Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[aliciaplus3]

When I gathered eggs last night I found the one hen that had been the best sitter on. The. Wrong. Nest. ..... wth. Her eggs were not cool cuz it's still like a million degrees out but still makes me wonder.

 

[Faraday40]

I have a very, very early broody. She's been in the pre-broody stage (laying but taking 1/2 the day & grumbling at me) for 2 days. I think she went all out broody yesterday - slept in the nest & her grumbling turned into screams.

Anyway, I have chicks hatching now. Has anyone ever grafted chicks to a broody so early? I'd prefer to use a broody hen instead of a brooder. The hen was a great mom her 1st time back in May, so it's more a question of getting her hormones to make the switch from sitting to mothering. I slipped 2 eggs under her last night & one is hatched now. She seems OK so far with it. If she mothers those chicks, I know I won't have a problem slipping the others under her.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I put nearly hatched eggs under a good Silkie mother once when she had only been truly setting for a couple of days.

She accepted the hatch, and mothered the chicks, but fledged that group at 4 weeks when she generally hangs on to almost adulthood.

I've not had faithful behavior with seasonal standard broodies. They have bailed after several days.

So, if she accepts, she could do it, but her behaviors might be different.

As always have plan B.

Hoping with you she'll step up to the task.

LofMc

 

[PortlandHen]

We have one hatched chick! I don’t know which egg it came from. This is day 20. She has 3 more under her and the other two hens share 5 eggs.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Two babes have hatched from batch no. 2 with the broody in the side hutch.

Disappointed that 3 eggs had not hatched yet and she had left them for the babes.

I think these eggs are a little behind as the other hen, who was originally setting them, was a little less faithful.

So, I put those eggs under the original hen as she still thinks she wants chicks. We'll see if they hatch. Much prefer them in the broody hutch, so I may see if side hen will take them all since they will be safer and I think there may only be a day or two difference in hatch dates.

Bad news...when moving the still warm, but abandoned eggs, they were crawling with NFM!

Sigh, I'll have to dust mom and babes tonight....and the rest of the flock too.

Summer heat always seems to bring them out where I live.

LofMc

 

[PortlandHen]

Found the egg shell this chick came from. This came from a friend. Small chickens that like to sit on high perches.

I’m determined to document which egg each chick comes from. With my last hatch I forgot to keep track and had no idea who came from what.

 

[PortlandHen]

Found the egg shell this chick came from. This came from a friend. Small chickens that like to sit on high perches.

I’m determined to document which egg each chick comes from. With my last hatch I forgot to keep track and had no idea who came from what.

Oops. I mixed up my eggs. These are bantam Cochins.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Update:
Candled tonight. The 3 remaining unhatched olive egger Cream Legbar-Barnevelder eggs probably do not have live chicks. It was hard to tell with the blue egg color, but I'm not seeing movement and a definite swish in one, a sign of passing, probably at day 15 or so when this less than faithful hen was off a few times during the day longer than she should have been.

...And I'm pretty sure from the down colorings that I've got 1 girl and 3 boys on the Cream Legbar-Barnevelder chicks. Sigh. I'd much preferred 3 girls and 1 boy. I'm hoping one of the whisp of head dots isn't really a head dot, so I hope maybe I get lucky and have 2 girls. Last time I hatched Cream Legbar-Barnevelder I got 1 girl and the rest roos too, which I gave away.

I do plan to keep a roo, if he is at all nice, as I really would like those blue genes continued, and my Barney is getting older. I'd love to have one of his sons.

But good news. I candled the bantam Cochin eggs being set by my third broody. I knew not all would be fertile due to the short exposure time to my roo when she was egg laying and age of the eggs as I had to wait to gather a clutch slowly.

Most are not fertile, no surprise, but I have clearly 2 eggs that are developing. Yippee. I'd hoped for more, but I'll take 2. I still placed all 7 back under the hen as they are small, and I think that will help her continue to set....and maybe something else will develop, but I doubt it.

Got momma and babes sprinkled for NFM....couldn't get momma completely underneath as she was fighting me so much to get back to her babes, but the babes ran right at my sprinkle area and they got a good dose.

My first broody is doing well with the earlier Cream-Barn chicks....although the little dickens managed to find a hole somewhere in the fence and were on the other side. I never could fully tell where they had gotten through, but it looks like a POW camp now along that fence line.

So broody life is percolating along.

LofMc

 

[Molpet]

I have had 18 broodies this year... but with the heat 3 have hatched one and 2 hatched 2. otherwise I would be hip deep in chicks... 4 are still sitting.
Most of the 30+ chicks are cockerels , which is what I want for the freezer
also18 poults that are down to 13, not sure why the Poults are dying, look ok inside and out... Have done corid and starting it again.

 

[PortlandHen]

Another chick today! I had to move the chick to someone new because Bitey, she hatched this one, was pecking at the chick. This chick is now under another hen.

Bitey is locked out of the hatching area and is not happy about it.