Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Mama Bay]

I had a hen go broody about 3-4 weeks ago in one of the nesting boxes. Several times I found other hens sitting on her eggs as she got up to get water food or take a break so I moved her and the eggs in a dog crate inside the coop which she did not like at all but eventually settled down on the eggs after a while. She hatched one chick on Friday but nothing else since then. I opened up the crate to see if she would come out with the chick but she backed herself as far back as possible and pulled the eggs back under herself. How long would you let her continue to sit on the other eggs?

 

[Faraday40]

I had a hen go broody about 3-4 weeks ago in one of the nesting boxes. Several times I found other hens sitting on her eggs as she got up to get water food or take a break so I moved her and the eggs in a dog crate inside the coop which she did not like at all but eventually settled down on the eggs after a while. She hatched one chick on Friday but nothing else since then. I opened up the crate to see if she would come out with the chick but she backed herself as far back as possible and pulled the eggs back under herself. How long would you let her continue to sit on the other eggs?

If a chick hatched 5 days ago, it probably needs to eat & drink by now. The hens seems confused & doesn't want to give up on those unhatched eggs. Because of the time off the nest, there could be a delay / scattered hatch. Perhaps she can hear or feel the embryo inside. (Mine always seem to know.) If you have an incubator, I'd candle & slip those unhatched eggs in there, so the hen can focus on the chick. If another chick does hatch, you can slip it under her when sleeping.

 

[bald Rooster]

I have 25 hens in my hen coop and A broody with chicks was just to much stress for me.
I have a large wire cage I use for a brooder,Isolation and anything else I need.
So I put her and her nest of eggs in the cage. She wasn't happy at first but with in 15 minutes she was on the eggs .I had a successful hatch.
I had food and water in the cage and hay. she would get off the nest in the evening when I was feeding and leave me a present in the hay and eat and drink.

 

[Tribalchickens]

Chicken room service sounds pretty nice. One of my broodies was like that. She was set up in her own broody apartment in the garage. Each day she'd wait until I came by. As I checked on her food & water, she'd hop off the nest & relieve herself. I'd remove that smelly load ASAP.... which of course reinforced the idea. Why sit in a smelly cage all day when she knew that I'd clean it up right away for her? Time of day didn't matter. It was merely my presence that brought it out.

In the last few days before hatching, the hen shouldn't really move off the nest. If it is possible for a new chick to accidentally fall out, then you may want to block off the nest somehow. The chicks should hatch & pretty much stay warm under mama for the 1st day while all their siblings hatch. Once hatched, I like to move mine into a rabbit cage, or something like that, for the 1st week. (Tiny chicks have a way of slipping through cracks or wandering off into danger.) It's no problem moving the family AFTER they're all out of the shell. Mama simply wants her chicks & is happy fussing over them.

I hope you have a successful hatch and enjoy watching your hen with her babies.

Aww thank you for your post, makes us a little happier about interfering! She has had at least two chicks can hear them singing to eachother. Will block the nest off and then move it too fresh ground once they have all hatched!! Xx

 

[Kevin with chickens]

New to BYC and I got some silkies in hopes of gettin a broody about when do they start goin broody. I also got some black copper marans hoping to be able to hatch some out under a silkie about what age do marans start layin

 

[Faraday40]

Broodiness is up to the indiv hen. My strongest broodies wanted to hatch between the age of 6mo-10mo. Because of the cold winter season, I never had a pullet hatch eggs. I simply waited until spring when they were older. (Kicking them out of the nest frequently in below freezing temps was all I needed to break the broody trance..)

Silkies are supposed to be good broody hens but that doesn't mean every silkie will sit like a champ. I ended up getting a -Sebright - which people say is not a broody breed - who insists on hatching about 3xs per year. Who knew?

 

[Kevin with chickens]

Broodiness is up to the indiv hen. My strongest broodies wanted to hatch between the age of 6mo-10mo. Because of the cold winter season, I never had a pullet hatch eggs. I simply waited until spring when they were older. (Kicking them out of the nest frequently in below freezing temps was all I needed to break the broody trance..)

Silkies are supposed to be good broody hens but that doesn't mean every silkie will sit like a champ. I ended up getting a -Sebright - which people say is not a broody breed - who insists on hatching about 3xs per year. Who knew?

Thanks for the info I think I'm getting my hopes up too high

 

[Faraday40]

Thanks for the info I think I'm getting my hopes up too high

You never know. It's all part of the fun & frustration of broodies. I know someone who let their 5 mo old pullet sit on eggs the 1st time she went broody, & the chicken did just fine. The good news is that you'll have your own flock's eggs to experiment with- just in case the bird was only pretending or gives up 1/2 way.

As far as the egg production, that varies too. Some hatchery chicks may develop quickly & start laying at 20 weeks. Between the shorter hours of daylight & raising giant English Orps, I often have many females take 8-9 months before laying their 1st egg. I know it's very, very tempting to hatch those 1st pullet eggs, but for the future health of the chicks, it's better to wait until the pullet grows older. You don't always have to wait until the bird is a full year, but let her egg laying cycle normalize & the egg size grow a little before trying to hatch them. (maybe 6 weeks or so after the 1st egg)

 

[Kevin with chickens]

You never know. It's all part of the fun & frustration of broodies. I know someone who let their 5 mo old pullet sit on eggs the 1st time she went broody, & the chicken did just fine. The good news is that you'll have your own flock's eggs to experiment with- just in case the bird was only pretending or gives up 1/2 way.

As far as the egg production, that varies too. Some hatchery chicks may develop quickly & start laying at 20 weeks. Between the shorter hours of daylight & raising giant English Orps, I often have many females take 8-9 months before laying their 1st egg. I know it's very, very tempting to hatch those 1st pullet eggs, but for the future health of the chicks, it's better to wait until the pullet grows older. You don't always have to wait until the bird is a full year, but let her egg laying cycle normalize & the egg size grow a little before trying to hatch them. (maybe 6 weeks or so after the 1st egg)

Thanks very helpful info

 

[Kevin with chickens]

Another question have any of y'all prefer another breed for broodiness over silkies