for transitioning into the flock....but my flock may be more laid back since I got rid of some more aggressive hens.

@fisherlady any ideas?

Thanks
LofMc

I'm so sorry to hear the little guy didn't make it. Any way you can get a chick that's less than 48 hour old? Maybe he or she would be more likely to stay under the hen.