Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[lwiese58]

Nchls school, that helps me be hopeful. Thanks so much! I always think it's best to try to work with nature and your record seems to prove it.

 

[lwiese58]

Let me try to explain----the Natural way is for a hen to go some distance and lay her some eggs in her personal nest that she does not share, then she sets on them till they hatch----that is the natural way. The problem is "US" we took then from their natural way and penned them up----no way they can do their natural way because they are having to share nesting boxes and deal with other chickens So "we" have to help them to keep from having problems----problems that probably would not happen the natural way. "WE" got to make sure no extra eggs are added to her original set. We do this by marking the eggs and removing fresh layed eggs Daily so she does not have a staggered hatch. A Staggered Hatch is a bad thing and can cause so many problems. What happens when other hens lay eggs in her nest is they get mixed with her original, when there is more eggs than she can cover---eggs get pushed out or cold, she turns them but some of the cold dead eggs probably get pulled to the middle and other good eggs get pushed to the outside and get cold and die. Eggs get broke because of other chickens getting into her nest----it can become a MESS. I for sure would not allow a rooster to share her nest at night(but you can) which can cause more broke eggs or eggs get cold and they die. I personally move ALL my broodies and I have got it down to where out of 67 broody hens last year all 67 were moved, all 67 remained broody, all 67 hatched, and rarely a broke egg and No Problems. When they are in a private hatching pen---it becomes more natural!! Good Luck!

You just made me think of something that I'm now concerned about. She is sitting on 12 eggs. Is that too many? I know I've heard of hens hatching out that many but now it occurs to me that the size of the hen and size of the eggs surely factor into that. I haven't seen any but I also can't see the back of the nest box.

 

[PD-Riverman]

You just made me think of something that I'm now concerned about. She is sitting on 12 eggs. Is that too many? I know I've heard of hens hatching out that many but now it occurs to me that the size of the hen and size of the eggs surely factor into that. I haven't seen any but I also can't see the back of the nest box.

Its according to the size of the hen, size of the eggs and the shape of the nest. If she is covering them, she is probably good, if part of them are sticking out---she might be got a couple to many. You can run your hand behind her and feel---to see if the eggs are covered.

 

[fisherlady]

Fisherlady, thank you for your encouragement! I just looked at your pictures and really enjoyed them! You have so many beautiful birds! And your sweet dogs! Precious photos!

Thank you, we do enjoy the critters and thankfully they are good with each other.

 

[nchls school]

Nchls school, that helps me be hopeful. Thanks so much! I always think it's best to try to work with nature and your record seems to prove it.

You're welcome. Unlike most people that are posting I am able to let my hens nest "the natural way". Each of my bantams has their own nest box in the coop and, so far, I haven't had too much problem with multiple hens using the same box. When the hens go broody I do mark the eggs just in case a fresh egg is laid by another hen. My last hen to go broody is a young pullet 5 months old. After laying a total of ten eggs in the same nest site she went broody.

My flock is small; under 20 birds. Most of my hens are serama and they are very broody minded, with a strong instinct to brood. Many breeds have no instinct at all for going broody and others breeds have a weak instinct and often do a poor job of it. This is probably what that breeder was talking of; overall a person is lucky to have a hen brood and hatch chicks.

I forget the breed you have, but you might want to do some research in see if the breed is known for broodiness.

 

[ameliadanielle]

My Wyandottes are horrible brooders. When I see them being broody I ignore them. They stay on a nest 2 days max, if I move them... they instantly snap out of it. I've heard some people say they are pretty good broodies... but I haven't seen it yet. I have one Buff Orpington that always wants to sit on eggs and I have another that is over a year old and hasn't gone broody once. I've even had a silkie abandon a nest when she was moved to a pen by herself. My one buff orpington is the most reliable broody I have in my very limited experience. I specifically bought the silkies to be my broodies. Lol. Now they're pretty much just pets.

