Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[aatx]

I've started altering the broody box into a brooder. I removed the side box, added bricks around the nest box, added in shavings and straw...

We're on day 18 now, so I'm trying not to make too many changes at once. I'll add a layer of paper towels, figure out what to use for water, etc. Not sure if I can have both a dish style waterer add nipple waterer there, or if I need to leave out the nipple one for a few days. I have the jar style (quail size) or I can do small dishes with marbles in them...

 

[Lady of McCamley]

My broody hatching adventure continues. Today is day 11. I candled on day 7, and at least 7 of the original 9 looked like they were doing just fine. On the morning of day 8, I went out to the coop, and one of the broodies had moved during the night to another nest with 1 fake egg in it. At some point, during that time, a chicken had eaten 2 of the eggs she was sitting on, so I scopped up the remaining egg, which was chilly but not super cold, and put it under hen #2 (who originally had 6 eggs under her). Later that evening, hen #2 got up for her break, so I went to check the eggs... Low and behold, there were 8 marked eggs under her...

The thing is, she started with 6 under her, and the morning of the broken egg catastrophe, I moved one more under her. She resides on the top row of nesting boxes, so as far as my imagination is concerned, she could not have moved the egg herself. I have no idea how the extra egg got under her, but the good news is that when it's all said and done, I still have 8 of the original 9 eggs.

I am going to candle again soon and pull any clear eggs out. At this point hen #2 is sitting on all 8 of the hatching eggs, and hen #1 is still broody, sitting on 3 fake eggs. I am not going to give her back any of the hatching eggs, as she moves around a little more than hen #2, and other chickens get into her nest to lay. I've been trying to do all of this in the coop.


Soooo, my questions are these: the hen that is sitting reliably right now is a cochin bantam. She's doing a great job, but she is very low in the pecking order. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if she'll be able to protect the chicks. The vast majority of the flock is standard sized, and they don't give the banties any respect. Therefore, I am thinking about moving her into my chicken room in the basement to hatch out and at least begin the raising of the chicks. Does this sound like the best course of action in this banty-mom situation?

Along these same lines, the other hen who has been the shifty broody could most likely be moved to the chicken room as well, and she is dying to be a mom. This is her third time being broody. She's a whirling dervish for sure, and she could easily protect chicks. This makes me wonder if I shouldn't make her a separate little area in the coop with some chicken wire where she could have one nest and some private space to hatch. She could then go about her business as mom once this hatching business is over. Part of me thinks that maybe I should just separate her off, put the eggs under her, and let her raise hatchlings. She would definitely be in a better position to defend the chicks, and I can just tell she wants them so very badly. I feel like letting her hatch out the eggs and raise the chickens as a ferocious mom sounds like the better plan, no?

So those are my plans/thoughts on the current situation. I am also not against picking up a few store chicks to put under a mom, as they are supposed to be arriving right around my hatch day. Maybe I'll move the banty to the basement with a few fosters, and move the viable eggs under the marans out in the coop, just to let my new hatchlings get the natural, mom-raised, outdoor experience...

If anybody has any thoughts on any of this, advice would be welcomed and appreciated. Thanks!

In order of your comments:

1. Why yes, broody hens can move eggs by themselves into all manner of places...they tuck them in their wings. I've not witnessed it yet, but many on this forum have. I've only seen the evidence of eggs not where I thought they ought to be....so she probably had them tucked up in her wings.

2. If you want your bantam Cochin to brood and hatch chicks, I would definitely put her in an isolated nest/hutch/run. I too hatch LF chicks with bantams, who also get NO respect from my LF flock. After several attempts, I have given up trying to communal brood with bantam and LF. It just doesn't work as the LF always bullies the bantam, steals the eggs, or simply makes life miserable for the smaller hen and her chicks. So I have a designated bantam broody hutch where my little girls can hatch in peace.

3. You state your second hen is shifty...she likely needs her own isolated space too so she cannot move from nest to nest. Since she's been a good broody for you before, she might do a good job in the main flock IF she stuck to the same nest...but since she doesn't sound like she is, she too would benefit from a separate isolated nest so that whatever is distracting her is no longer doing that.

Chicken wire is good to use as a separator so the flock can see the chicks grow once they are ready to be running around with mommas. But, I keep the broody nests completely separate and enclosed so mom gets no distractions, disruptions or beak hassles and can tend to her business...that helps with her focus and prevents nest shifting.

My thoughts.
Lady of McCamley

 

[bumpercarr]

I've started altering the broody box into a brooder. I removed the side box, added bricks around the nest box, added in shavings and straw...



We're on day 18 now, so I'm trying not to make too many changes at once. I'll add a layer of paper towels, figure out what to use for water, etc. Not sure if I can have both a dish style waterer add nipple waterer there, or if I need to leave out the nipple one for a few days. I have the jar style (quail size) or I can do small dishes with marbles in them...

I use the quail size jar style and a lid from a mayonnaise jar as the food dish for about the first week. I don't generally put shavings in my brooder, usually just paper towels as it is easier to clean up (just roll and throw away). However, it depends on the broody as sometimes they just shred the paper towel trying to teach the chicks to scratch...I have to put in shavings if that is the case. Good luck!

