Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Faraday40]

and then there were 3

AWWWWW! Those chicks look so sweet. Your set up looks fantastic to me. In the spring my broody did fine when our night temps dropped to 25-35'F (but daytime temps went back up to 35-45'F). I never had to add heat, but I did have to chip ice 2-3 mornings. The chicks would dash out & then back under mama. I personally never had chicks in the roughest part of winter, but a few people in our area have. The temps dipped to -40'F at night during a polar vortex, & their broody hen was still able to hatch some eggs.

 

[tjo804]

Ok so I am adding too much human emotion to this whole deal I think. I have been known to do that

Sigh!! I just tonight was irritated with myself and blessed by God All at the same time. Seems another chick hatched while I was out there tonight. She re positioned and I snapped a picture real quickly but I cannot tell what is going on under her if its hatched eggs broken eggs or still waiting eggs. Man oh boy did I mess this up for her.


Here is the new one

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Ok so I am adding too much human emotion to this whole deal I think. I have been known to do that

Sigh!! I just tonight was irritated with myself and blessed by God All at the same time. Seems another chick hatched while I was out there tonight. She re positioned and I snapped a picture real quickly but I cannot tell what is going on under her if its hatched eggs broken eggs or still waiting eggs. Man oh boy did I mess this up for her.


Here is the new one

You didn't mess anything up...you've got 3 healthy chicks out of 5 (?) eggs? I think I see 3 spent shells and 2 unhatched eggs in your photo....it is not uncommon in cold weather to have about 60% hatch rate, sometimes closer to 50% as the temps sometimes keep the outside eggs from getting warmth. Average for me is about 50 to 75% hatch rate depending on brooding hen and season. Some eggs may not have been fertile. Some embryos die in the shell due to internal issues, nothing to do with brooding. Some chicks die in shell during hatch as they can't adjust to breathing air or some other structural issue...often an unclosed umbilical cord that gets infected if the chick is tardy after pipping to zip and hatch. So much can go wrong, and right with each hatch.

My chicks stay under momma for a full 2 days, especially in cold weather. You will hardly see the little babes for the first 3 or 4 days, sometimes up to a week, as momma keeps them well covered. After that, the babies are running around in their little down jackets in the cold, tucking under momma's warming hutch for quick warm ups. They will grow hardy and thrive in spite of sub freezing temps as long as they are out of wet (direct rain, snow, puddling water). If you look at my BCM hatch below, that was in the dead of winter, and cold, cold December or January (forgot which) that had sub freezing temps and wind chill with heavy wind, snow, freezing rain in the single digits and sub digits all day for 2 weeks. Momma kept them snug as a bug in the broody hutch. It was 3 weeks before they could go into their run as the snow had to melt down enough so they wouldn't get lost in it....and the little babies grew and grew and matured early and laid early (except for the roo which I sold).

So, yeah, it is totally counter-intuitive after you've artificially brooded and worked so hard to keep that lamp at the perfect 96 degrees, then carefully lowered it each week until they slowly feathered in, then slowly acclimated to the ambient temperature. But momma does just fine in the cold weather without a heat lamp. She is their heat source. Just supply fresh water and good chick food for momma and babies. Chick Saver in the water is a good treat for momma as she begins to rebuild her stamina. Chick food is high in protein, which she needs to rebuild her muscle mass. Cracked corn, in limited quantities, helps her rebuild fat (but you don't want the babies eating too much as they won't eat their dinner after the candy corn). Momma will also likely molt (nature's way of cleaning momma up after the long stinky brooding process).

Silkies are awesome mommas and brooders...it is really hard to mess anything up with a Silkie. They are the Rock of Gibraltar when it comes to brooding and mothering, almost without exception.

LofMc

 

[tjo804]

Thank you that is encouraging.
I am excited to see what she does with them. I have brooded 3 batches in my bathtub and it might be nice to use the tub while I have chicks this time

It wont get to freezing temps here much but DH says the little cedar prefab wont do much to keep the cold out.

I really like this pic just look at the chicks legs

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you that is encouraging.
I am excited to see what she does with them. I have brooded 3 batches in my bathtub and it might be nice to use the tub while I have chicks this time

It wont get to freezing temps here much but DH says the little cedar prefab wont do much to keep the cold out.

I really like this pic just look at the chicks legs

All very cute pics indeed.

Don't worry about the cold. Chickens in Alaska do fine. It is cold and wet they cannot do well in. If they are dry and draft free (they look so in your photos), they will be fine.

LofMc

ETA: BTW...once you let a good broody do the work, you will find it very hard to go back to the mess and hassle of artificial brooding.

 

[tjo804]

Thanks again Miss Lady

 

[fisherlady]

All very cute pics indeed.

Don't worry about the cold. Chickens in Alaska do fine. It is cold and wet they cannot do well in. If they are dry and draft free (they look so in your photos), they will be fine.

LofMc

ETA: BTW...once you let a good broody do the work, you will find it very hard to go back to the mess and hassle of artificial brooding.

X2!!
Very true!

 

[tjo804]

Any advice or opinions Please?
Ok the Broodie Chick thing is very cool and all, But now I have to go out and freeze to see them

I really don't like being cold.
It is staying around 50 deg in the brooder coop even though there is lots of wind and cold outside. I added a layer of insulation half way up the coop and closed off half of the top space so there is still a gap for air exchange but less since heat rises.

Also I have been told I have a really bad nose. But I think it is gettin a bit smelly. Dont know if it is bad eggs or poo since she is not getting up. Not sure if I should bite the bullet and just take the eggs and shells from Mama If I candle and they are alive I can put them under the other broody I have and if they hatch return the chicks to Babybear.

I also moved the food dish so she would have to get up if she gets hungry again I think the chicks can reach it if they move a bit past Ma.
I could be wrong but I think this is taking too long for her. Her comb is looking a little drier than I think It should.

 

[Beyond Yonder]

I bought this chicken gazebo to break my broody hens and it worked very well. Now I want to use it to let my hen have her chicks and hatch them. I know the chicks can fit through the wire at first and I guess I put her a nest in there. I'm worried about her staying outside her covered run at night. Any ideas?

 

[generaldsherman]

I bought this chicken gazebo to break my broody hens and it worked very well. Now I want to use it to let my hen have her chicks and hatch them. I know the chicks can fit through the wire at first and I guess I put her a nest in there. I'm worried about her staying outside her covered run at night. Any ideas?

Use som redneck wire and attach some hardware cloth to the bottom and put a nice, enclosed nesting box in it