Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Kaylish]

Im new at this! I have a broody Chocolate Orpie, she is sitting on 7 eggs...3 Spangled & 4 Blue Splash Orpie eggs...I am going to build a screened in area around her because she is very cozy where she is.
Babies due Easter Sunday...Wish me luck♡

Congrats! and Good Luck!

Since she is due to hatch on Easter you should join the Easter Hatch-A-Long! https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/949763/the-6th-annual-byc-easter-hatch-a-long

 

[Angie16hearts]

I'm curious if this is normal for a broody mom.
Peppers chicks are 6+ weeks. She has laid a egg for 4 days in a row. She still walks with them. Once in awhile she will leave them for about 10 minutes. I'm hoping I have a good broody in my hands. Thanks in advance!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm curious if this is normal for a broody mom.
Peppers chicks are 6+ weeks. She has laid a egg for 4 days in a row. She still walks with them. Once in awhile she will leave them for about 10 minutes. I'm hoping I have a good broody in my hands. Thanks in advance!

Some hens continue to mother until the "chicks" are bigger than they are...my first Silkie was very much that way.

Most hens fledge around 6 to 8 weeks, so if she does, she has been a good mother.

Others simply have a hard time cutting those apron strings and will mother the old batch until they set for the next and then dote on the new batch. Those are typically very attentive mothers and are very good broodies. Count your blessings if you have one of those.

LofMc

 

[vpatt]

I'm curious if this is normal for a broody mom.
Peppers chicks are 6+ weeks. She has laid a egg for 4 days in a row. She still walks with them. Once in awhile she will leave them for about 10 minutes. I'm hoping I have a good broody in my hands. Thanks in advance!

With my second hatch the broody did this. The first hatch the broody stayed with her chicks a couple of weeks longer and did not resume laying eggs quite as quickly. Those are my only two experiences so far. LofMc and others on this thread will give great advice. I am hoping to become more experienced. Good luck.

 

[FL Crowing Hen]

I have a 2 year old Golden Sexlink hen that refused to come out from under our shed on Sunday night. I suspected that she was broody, but the next morning, my husband was able to coax her out. She spent the day ranging with the rest of the flock and went to roost in the coop with them Monday night. Then last night I went out to check on the chickens, and she was sitting in a nest box on some golf balls. OK, maybe she is broody after all. So I moved her to another nest and gave her 7 fertile eggs. As far as I can tell she hasn’t sat on them at all. She lays next to them or stands next to them, but that’s it. Is she really broody? Is there anything that I can do to encourage her? I’ve only had her a few weeks, so I don’t know if she’s ever done this before.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

Firstly, sex links are not usually a broody hen, but that's not to say it's not possible or it doesn't happen.
Secondly, it is unlikely if you have only had her a short while that she would feel settled and secure enough to become broody.
Thirdly, there is a lot more to being broody than lying/hiding in inaccessible places or nest boxes.

I think it may be more likely that she is hiding because she is not feeling comfortable and secure in the hen house or on the roost.
Could it be that your other hens are intimidating or bullying her? Are the hen house and roosts spacious enough to accommodate all the hens in your flock, bearing in mind that they need several square feet each of floor space and at least a foot of roost bar length per bird?
Did you get her as a single hen or did you get several together? It is difficult for a single hen to integrate into an established flock and she may be distancing herself because she feels intimidated even if the other hens are not showing aggression towards her.
Could she be ill? Hens usually stand on their own or hide if they are poorly. When was the last time she laid an egg? Could she be egg bound?

I think you have perhaps been a little optimistic giving her fertile eggs at such an early stage. Even with a proven broody, most people give them a couple of days of exhibiting broody behaviour before they give them eggs they want to incubate. Generally that is sitting tight on the nest day and night... with maybe 30 mins once a day of eating, drinking, doing a massive poop and maybe a quick dust bath before returning to nest. Sometimes they will pluck their breast feathers out to ensure their body heat transfers to the eggs. They often run about making a rhythmic clucking noise like they are counting the seconds until they get back to the nest.... my mother referred to it as "clocking". Sometimes, when they first come off the nest, they are like a whirling dervish crazy chicken.... it's like..."Get out of the way.... big mamma coming through and don't get in my way, cos I haven't got time to get distracted"! ,Often, they will growl if you or other hens approach the nest. They flatten down in the nest, so it is a bit different to a hen that is just in there to lay an egg.