 

[aatx]

Yes, we'll see how it goes. This is my first time using a broody with chicks. Hopefully these will just be inside for a week or two. Most of that will be determined by when we can get the broody coop moved into position. We missed our chance to move it, it seems. Since we figured out where it needs to go, it's been one icy, soppy mess with more coming in today. At least my numbers will be down. Last year I got in 28 chicks (by mail). Lots of deaths at first, but when I moved them out at 6 weeks old, I still had 17 I was caring for and cleaning up after.

 

[vpatt]

Sorry for posting on the wrong thread about the chicks! I am so clueless sometimes.

 

[Bushmansbliss]

"1. Why yes, broody hens can move eggs by themselves into all manner of places...they tuck them in their wings. I've not witnessed it yet, but many on this forum have. I've only seen the evidence of eggs not where I thought they ought to be....so she probably had them tucked up in her wings."

Something I find interesting and on the same lines as a broody moving eggs. I've got a coop with a few AG hen sisters in it, and they refuse to share the same nesting box for laying. The nesting box is a milk crate that is full of soft material and the eggs get swapped out for golf balls. Every time I go in the coop and there is new eggs laid, they will be separated on the other side of the coop in the corner with 3 or 4 of the golf balls. I always collect the eggs until their ready for setting, and return the gulf balls to the milk crate. So some hens even seem to want to separate their eggs before going broody.

 

[Hayduke27]

I have been trying, for the life of me, to picture a hen tucking eggs under her wings and moving them around. I'll admit, it stretches my imagination, but I have seen the results before my eyes, so I can't deny it happens.

So I tried to move my banty cochin from the coop to the basement yesterday. I cleaned up the chicken room, made a nice new nest, put food and water in there as well as pine chips on the floor. The place was a chicken suite. I moved the momma and eggs into the room, and she wasn't having it. She paced and clucked. She got a drink and ate a little, and paced some more. I put her into the next about 5 times, she wouldn't settle. She would pace on the eggs, and jump up to sit on the side. She absolutely was not going to be left in that chicken room. After about 15 minutes of trying, I moved her and the eggs back out to her old spot in the coop, she settled onto them immediately and hasn't moved since. She is s stubborn little chicken. So she's back in the coop, with all of the hustle and bustle, on the top row of nests, where no babies will be able to get back into a nest...

As I mentioned before, she gets no respect from the flock, and I am wary of leaving her to protect her young. She may surprise me yet, but she's just so little, and most of my chickens are standards.

Is there a chance that once the chicks come, I will be able to move her with the chicks and she'll take to the move better? Even if it means just moving her to the bottom row of nests, she'll have to relinquish that top row nest. It's just no good for babies, despite what her personal feelings are.

Also, I have 8 eggs going, I think that at least 6 are viable still. I was thinking about moving half of them under my broody marans during the last few days of incubation. Would this be ok, or would I be better just picking up a few fosters for her, keeping all the hatching eggs in one clutch?

 

[bumpercarr]

I have been trying, for the life of me, to picture a hen tucking eggs under her wings and moving them around. I'll admit, it stretches my imagination, but I have seen the results before my eyes, so I can't deny it happens.

So I tried to move my banty cochin from the coop to the basement yesterday. I cleaned up the chicken room, made a nice new nest, put food and water in there as well as pine chips on the floor. The place was a chicken suite. I moved the momma and eggs into the room, and she wasn't having it. She paced and clucked. She got a drink and ate a little, and paced some more. I put her into the next about 5 times, she wouldn't settle. She would pace on the eggs, and jump up to sit on the side. She absolutely was not going to be left in that chicken room. After about 15 minutes of trying, I moved her and the eggs back out to her old spot in the coop, she settled onto them immediately and hasn't moved since. She is s stubborn little chicken. So she's back in the coop, with all of the hustle and bustle, on the top row of nests, where no babies will be able to get back into a nest...

As I mentioned before, she gets no respect from the flock, and I am wary of leaving her to protect her young. She may surprise me yet, but she's just so little, and most of my chickens are standards.

Is there a chance that once the chicks come, I will be able to move her with the chicks and she'll take to the move better? Even if it means just moving her to the bottom row of nests, she'll have to relinquish that top row nest. It's just no good for babies, despite what her personal feelings are.

Also, I have 8 eggs going, I think that at least 6 are viable still. I was thinking about moving half of them under my broody marans during the last few days of incubation. Would this be ok, or would I be better just picking up a few fosters for her, keeping all the hatching eggs in one clutch?

I had a silkie mix that before she went broody was at the very bottom of the pecking order. Everyone else was LF and she was not quite a bantam, but pretty small. She also chose a top box for nesting. When the chicks hatched, I kept an eye out for any that might fall out (it also helps to put some sort of short barrier, one that the broody can get over but the chicks can't...I learned that with the second brood) and would put them back in. When the broody decided it was time for her to take them out into the world to teach them to eat and drink, they of course could not get up into the top nest again. She moved herself to a bottom nest. One thing a broody can't handle is listening to her chicks in distress...it makes them be less stubborn about where they prefer to sleep. For the first few days, she kept the chicks away from the rest of the flock. They had enough room that they could avoid each other. By about one week old, the rest of the flock (who were of course very curious) were starting to get closer to her. She'd puff up like a turkey, drop her wings, call her babies. Everyone left her and her babies alone. It never came to a full blown fight over the babies, she managed to scare everyone with her behavior.

