Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Faraday40]

I have a question. I had a go and spend the night in the next box. didn't poop in it and would not let me collect the eggs from her, so I left them there. then she spends half the next day on them and at night goes to the roost instead of the nest. Is she getting ready to go broody or what? I have special eggs coming next week so that would be great if she would so i don't have to fire up the incubator.

She could be starting but I wouldn't give any special eggs yet. Many hens are grumpy when laying & she may have just wanted some privacy. If she does goes full broody, you'll see a difference & she won't leave the nest for days. I'd leave some golf balls or practice eggs in the nest to see if it entices her. If the eggs are expensive & she's a 1st timer, I'd only give her as many as I'd be willing to risk and hatch the rest in the incubator. If all goes well & she hatches the eggs, you can always slip the incubator chicks under her after they hatch. Most hens don't mind if it's done at the same time as her eggs hatch.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Here she is covering all 21 chicks. What a spread!

I went out to the garage last night & saw this: (They peeked out when they saw the light go on.)
How does Cookie keep track of all of them?



The chicks will be going on Craigslist later today, so Cookie should get some relief soon. We're only going to grow out 4-6 of them.

Good to hear from you again Faraday40.

What a great hatch story....good use of incubator and broody.

Oh my...what a GREAT photo on Cookie and the hyrda heads

...they have photo contests for broodies each year and that would make a great entry (with maybe a crop of background). Super photo shot of a hard working broody.

Glad she isn't going to try to raise up all 21 for her sake....the little bantams try so hard to be momma even with large fowl chicks. (See my favorite Silkie photo below):

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I haven't been on this thread for a while, but I wanted to share our "SuperHen," Cookie.

Cookie (a very experienced mama) went broody a little less than a week before my incubator was due to hatch. On day 18, I gave her 2 eggs to hatch, since she only adopts chicks when she believes she has hatched them. A clumsy roo accidently smashed/killed one egg on day 20. The other egg got very cold, yet still hatched. BUT WHAT AN EGG! I kept sliding the incubator chicks under her as they hatched, then eventually moved Cookie & all 21 chicks into the giant brooder. So in Cookie's little brain, she sat on an egg for less than a week & hatched 21 chicks out of it. Yep, she's a super-broody! Because she's a bantam, it's easier to just move her into the brooder. I have a back-up "heating pad broody" in there for any overflow, but the chicks rarely use it.

Here she is covering all 21 chicks. What a spread!

I went out to the garage last night & saw this: (They peeked out when they saw the light go on.)
How does Cookie keep track of all of them?



The chicks will be going on Craigslist later today, so Cookie should get some relief soon. We're only going to grow out 4-6 of them.

This is amazing - I love the look on her face in these photos, like "OMG, how on earth did I end up with this many chicks?!?!"

- Ant Farm

 

[Faraday40]

This is amazing - I love the look on her face in these photos, like "OMG, how on earth did I end up with this many chicks?!?!"

- Ant Farm

Yeah, that was my thought & made it hard to pick which of the two pics I liked better.

She truly is a great broody & very strict with her chicks. She does not allow them to venture very far from her. That's why I'm keeping everyone in the brooder until the number goes down. (Less anxiety for her.) It just happened that she went broody at a convenient time for me. How often does that happen?!!!!

 

[Faraday40]

Good to hear from you again Faraday40.

What a great hatch story....good use of incubator and broody.

Oh my...what a GREAT photo on Cookie and the hyrda heads

...they have photo contests for broodies each year and that would make a great entry (with maybe a crop of background). Super photo shot of a hard working broody.

Glad she isn't going to try to raise up all 21 for her sake....the little bantams try so hard to be momma even with large fowl chicks. (See my favorite Silkie photo below):

I think I remember seeing this pic! I have a similar one of my Sebright trying to cover 3 giant Orpington chicks. Of course, your Silkie get bonus points for trying to do it while on the roost.

 

[Pstock44]

Starting day 7 with my 1st time mama. She's been great! I've only been able to see her off the nest twice. 1st time she was heading back up the ramp. 2nd time she must have just come out. I watched her eat, drink, repeat. Walked around stretching her legs and wings, shaking and fluffing up her feathers for a few minutes then went right back in to the nest.

