Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

My daughter's been asking for a silkie for a while now. I just don't care for the fuzzy, hidden face & feel it would not do well here. I've seen some pretty mixes, but with a mix, you never know how it's going to turn out. Oh well. Maybe some day I'll give in.

This year I allowed DD to finally get a Dominique. Then because only one hatched, we had to pair it up with one of our broody's chicks. Now we have the 2 BFFs (a Dom & a Sebright) I technically never agreed to keep the Sebright, so her name is Trouble, & the Dom is Bubbles. DD argues that the tiny Sebright is so small, she shouldn't count in our numbers. Up until recently, we've only had the docile, x-large breeds. Our bantam orp, Cookie, (who's kind of large for a bantam & has been on this forum many times before) was our only bantam. I'm discovering that the little chickens have A LOT of personality. See pics below. They make me laugh when they mirror each other.

Is either breed known to go broody? One frequently broody hen in our flock is plenty. LOL

They are quite a pair. Although I adore the cuteness and striking patterns on the sebright I have never investigated them in depth to know their broodiness. I believe brooding is still a Dominique trait but how strong the urge is depends on the family line of your birds. With them being so close I wouldn't be surprised if they brooded together, or maybe did like one of my hens (Brownie)...she was never broody to set on eggs but when her buddy did she ended up having a 'nanny brood mode'. She quit laying eggs and went into full mommy mode for 8 weeks with the chicks. In fact when the original hen quit with the chicks at around 6 weeks Brownie stayed with them for another 2+ weeks.

 

[sktlmt]

I found a hen in the nest box with the broody. She had stepped on an egg and cracked it. When I found them they had just finished eating it. The broody is now in a dog crate in the garage. Now she keeps moving her nest around. I put in a cardboard box as a nesting box and she freaked out. How can I get her back on her eggs?

I have a hen that likes to hide her clutches. I usually find her around day 10 and she needs to be moved. This time I cut one flap off a cardboard box and affixed it to the top filled it with shavings. I placed her entire clutch into the box and placed her in the box. She was not overly thrilled with this. She hopped off. I put her back in and covered the opening with a piece of cardboard with 2 inch holes in it. Took a little while for her to settle down. It took a couple days and then the cover could be removed. She is happily hatching her eggs today...All 17

This is the third time this year that I had to move her. The first time the eggs were left uncovered overnight and were stone cold when I found them. This batch ended up in the incubator and 17 of the 19 hatched. Do not give up hope. 2nd and 3rd clutch were successfully moved.

 

[sktlmt]

Chicks hatching started at 2:30 am and 10:30 pm 13 are out 4 more to go. This is the first 6.

 

[horselover1999]

I have a hen that likes to hide her clutches. I usually find her around day 10 and she needs to be moved. This time I cut one flap off a cardboard box and affixed it to the top filled it with shavings. I placed her entire clutch into the box and placed her in the box. She was not overly thrilled with this. She hopped off. I put her back in and covered the opening with a piece of cardboard with 2 inch holes in it. Took a little while for her to settle down. It took a couple days and then the cover could be removed.  She is happily hatching her eggs today...All 17

This is the third time this year that I had to move her. The first time the eggs were left uncovered overnight and were stone cold when I found them. This batch ended up in the incubator and 17 of the 19 hatched. Do not give up hope.  2nd and 3rd clutch were successfully moved.

She first went broody in the nest box so I knew she was there. I tried moving her earlier but my dad said no. I made them let me move her when they ate the egg. That was the third egg the others had cracked. She has been moving her nest around in the dog crate so I put in a cardboard box. At first she rejected it but yesterday she was in it all the time. We just had an ice storm the night before last and the garage is freezing. I am so happy she is on the eggs!

 

[Faraday40]

When I have moved a hen & eggs, I do it at night. I quickly move the eggs into the new nest (cardboard box)& place the hen on top. Then I cover the new broody cage with a blanket or towel to make it very dark. I keep the blanket over the cage for the entire next day & remove it at dark after 24 hrs. That way when the sun comes up the following morning, she's already been in the new cage & sitting on her eggs for more than 24 hrs. By then she's less likely to abandon the clutch. I also only do it when my hen is truly broody. There's the grouchy broody call when you mess with her nest (light broody) then there's the intense broody scream whenever you open the door to the coop, 8 ft away from her nest. When my hen is in the strong broody stage, she will try to incubate anything, steal eggs, or even sit on "invisible eggs."

 

[horselover1999]

Whenever she freaks out we turn off all of the garage lights and she calms down really fast.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

Hi all, tonight is day 3 for my broody Silkie. Found her Thanksgiving night setting on eggs. The next morning a second Silkie started toying with the idea herself. She's being wishy washy but if she decides to stay put, I will give her a couple of the other hens eggs to brood. Really wish they wouldn't have chosen cold weather to decide to set, silly birds.

 

[cupofJoelene]

Posting to subscribe.

Im looking forward to my first real broody! I already have my eggs picked out that I plan on giving her.

 

[horselover1999]

My broody is on day 15. I know she will go broody again soon so I just gave her the eggs I collected the day before. I did this to test her motherliness and to test the rooster. I have had to throw out 6 eggs so far. 3 were cracked, 2 were culled on day eight, and 1 mysteriously disappeared (probably my dad.) The last one that cracked was eaten by the broody and the hen who stepped on it. I only have 2 eggs left.

 

[Faraday40]

My broody is on day 15. I know she will go broody again soon so I just gave her the eggs I collected the day before. I did this to test her motherliness and to test the rooster. I have had to throw out 6 eggs so far. 3 were cracked, 2 were culled on day eight, and 1 mysteriously disappeared (probably my dad.) The last one that cracked was eaten by the broody and the hen who stepped on it. I only have 2 eggs left.

A smart plan. You must be glad you didn't give her expensive eggs!

I once had a broody do a missing egg trick. I counted & recounted several times. I couldn't figure out what happened. The next day, the egg mysteriously showed up again. I had marked the eggs, so I know new ones were never added. I was told the broody may have tucked it under a wing, but I swear I never saw anything unusual about her. Perhaps you have a "magic broody" too.

Good luck on the remaining eggs.