Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Molpet]

Chicks got their 1st grass time today. One broody was put in the chicken tractor & the other into a play yard. They were side by side & the rest of the flock surrounded their enclosures. I later tried to put both hens in the tractor. (It's 4'x8') They fought, so I quickly separated them again. It was interesting to see that when the mamas called, their chicks separated & ran to their adopted moms.

So I learned that these two hens will probably never be co-broodies. I also have learned that several hens seem to enjoy being "aunts." When a chick slipped outside the cage, an Orpington (who's never been broody) kept her warm.

I put the chicks & mamas back into their cages for the night. When I did my final check, I caught Cookie feeding her chick. So cute watching as it ate the feed stuck to her beak!

My broodie (who was top hen) refuses to stay in her 4x8 section of a hoop coop. She kept pacing until I let her and the brood out at 3 days old. They are 11 days old now and all over the place. She doesn't mind the roo and the 3 other BJG hens, but if any of the others come by they are run off. Of course they slip through the chainlink and 2x4 wire, but they have gone back to her... Just worry if they get into the section I have the jakes locked in. I would need 300' of small fencing to keep the chicks contained, so I pray a lot

 

[Faraday40]

Trouble (our sebright) had chicks in the spring. Because she's a bantam, she can easily fly over the fence & her chicks could fit through the chain link Whenever I saw them visiting the neighbors' I just called them back home.




Eventually, the chicks got too big to go through the fence & the problem stopped.
Here she is with her 7 wk old chicks.


I'm guessing she'll do the same this time around, but the hawks are very bad this time of year. I'm nervous about letting them free range.

 

[fisherlady]

Trouble (our sebright) had chicks in the spring. Because she's a bantam, she can easily fly over the fence & her chicks could fit through the chain link Whenever I saw them visiting the neighbors' I just called them back home. Eventually, the chicks got too big to go through the fence & the problem stopped. Here she is with her 7 wk old chicks. I'm guessing she'll do the same this time around, but the hawks are very bad this time of year. I'm nervous about letting them free range.

They made a beautiful family! I can understand you concern with the increased hawk activity...maybe just restrict her time to times you can be out to watch...

 

[stryker]

They made a beautiful family!

I can understand you concern with the increased hawk activity...maybe just restrict her time to times you can be out to watch...

I had a hawk just sitting on the roof of the chicken coop. It was wanting some food really bad but some reason it did not kill any chickens. I ended up walking up to it about 20 feet away before it flew away.

 

[Faraday40]

I ended up placing a screen inside the chicken tractor to separate the broodies. Both are good moms in diff ways, but I couldn't allow them to beat each other up. Now I only have one tractor to set up each morning & it gives both families safe access to grass daily.


I really enjoy the round, black, shiny look of the Orpingtons


The chicks can slide through the sides to visit the other chicks, but as soon as their adopted mama calls, they part like the Red Sea & go running back home.

The rest of the flock spends a lot of time surrounding the tractor to see the chicks. Once when it was on uneven ground, a chick slipped under the side. One of the "aunts" (who has never been broody) covered & protected the tiny chick until I noticed & put it back inside. Here is "Aunt Bielefelder" checking out the new babies.


Here are some close ups I took.








The last chick is one of my SpitzhaubenXOrps.Looks black inside & brown in sunlight. I hope it gets a crest

 

[fisherlady]

I ended up placing a screen inside the chicken tractor to separate the broodies. Both are good moms in diff ways, but I couldn't allow them to beat each other up. Now I only have one tractor to set up each morning & it gives both families safe access to grass daily. [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] I really enjoy the round, black, shiny look of the Orpingtons The chicks can slide through the sides to visit the other chicks, but as soon as their adopted mama calls, they part like the Red Sea & go running back home. The rest of the flock spends a lot of time surrounding the tractor to see the chicks. Once when it was on uneven ground, a chick slipped under the side. One of the "aunts" (who has never been broody) covered & protected the tiny chick until I noticed & put it back inside. Here is "Aunt Bielefelder" checking out the new babies.

Spoiler: Warning: Lots of cute chick pics

Here are some close ups I took. The last chick is one of my SpitzhaubenXOrps.Looks black inside & brown in sunlight. I hope it gets a crest

Looks like a great solution! Glad the flock is cooperating...I have found that it seems the more exposure a flock gets to chicks the more they tolerate them. There can always be a problem flock member but when you want flock brooding you can eventually weed out the problem birds to shape your flock the way that you want. The close up pictures are great!

 

[Faraday40]

Looks like a great solution!
Glad the flock is cooperating...I have found that it seems the more exposure a flock gets to chicks the more they tolerate them. There can always be a problem flock member but when you want flock brooding you can eventually weed out the problem birds to shape your flock the way that you want.
The close up pictures are great!

I now totally agree. DD probably hatched about 100+ chicks in 2015 & 2016 for her misc. science projects. We have multiple make-shift brooders & tractors that got plenty of use in the spring & summer. Most chicks must be rehomed b/c we have limited coop space & live in a neighborhood. Usually when a hen goes broody, she's put to use as an incubator &/or brooder for the current science project. We have 3 hens that may go broody & the rest are merely bystanders. All have definitely gained a lot of baby chick experience. (Especially this year when DD had to determine gender for her project before selling the chicks. This meant that she kept every chick hatched for 4-6wks!) If the hawks were not as abundant, these current chicks would already be free-ranging.

 

[A2Kzoo2]

New babies:

 

[karenerwin]

New babies:

Congratulations!

 

[oconnell]

Help I hopefully have a couple chicks on the way and would like to know is it ok to move them to a shed for a week with their mom and then back to coop