This is my first time too and it's been such an interesting and amazing thing to watch.

I haven't candles any eggs yet but a little worried about disturbing her, she absolutely hates being bothered. Thought about trying one or two just to see if I can see development. I really don't want to disrupt a good start though. Can't wait till April 27!

 

[Faraday40]

Starting day 7 with my 1st time mama. She's been great! I've only been able to see her off the nest twice. 1st time she was heading back up the ramp. 2nd time she must have just come out. I watched her eat, drink, repeat. Walked around stretching her legs and wings, shaking and fluffing up her feathers for a few minutes then went right back in to the nest.

This is my first time too and it's been such an interesting and amazing thing to watch.

I haven't candles any eggs yet but a little worried about disturbing her, she absolutely hates being bothered. Thought about trying one or two just to see if I can see development. I really don't want to disrupt a good start though. Can't wait till April 27!

I only candle a broody's eggs once - about 1/2 way through. Quickly & quietly at night. Besides my own curiosity, I want to toss any undeveloped eggs to prevent a messy hen & eggs. (Had that happen once. I scooped up what goo I could, wiped off the hen & eggs with a dry paper towel, and added some clean nesting material. The chicks hatched 5 days later.)

 

[NysiaAnera]

I always plan on candling once at some point, but it seldom happens unless I happen to catch the hen off the nest. I like to remove any undeveloped or early quitters before day 18 is I get the chance.

 

[Phantom-Bantam]

Hi everyone, I am a first time hatcher but we have finished our new separate run and got our nest box ready and tonight we have put our silkie on 9 eggs, so far she seems to have stayed with the eggs but we are trying to leave her alone and not fuss (which is killing me already!). We were hoping for 10 or more but it would seem that one of our other hens has also gone broody. I am so excited and nervous I don't think I will be sleeping for the next 21 days! How and when exactly do you candle eggs? I have obvioulsy read some of the more recent comments on this but so worried about disturbing her and her leaving the nest, is it a necessary thing to do? Would she not just push out unwanted/bad eggs? Also we have obvioulsy chosen to go the natural route but is it worth us getting an incubator on standby just in case?

Eeeek im so excited

 

[Faraday40]

Hi everyone, I am a first time hatcher but we have finished our new separate run and got our nest box ready and tonight we have put our silkie on 9 eggs, so far she seems to have stayed with the eggs but we are trying to leave her alone and not fuss (which is killing me already!). We were hoping for 10 or more but it would seem that one of our other hens has also gone broody. I am so excited and nervous I don't think I will be sleeping for the next 21 days! How and when exactly do you candle eggs? I have obvioulsy read some of the more recent comments on this but so worried about disturbing her and her leaving the nest, is it a necessary thing to do? Would she not just push out unwanted/bad eggs? Also we have obvioulsy chosen to go the natural route but is it worth us getting an incubator on standby just in case?

Eeeek im so excited

I'm glad you're so excited and it really is a wonderful process to observe.

A lot of those ?s come down to personal choices. Broodies are great & can do all the work for you. I don't worry much about disturbing them to candle. Slipping out an egg for about 10-20 sec to briefly shine a light through it and then putting it back doesn't disturb them much. The hen may fuss a little & if she's particularly grumpy, she may peck your hand. I wouldn't overdo the candling, though. Once is enough for me. BTW- Mine are not very aggressive. With "pecky" hens, someone once gave the advice to wear a rubber (good grip) garden glove & to hold the egg under your hand, so the hen's beak makes contact with your gloved hand & not the precious egg. Of course if a broody hen was trying to draw blood, I'd simply skip candling. LOL

Many people have back-up incubators just in case, but if it's not in the budget, that's OK too. It really depends on your goals too. If you're just trying to add to your flock from time to time & you're using your own eggs, then a failed hatch is sad but not a disaster. If you paid a lot of money for rare breed eggs and/or plan to hatch a lot of chicks every spring, then an investment of an incubator might be a good idea.

In chickens, there's really not a right & wrong way, but there are many, many opinions. It all comes down to learning about what others do and then deciding what's right for you in your situation.