Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Phantom-Bantam]

It hasn't all been plain sailing but it has been an education and we are very happy chickens.

 

[thebyrdsx5]

My two Broodies were not very successful at hatching their eggs. Between the two of them thy hatched 3. So I gave them all the chicks from the incubator. They are coparenting lol 16 baby chicks. They got off the nest yesterday. Two eggs were still viable, one internally pipped, threw them inincubator, one hatched last night.

 

[FridayYet]

Hi everyone, have to admit that I am clueless about how to manage my broody and chicks. All my prior hatches have been with an incubator, so I know how to take care of them that way.

I had a hen hide from me in my brooder box in the coop and was sitting on a bunch of eggs. (I didn't see her in there since there were feed bags lying on the top.) Candled them all and gave her 4 back, and at least 2 are going to hatch soon. Not sure what to do next.

Other chickens can go in and out of the box, but only one other has been laying in there recently. Should I close off the area? That would keep Joan my broody in there, and she's used to going out daily. It's a decent size, probably 3' x 3' x 6' long. One end connects to the rest of the coop and has a chicken wire door. It's where I put my grow-outs.

Hope they make it and that Joan is a good mom! My last broody ended up killing her chicks, so I'm a bit nervous about going through that again.

Thanks!

 

[hennajen]

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Our first hatchling, ever!

 

[PD-Riverman]

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Our first hatchling, ever!

Congratulation!! Welcome.

Let me say this in hope it helps----usually the last 2/3 days of incubation a hen "locks-down" meaning stays on the nest/eggs so she can raise the humidity for the eggs to hatch better. If you tilt her or lift her during this time it "can" cause hatching problems because a lot of the moisture escapes----it might not cause problems for you, but why risk it? I wish you the best hatch!!

 

[hennajen]

Congratulation!! Welcome.

Let me say this in hope it helps----usually the last 2/3 days of incubation a hen "locks-down" meaning stays on the nest/eggs so she can raise the humidity for the eggs to hatch better. If you tilt her or lift her during this time it "can" cause hatching problems because a lot of the moisture escapes----it might not cause problems for you, but why risk it? I wish you the best hatch!!

Good to know, thank you!!! Lock down from here on out.

 

[jodybrook]

I have a question. I have two broodies that were sharing 9 eggs. They were fertilized at different times so we had some that have already hatched as early as 2 days ago and one chick that is 12 days old at the oldest. We have three eggs that are dated to hatch on Thursday of this week. During the past week or so two different eggs have been "tossed out" of the nest and I have discovered them. Upon finding them they were cold to the touch so I placed them back under the chickens and candled them later at night when the girls are sleeping. Both had viable chicks still moving within. What do you think? I'm nervous something is wrong with them but then again could it have just been a scuffle?

 

[PD-Riverman]

I have a question. I have two broodies that were sharing 9 eggs. They were fertilized at different times so we had some that have already hatched as early as 2 days ago and one chick that is 12 days old at the oldest. We have three eggs that are dated to hatch on Thursday of this week. During the past week or so two different eggs have been "tossed out" of the nest and I have discovered them. Upon finding them they were cold to the touch so I placed them back under the chickens and candled them later at night when the girls are sleeping. Both had viable chicks still moving within. What do you think? I'm nervous something is wrong with them but then again could it have just been a scuffle?

Hey, if you do not know---you do not know. Question do you enjoy hatching this way? Probably not. For future info---Most of the time a hen only stays on her nest for a day or two after the first chicks hatch----sure some hens stay and abandon their hatched chicks. Your hen/s could have had a great hatch, with all the chicks the same age, hatched the same day(mostly--usually within 24 hrs of each other). All you have to do is Collect your eggs EVERY day from ALL nest including a nest that might have a hen on it----do not skip a nest. Then if you got a hen wanting to go broody and you want to set her----you collect and Clearly mark the amount of eggs you want to put under her all at the same time---then every day for 18 days you look under her and remove any unmarked fresh eggs. The reason I say 18 days is because I do not lift or tilt my broody hens the last 3 days. Then all the eggs that are fertile will hatch usually within a day---usually no problems. If you have another hen that wants to share her nest after a few days----if you want you can mark and give her a nest of eggs to set on(or break her if you don't)----in a different nest(I do not allow 2 hens to share the same nest because it "can" led to problems). This way you DO Not have this Staggered hatch like you are dealing with this time. Good Luck!!

As far as the eggs in question----if the hen stays on them they might hatch sometime, but if the hens get off them to feed their chicks---then the eggs will get cold again. You got a Incubator----that might be the best for this situation.

 

[jodybrook]

Hey, Do you enjoy hatching this way? For future info---Both of your hens could have had a great hatch, with all the chicks the same age, hatched the same day(mostly--usually within 24 hrs of each other). All you have to do is Collect your eggs EVERY day from ALL nest including a nest that might have a hen on it----do not skip a nest. Then if you got a hen wanting to go broody and you want to set her----you collect and Clearly mark the amount of eggs you want to put under her---then every day for 18 days you look under her and remove any unmarked fresh eggs. The reason I say 18 days is because I do not lift or tilt my broody hens the last 3 days. Then all the eggs that are fertile will hatch usually within a day---no problems. If you have another hen that wants to share her nest after a few days----if you want you can mark and give her a nest of eggs to set on----in a different nest. this way you DO Not have this Staggered hatch like you are dealing with this time. Good Luck!! 

I'm sorry I wasn't clear how this got started. I would
never do it this way again. I had two broodies and that was all I had in my flock. A friend had some eggs a broody had been sitting on that were fertile and she said I was welcome to them. They had not been marking eggs, they knew she had been sitting on some for at least two weeks but not sure how they were staggered out, and some were new, that morning (those are the 3 remaining). So I took what she gave me intent on candling and figuring it out. Once I had them and saw that all were viable, I figured I would see what happened. Both girls are still broody and are caring for the chicks and the remaining 3 eggs. Our coop is pretty huge and has a good open floor where they chicks can roam about while the mama's can still sit and see them. The mama's have also taken to taking turns going out with some of the chicks and taking dirt baths and stretching their legs while the other keeps the eggs warm. I am looking forward to this next week though and getting all these babies hatched. Hope that sheds some light on the situation.

 

[PD-Riverman]

I'm sorry I wasn't clear how this got started. I would
never do it this way again. I had two broodies and that was all I had in my flock. A friend had some eggs a broody had been sitting on that were fertile and she said I was welcome to them. They had not been marking eggs, they knew she had been sitting on some for at least two weeks but not sure how they were staggered out, and some were new, that morning (those are the 3 remaining). So I took what she gave me intent on candling and figuring it out. Once I had them and saw that all were viable, I figured I would see what happened. Both girls are still broody and are caring for the chicks and the remaining 3 eggs. Our coop is pretty huge and has a good open floor where they chicks can roam about while the mama's can still sit and see them.

The mama's have also taken to taking turns going out with some of the chicks and taking dirt baths and stretching their legs while the other keeps the eggs warm. I am looking forward to this next week though and getting all these babies hatched. Hope that sheds some light on the situation.

OK---I bet after this you want accept any more eggs like this(pre-set on)----It can become stressful. Good Luck!