Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[CanuckWinter]

Most of my chickens are still juveniles, but I do have an adult barred rock who may start a fight. But I think she is more upset with momma starting to walk around the coop. I don't know if a pecking order has been established between them yet. But I have to move the hen to actually see the chicks, they are always beneath her. and my momma hen is a force to be reckoned with

 

[sjturner79]

Yes she is , but I am hoping to put her and the chicks once hatched in a modified large dog crate. We will see how that goes. My chickens are not tame like others on here.

Unless your broody is the bottom of the pecking order or your coop is really small it is better to leave them in the coop if that's where they hatched the babies, as it prevents trouble when you no longer want them seperate.

 

[2 Russo Chicks]

I just went down to check again, no babies. She has 16 eggs and she had them so covered up I can't see anything

, she probably feels like i am a stalker, lol!

 

[A2Kzoo2]

Yes she is , but I am hoping to put her and the chicks once hatched in a modified large dog crate. We will see how that goes. My chickens are not tame like others on here.

Unless your broody is the bottom of the pecking order or your coop is really small it is better to leave them in the coop if that's where they hatched the babies, as it prevents trouble when you no longer want them seperate.

I like to move them into a nursery tractor coop as soon as mom goes broody and I give her eggs. And keep them in there until the chicks are 8-10 weeks old. At that age I move them back into the main flock, which works great because they are big enough to run away from any older chickens who may pick on them, but young enough not to be much of a threat so they don't really get picked on much. All moves are at night.

 

[2 Russo Chicks]

Next time I will do it differently, we shall see if anything hatches. I could not candle them at all so not sure if they are viable.

 

[Faraday40]

I've had sucess doing it both ways.

1.
Once broody is sitting strong, I moved her & the eggs into a large dog carrier in my garage. I set up a cardboard box nest in back & hung a waterer & feeder. I did it at night & covered the whole 2'x3.5' dog cage with a blanket to keep it dark throughout the following day. The 2nd night I removed the blanket so by the time the sun came up the next morning, she'd be already settled & adjusted. It was a risk but worked well. When the chicks were a few days old, I moved the whole dog crate into the run. The rest of the flock could get used to the new additions w/o pecking them. When they were almost a week old, I opened the door & helped guide mama hen & chicks to a play yard in the grass. (Again it was an area protected from predators & the flock.) By the time they were 2 weeks old, I just opened & closed the doors. Mama did the work of walking them back & forth. About 3 weeks old, I left access to both open & mama began free ranging with her chicks, but they ran to cover when a hawk flew by. Mama had a few battles to re-establish pecking order, but for the most part, none wanted to mess with the hormonal hen.

Here's one time we had 2 broodies at the same time, but you can see the set up.


Here's a mama walking her chicks back to the cage inside the run


Here's the play yard I used as a chicken playpen. I tied a piece of foam board to the top to give shade & overhead protection.
Now I have a basic chicken wire tractor to use for this purpose.




2.
For our tiny bantam, I was afraid of her losing status within the flock, so I left her in the coop. I put up a little netting to keep the big hens from kicking her off the nest &/or adding more eggs. Water & feed were within neck's reach. Each day when I did my chicken chores, I opened up the mesh to allow a potty break. Before going back inside the house, I made sure the hen was on the nest & put the mesh back up. When chicks hatched, I moved them into a rabbit cage inside the run. (smaller than my huge dog crate) The routine from then on was the same as above. I prefer leaving the broody in the coop because it seems easier - one less cage to clean. The biggest concern is making sure the hen goes back to the correct nest. Don't worry too much about moving them after they the eggs hatch. By then mama is bonded with the chicks & will not abandon them.



Here's the rabbit cage I found to use as a chick nursery inside the coop


Sorry for writing a novel, but I hope it helps give you some ideas.

 

[h2oratt]

I've had sucess doing it both ways. 1. Once broody is sitting strong, I moved her & the eggs into a large dog carrier in my garage. I set up a cardboard box nest in back & hung a waterer & feeder. I did it at night & covered the whole 2'x3.5' dog cage with a blanket to keep it dark throughout the following day. The 2nd night I removed the blanket so by the time the sun came up the next morning, she'd be already settled & adjusted. It was a risk but worked well. When the chicks were a few days old, I moved the whole dog crate into the run. The rest of the flock could get used to the new additions w/o pecking them. When they were almost a week old, I opened the door & helped guide mama hen & chicks to a play yard in the grass. (Again it was an area protected from predators & the flock.) By the time they were 2 weeks old, I just opened & closed the doors. Mama did the work of walking them back & forth. About 3 weeks old, I left access to both open & mama began free ranging with her chicks, but they ran to cover when a hawk flew by. Mama had a few battles to re-establish pecking order, but for the most part, none wanted to mess with the hormonal hen. Here's one time we had 2 broodies at the same time, but you can see the set up. [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] Here's a mama walking her chicks back to the cage inside the run Here's the play yard I used as a chicken playpen. I tied a piece of foam board to the top to give shade & overhead protection. Now I have a basic chicken wire tractor to use for this purpose. [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] 2. For our tiny bantam, I was afraid of her losing status within the flock, so I left her in the coop. I put up a little netting to keep the big hens from kicking her off the nest &/or adding more eggs. Water & feed were within neck's reach. Each day when I did my chicken chores, I opened up the mesh to allow a potty break. Before going back inside the house, I made sure the hen was on the nest & put the mesh back up. When chicks hatched, I moved them into a rabbit cage inside the run. (smaller than my huge dog crate) The routine from then on was the same as above. I prefer leaving the broody in the coop because it seems easier - one less cage to clean. The biggest concern is making sure the hen goes back to the correct nest. Don't worry too much about moving them after they the eggs hatch. By then mama is bonded with the chicks & will not abandon them. [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] Here's the rabbit cage I found to use as a chick nursery inside the coop [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] Sorry for writing a novel, but I hope it helps give you some ideas.

How did you make your hanging waterer and feeder?

 

[2 Russo Chicks]

Awesome! Thank you for the information. Hubby says to just leave them alone "they will be fine, they're just chickens". I want rhem to be safe and have a fighting chance, and they are not just chickens to me.

 

[Faraday40]

I just pulled out some containers from my recycle bin. I also have several assorted clips to easily hang them.

Drill 1-4 holes in a bottle & screw in chicken nipples. Use scrap wire to hang it. Make sure the cap has a few tiny holes (or leave cap off) for the nipples to work.
You can use anything from a single serve pop bottle for a single hen to a huge 5 gal bucket. So easy & cheap to make, I have several throughout the yard during the summer.

Note: In winter I use a 5gal bucket with horiz nipples & a submersible heater inside. Keeps the water liquid even during those -20'F days.






Find a flat sided container & use a PVC elbow to make a feeder. Larger size diameter & kitty litter bucket for adult feeders

Chick feeder

 

[A2Kzoo2]

My broody- mobiles:

The one my buff orpington is in has a door that can be opened to let the chicks eventually free range and is lighter (used 2x3's instead of 2x4's).I'm going to make some adjustments to the heavier one eventually (wheels so that when you tilt it to drag it moves easier and a door for free ranging). When we had a dry spell in June, you wouldn't believe how green the grass was where this coop had been. Everything else was browning out.