Anyway, I hope my post has given you some food for thought as to what is going on with your hen and I hope you manage to figure it out soon.

Regards

Barbara

 

[FL Crowing Hen]

Hi

Firstly, sex links are not usually a broody hen, but that's not to say it's not possible or it doesn't happen.
Secondly, it is unlikely if you have only had her a short while that she would feel settled and secure enough to become broody.
Thirdly, there is a lot more to being broody than lying/hiding in inaccessible places or nest boxes.

I think it may be more likely that she is hiding because she is not feeling comfortable and secure in the hen house or on the roost.
Could it be that your other hens are intimidating or bullying her? Are the hen house and roosts spacious enough to accommodate all the hens in your flock, bearing in mind that they need several square feet each of floor space and at least a foot of roost bar length per bird?
Did you get her as a single hen or did you get several together? It is difficult for a single hen to integrate into an established flock and she may be distancing herself because she feels intimidated even if the other hens are not showing aggression towards her.
Could she be ill? Hens usually stand on their own or hide if they are poorly. When was the last time she laid an egg? Could she be egg bound?

I think you have perhaps been a little optimistic giving her fertile eggs at such an early stage. Even with a proven broody, most people give them a couple of days of exhibiting broody behaviour before they give them eggs they want to incubate. Generally that is sitting tight on the nest day and night... with maybe 30 mins once a day of eating, drinking, doing a massive poop and maybe a quick dust bath before returning to nest. Sometimes they will pluck their breast feathers out to ensure their body heat transfers to the eggs. They often run about making a rhythmic clucking noise like they are counting the seconds until they get back to the nest.... my mother referred to it as "clocking". Sometimes, when they first come off the nest, they are like a whirling dervish crazy chicken.... it's like..."Get out of the way.... big mamma coming through and don't get in my way, cos I haven't got time to get distracted"! ,Often, they will growl if you or other hens approach the nest. They flatten down in the nest, so it is a bit different to a hen that is just in there to lay an egg.

Anyway, I hope my post has given you some food for thought as to what is going on with your hen and I hope you manage to figure it out soon.

Regards

Barbara

Thanks so much Barbara.

I realize that sexlinks are not known for being broody, but I was optimistic. I think you are right, she is probably still settling in and not quite comfortable. Although, they free range, and my run and coop have more than enough space for my flock, she tends to either stay by herself or with the other 3 hens that she came with.

I don’t think she’s ill, maybe just a little unsettled in her new environment. Unless she’s laid an egg somewhere that I haven’t discovered, she has not laid an egg yet, since I’ve had her. I don’t think she’s egg bound either, but I will inspect her more closely.

I've only had one broody hen before, so I was hoping to have another one. Guess I'll just have to be patient.

Thanks again!

Ivy

 

[KrystalRose]

My EE mom just laid an egg today, her chicks are only like 3 1/2 weeks old right now. She still is being a doting mother to the chicks, no change in behavior. But is this the beginning of the end of her "mothering" this current brood of chicks?

 

[Bombadil]

Had a blast yesterday when I saw these babies under my black sex link/ silkie cross Samantha. Gave her some chick starter and she immediately began showing the peeps how to be little chickens. They're all bantam cochin cross chicks of Samantha and her sister. Just farm yard mutts, but I couldn't be more excited.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Had a blast yesterday when I saw these babies under my black sex link/ silkie cross Samantha. Gave her some chick starter and she immediately began showing the peeps how to be little chickens. They're all bantam cochin cross chicks of Samantha and her sister. Just farm yard mutts, but I couldn't be more excited.

j
Congratulations on your new brood...they look very content and adorable.

I love my barnyard mixes. They are my most interesting hens...colorful and good layers.

Welcome to BYC too! and to the Old Fashioned Broody Thread

LofMc