 

[vpatt]

Let me try to explain----the Natural way is for a hen to go some distance from the rest and lay her some eggs in her personal nest that she does not share, then she sets on them till they hatch----that is the natural way. The problem is "US" we took them from their natural way and penned them up----no way they can do their natural way because they are having to share nesting boxes and deal with other chickens So "we" have to help them to keep from having problems----problems that probably would not happen the natural way. "WE" got to make sure no extra eggs are added to her original set. We do this by marking the eggs and removing fresh layed eggs Daily so she does not have a staggered hatch. A Staggered Hatch is a bad thing and can cause so many problems. What happens when other hens lay eggs in her nest is they get mixed with her original, when there is more eggs than she can cover---eggs get pushed out or cold, she turns them but some of the cold dead eggs probably get pulled to the middle and other good eggs get pushed to the outside and get cold and die. Eggs get broke because of other chickens getting into her nest----it can become a MESS. I for sure would not allow a rooster to share her nest at night(but you can) which can cause more broke eggs or eggs get cold and they die. I personally move ALL my broodies and I have got it down to where out of 67 broody hens last year all 67 were moved, all 67 remained broody, all 67 hatched, and rarely a broke egg and No Problems. When they are in a private hatching pen---it becomes more natural!! Good Luck!

I understand what you are saying. I guess for this hen (and she is in a pen) i let her be as natural as possible. She is only with her mate so there are no other hens laying eggs in her nest. Yes, the rooster is with her.......i never considered that he could be causing issues. None of b the eggs have been broken. I definitely have wondered about the the eggs being pushed all around from almost outside the nest back to the middle.

But my free rangers could make a nest any place and i have only had one that ever did that.....a little phoenix. Mostly they go right in a nest box that is used by everyone. I may see if i can make a place just for broodies. Do you have a separate pen for each broody? thanks for the response

 

[fisherlady]

You're welcome. Unlike most people that are posting I am able to let my hens nest "the natural way". Each of my bantams has their own nest box in the coop and, so far, I haven't had too much problem with multiple hens using the same box. When the hens go broody I do mark the eggs just in case a fresh egg is laid by another hen. My last hen to go broody is a young pullet 5 months old. After laying a total of ten eggs in the same nest site she went broody.

My flock is small; under 20 birds.  Most of my hens are serama and they are very broody minded, with a strong instinct to brood. Many breeds have no instinct at all for going broody and others breeds have a weak instinct and often do a poor job of it.  This is probably what that breeder was talking of; overall a person is lucky to have a hen brood and hatch chicks.

I forget the breed you have, but you might want to do some research in see if the breed is known for broodiness.

I do a mix, most of my hens do fine with just picking a box and parking it...we give them marked eggs and pull intruder eggs and she stays there till hatch and we move her and chicks to a quiet area (but still visible to coop) for a couple days before they rejoin coop life.
We have a few others who get moved before getting eggs, they just don't seem to be good at getting back to the right box or they get picked on by other hens.
It comes down to figuring out what works best for your flock or particular hen and adjusting to fit.
It does seem that as a flock gets used to having broodies around it reduces the conflicts...

 

[Catandherchicks]

I do a mix, most of my hens do fine with just picking a box and parking it...we give them marked eggs and pull intruder eggs and she stays there till hatch and we move her and chicks to a quiet area (but still visible to coop) for a couple days before they rejoin coop life.
We have a few others who get moved before getting eggs, they just don't seem to be good at getting back to the right box or they get picked on by other hens.
It comes down to figuring out what works best for your flock or particular hen and adjusting to fit.
It does seem that as a flock gets used to having broodies around it reduces the conflicts...

Thanks, Fisherlady. That is my plan. She's been secluded in the garage/shop and should hatch out the two eggs today or tomorrow. Then after the chicks have spent a couple of days in the makeshift nursery, I'll move them all outside to a new small coop under the porch where the other two hens can see her and the babies and visa-versa - especially since the matron hen attacked the broody so badly at the start when I brought her out for a dust bath etc. Now if the weather would start being a bit more consistent, all will be perfect.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I may see if i can make a place just for broodies. Do you have a separate pen for each broody?

Every one of my Broodies is placed in a private pen. I have around 15 pre-made/private pens to place broodies in. Most people will not need that many but I have had 21 broodies at the same time and I had to add extra broody pens. I was a chick seller so the more the merry. I think the broodies gave me around 500 chicks last season. Your hen/broody seems to have a great set-up now---if the rooster would stay out her nest. Most all broodies will not poop in their nest but I am sure the rooster adds plenty while he is in there. I would just leave her in there and separate him from her or fix it where he can not get to her or her nest. Good Luck