Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[goldie1234]

I have 2 broodies on day 4. Wish them luck!

 

[emmie325]

Good luck

 

[nchls school]

I have 2 broodies on day 4. Wish them luck!

Good luck and good luck to me also. A shipment of eggs should be here any minute.

 

[gardenfarm]

ı ཞɛąƖƖყ ɧơ℘ɛ ɱყ ɛɠɠʂ ɧąɬƈɧ ųŋɖɛཞ ɱყ ƈɧıƈƙɛŋ. ı ƈąŋɖƖɛʂ ɬɧɛɱ ąŋɖ ɬɧɛყ ąɖɖ ɖơıŋɠ ʂơ ῳɛƖƖ!! GOOᗪ ᒪᑌᑕK GᑌYᔕ!
αи∂ ιѕ ιт вα∂ тσ кєєρ ¢нє¢кιиg σи му єggѕ υи∂єя му нєи?
T͟͟H͟͟A͟͟N͟͟K͟͟Y͟͟O͟͟U͟͟

 

[Amiti]

Im sooooo jealous! I wish a hen would go broody! I got a game pullet because they are supposed to be broody but she is too young yet AND she was attacked two nights ago and may not make it. Ive tried leaving eggs in the nest and marking them so i can take out eggs after 3 days but they still wont go broody!!! Maybe i need a cochin... Lol

 

[fisherlady]

ı ཞɛąƖƖყ ɧơ℘ɛ ɱყ ɛɠɠʂ ɧąɬƈɧ ųŋɖɛཞ ɱყ ƈɧıƈƙɛŋ. ı ƈąŋɖƖɛʂ ɬɧɛɱ ąŋɖ ɬɧɛყ ąɖɖ ɖơıŋɠ ʂơ ῳɛƖƖ!! GOOᗪ ᒪᑌᑕK GᑌYᔕ!
αи∂ ιѕ ιт вα∂ тσ кєєρ ¢нє¢кιиg σи му єggѕ υи∂єя му нєи?
T͟͟H͟͟A͟͟N͟͟K͟͟Y͟͟O͟͟U͟͟

Typically I candle once around day 10, this allows me to pull clear eggs or obvious quitters to reduce crowding in the nest and reduce chances of a bad egg exploding under the hen and contaminating the nest.
Some folks will candle once, some do twice and others may do 3 or more. I just don't find it necessary and I prefer to not disturb the broody that often. If all the eggs were collected fresh and placed at the same time then some folks don't bother to candle at all. Just let the hen do her job.
Try to figure out if she is normally off of the nest at the same time each day for her feed and water break, when she is up you can look at the eggs without disturbing her. I don't pick the eggs up during these spot checks....I just use them to see if there are any new eggs in the nest to remove and if any eggs have been damaged.

 

[nchls school]

Im sooooo jealous! I wish a hen would go broody! I got a game pullet because they are supposed to be broody but she is too young yet AND she was attacked two nights ago and may not make it. Ive tried leaving eggs in the nest and marking them so i can take out eggs after 3 days but they still wont go broody!!! Maybe i need a cochin... Lol

What breed do you have. Not all breeds go broody or are poor brooders.

 

[lorelei71221]

Getting nervous. Eggs are due to hatch Friday, but I will be out of town for work Thursday through Saturday, so I will miss the hatch! Any suggestions on what I should do to prepare?

There are just two remaining eggs and three broody mamas (two are sitting on golf balls in the nest box adjacent to the real mama). The next boxes are a couple feet high, with a ramp down. There is a little bit of space where I can put chick feed and water next to the next box, but I'm worried the chicks will fall. Also don't know what to do about the other broodies.

Option 1 is to leave everyone where they are, put some feed and water near the nest, and block off the edge so the only way out of the nesting area is by the ramp. Then mama can decide if/when they should leave the nest. And just pray the other broodies don't peck at the chicks and that mama will protect them. Ideally, I'd love to see some co-mothering action to snap the other broodies out of it. Or, I could lock the other broodies into their nest box, since they don't seem inclined to leave anyway, until I get home and can assess the situation.

Other option is to move mama and the eggs into a pet carrier on the other side of the run, but I'm worried this will stress her out, and make it more likely that the other hens won't accept the chicks.

I also don't want the chicks in the run until I can vaccinate them for Mareks, which I plan to do the second I get home.

Any advice?

 

[Joanmcm]

Three of our hens have gone broody. One was sectioned off. The other two are on one nest in the group section.

Feel free to direct me elsewhere if anyone else has the below situations. This is the first time I have raised chicks with broody hens.

The sectioned off hen had 4 chicks hatch a week ago. Hen continued to sit on eggs and took care of chicks so water and food were provided and small cleanups in the coop. Other then that we left her alone.

When I checked this morning ... we check daily...a 5th chick appears to have hatched and died sometime early today. The hen was off the next and did not return. Another egg appears to have attempted to hatch but the eggs are now cold. My thought is she is done with any more sitting and I took the eggs away. The latest chicks would be a week younger then the four she hatched. Hen is continueing to take care of her four chicks...just appears to have lost interest in the eggs.

In the main section are the two hens duking it out for the same next. Most of the time each is sitting on half the eggs. Sometimes one or the other is sitting on the nest. I want to move the nest to the segregated area (chicken wire door) when hen number 1 is ready to join the flock. When should that be? Move both hens or just the hen that was initially on the nest.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I got a game pullet because they are supposed to be broody but she is too young yet AND she was attacked two nights ago and may not make it. Ive tried leaving eggs in the nest and marking them so i can take out eggs after 3 days but they still wont go broody!!! Maybe i need a cochin... Lol

Well I hope your game heals quick. The old English game like I got are Setting Machines/ great mothers. I have cut my flock of them down to 6 adults hens--1 rooster-----out of those 6 one is acting like she is going broody soon, one is setting on eggs, 3 has had chicks in the last month. I rarely let them hatch their own eggs----they hatch other breeds for me.