As for the second question, I think it is totally up to you whether you move some under the marans or not.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I have been trying, for the life of me, to picture a hen tucking eggs under her wings and moving them around. I'll admit, it stretches my imagination, but I have seen the results before my eyes, so I can't deny it happens.

So I tried to move my banty cochin from the coop to the basement yesterday. I cleaned up the chicken room, made a nice new nest, put food and water in there as well as pine chips on the floor. The place was a chicken suite. I moved the momma and eggs into the room, and she wasn't having it. She paced and clucked. She got a drink and ate a little, and paced some more. I put her into the next about 5 times, she wouldn't settle. She would pace on the eggs, and jump up to sit on the side. She absolutely was not going to be left in that chicken room. After about 15 minutes of trying, I moved her and the eggs back out to her old spot in the coop, she settled onto them immediately and hasn't moved since. She is s stubborn little chicken. So she's back in the coop, with all of the hustle and bustle, on the top row of nests, where no babies will be able to get back into a nest...

As I mentioned before, she gets no respect from the flock, and I am wary of leaving her to protect her young. She may surprise me yet, but she's just so little, and most of my chickens are standards.

Is there a chance that once the chicks come, I will be able to move her with the chicks and she'll take to the move better? Even if it means just moving her to the bottom row of nests, she'll have to relinquish that top row nest. It's just no good for babies, despite what her personal feelings are.

Also, I have 8 eggs going, I think that at least 6 are viable still. I was thinking about moving half of them under my broody marans during the last few days of incubation. Would this be ok, or would I be better just picking up a few fosters for her, keeping all the hatching eggs in one clutch?

Many hens bond to their original nesting site and will not be moved. Did you try at night? That is generally the best time to attempt a move with a broody hen. Many will accept a move at night that won't during the day...some will just never move.

So, plan B....you let them brood where they decide to brood and try to subdivide them out with a fence or pen or even little screen to keep other hen's from pushing her out of the nest if that is an issue, otherwise just let her set in that top nest. Watch for hatch day. She'll be in lock down so you could screen her in so the new chicks can't fall out while the hatching lasts (typically up to 48 hours if all eggs set at the same time). You'll need to offer food and water by hand, but most hens don't get up those last 2 days as they are in lock down. After hatch, tThen it is very easy to move mom and chicks....momma will move with them to wherever you want. She would likely have set up shop on the floor after the hatching is over and moved her chicks voluntarily...but of course not in a location you preferred.

As to the Marans, I would let her hatch the eggs as that is generally the safest choice. You could put some chicks under her, but some moms are better at accepting fosters than others especially if they haven't been in a brood for long and are still in the setting eggs mode rather than chick mode (I can't remember how long the Marans has been in a brood). With my experienced hens I find they need to be setting for 2 weeks to really be bonded enough to get early chicks. Fisherlady has a really good post a bit back on this thread or the Broody Hen thread that discusses the different phases a hen goes through during the brood, and some hens need to have hatched at least 1 chick, having felt the hatching phase...ie they feel eggs moving to hatch... before the will settle with chicks under them, otherwise having something moving underneath them can be alarming.

However, some hens are natural mothers who just accept anything any time...all depends on the hen.

My thoughts
LofMc

 

[Hayduke27]

Thanks for the replies!

As for the bantam cochin, she's set firmly in her nest (which I put curtains over) and there has not been any issue with other hens trying to take her spot. I was going to move her because the nest was on the top row, so I figured a ground level nest would be better. The new place was warm, and the temps here are still cold (below 0 last night). Also, I was just thinking ahead and wondering about if she'd be able to defend chicks. She has space, as most of the flock is out free ranging during the day, and the action in the coop is just the laying hens and one other little D'Uccle who never goes outside during winter. The coop is dry and generally warmer than the outside temp, especially when the sun is shining in the windows. I'll just let the cochin do her thing, and if any issues arise, I'll have the backup area already in place. I will certainly figure out a small chick barrier for that top nest before they hatch. Hatch day is the 13th.

As for the marans, she has been sitting for about 4 weeks now. This is her third time being broody, though she has never hatched chicks. Last summer she sat for 8 weeks before she gave up. She wants desperately to be a mom, and that's why one way or the other I want to give her some chicks. She's not done it before, so I can't say if she's a good mom, but I want to give her a chance. I did read fisherlady's post about the hen broody phases, and I have thought a lot about it. Because the marans has been sitting for 4 weeks, it seems like she'd be primed for fostering. Then again, there have been no eggs moving or peeping, so perhaps the sudden appearance of chicks would be too much for her. I'll have to decide which route to take. If I decide to move some eggs under her, I want to do it as late as possible, because the cochin is just sitting better at this point. Should I want until lock down if I am going to slip a few eggs under her?

Thanks again for all the advice!