Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[HattieScratchy]

How long until momma hen takes the babies out of the coop?

 

[Molpet]

How long until momma hen takes the babies out of the coop?

I have had 3 days and one this july waited 4 WEEKS! and then she dumped them at 5 weeks... she went to the roost and they didn't follow and the girls are still sleeping on the floor... the boys went to camp

 

[Faraday40]

How long until momma hen takes the babies out of the coop?

It may depend on your hen. I like to lock mine up inside a rabbit cage inside the covered run. That protects the tiny chicks from wandering off & getting stuck somewhere. Around a week old, I open the door to the cage and allow mama to take them on field trips. They return to the cage for food & sleeping. If there are bad predator issues, I'll use a chicken tractor for the first few weeks.

 

[HattieScratchy]

It may depend on your hen. I like to lock mine up inside a rabbit cage inside the covered run. That protects the tiny chicks from wandering off & getting stuck somewhere. Around a week old, I open the door to the cage and allow mama to take them on field trips. They return to the cage for food & sleeping. If there are bad predator issues, I'll use a chicken tractor for the first few weeks.

Ok cool.. momma has had them in the coop since last sunday (so a week and 1/2) and hasn't tried bringing them out yet.. i was just curious. We have dogs so i may set up an area where momma can bring them out without the possibility of them getting trampled by accident

 

[Deltabwa]

Had a campine go missing about 4 or 5 days ago, found her today sitting on a dozen eggs, hiding in the barn. I made a post about it before I found her and updated after. I guess she doesn't realize it's November in Montana I candled them, will recandle them in a couple days, we have 4 veining out, 2 were cracked and the rest were just yolks with no blood ring, but I will check again. I wasn't sure what to do with her lol Don't really want chicks in December but....

Oh, and I have 3 roosters, a splash Andy, who is top dog, and 2 others that are the same age as her, a black frizzle cochin bantam and a frizzle blue easter egger that I hatched in April from another "non-broody" breed... Ameracauna lol So be interesting to see this combination lol

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Hello all! I just wanted to share a story with a happy ending here. I had a broody Black Sex Link, and after a couple of weeks, I decided to give her some fertile eggs to hatch.

One day I came home from work, and she was on the wrong nest, and the eggs were cold. So I plopped her back on, and when I candled the next day all was well. A few days later, it happened again! They were probably cold on day 12 and 16. Again, after she warmed them up, the next day they seemed okay.

The other night, she was off the nest again and up on the roost. I put her on the nest and shut the door. The next day, she was off of the eggs, but thankfully, I was home from work and they were not completely cold. However, they were supposed to hatch that day, or the next.

I brought the eggs inside, let them come up to room temperature, and put them in the incubator. I didn’t have much hope. Yesterday, one popped out! And this morning, three more hatched as well. I am just amazed at these strong little guys!

I hope my story gives someone hope if they are hatching or have a broody hatching eggs. A cool down will not kill them, and even a few cool downs will stil yield some results. Also, 4 out of 10 eggs hatched. So not great, but amazing considering how cold they were a few times!

 

[Faraday40]

View attachment 1211675 Hello all! I just wanted to share a story with a happy ending here. I had a broody Black Sex Link, and after a couple of weeks, I decided to give her some fertile eggs to hatch.

One day I came home from work, and she was on the wrong nest, and the eggs were cold. So I plopped her back on, and when I candled the next day all was well. A few days later, it happened again! They were probably cold on day 12 and 16. Again, after she warmed them up, the next day they seemed okay.

The other night, she was off the nest again and up on the roost. I put her on the nest and shut the door. The next day, she was off of the eggs, but thankfully, I was home from work and they were not completely cold. However, they were supposed to hatch that day, or the next.

I brought the eggs inside, let them come up to room temperature, and put them in the incubator. I didn’t have much hope. Yesterday, one popped out! And this morning, three more hatched as well. I am just amazed at these strong little guys!

I hope my story gives someone hope if they are hatching or have a broody hatching eggs. A cool down will not kill them, and even a few cool downs will stil yield some results. Also, 4 out of 10 eggs hatched. So not great, but amazing considering how cold they were a few times!

That's great! You have some strong chicks!

Mine was a similar story. I had a bantam broody on 5 LF eggs. (in November!)
Two eggs I doubted would be fertile, but tried them anyway. The hen left the eggs for 5 hrs one day when it was in the 30s 'F. ....And a second time for 2 hrs! Both times she returned to the wrong nest! Then on day 17 she hopped off the nest and a silkie pullet took over. Both seemed to be OK with it. By then I knew there were only 3 eggs developing.

One problem was that the silkie insisted on taking bio breaks daily - even while the chicks were hatching & after born. They hatched on day 23. Due to the timing of the broody's bio breaks, one perfectly formed chick died while zipping & the other 2 were cold & lethargic. The 2 chicks were warmed up and are 2.5 weeks old now. I locked the family up inside a rabbit cage to make sure the new mama doesn't wander off. She's taking her responsibilities more seriously these days, so the cage door is now left ajar to let them venture out when desired.

Normally, I wouldn't let a hen go broody in Nov, but the 1st girl was so stubborn, an experienced mom, & the weather has been mild. I also wouldn't let a 5 mo old pullet go broody in winter, but the eggs were otherwise going to die. (My incubator's locked up until spring. LOL) Two eggs were not fertile, but I'm very surprised at how well the rest did considering all the problems. Depending how you look at it, I either got a 2:5 40% or 2/3 67% hatch rate. Either way, it's better than 0%.

 

[Faraday40]

Here are some pics of my recent winter hatch.

1 day old:

Today, 2.5 wks old:

Hard to get a good pic of these. They're always running about!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Love those babies @Faraday40

 

[Faraday40]

Mama & chicks went to school today. I was asked to talk for the after-school Ag Club. Since I was going to school anyway, I stopped by DS's class before dismissal. My he's a popular boy! All the kids now want to come over here & play with baby chicks. LOL

I brought our silkie, her 2 chicks, a big orp, & our Dominique. Bubbles (the Dom) always steals the show with her Magic Psychic Chicken Act. The kids liked when the orp pooped on the floor and watching the chicks run after the silkie. The kids were very, very interested when they found out the eggs I brought were fertile. Several girls were holding them in their hands - trying to warm them up. LOL