Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Faraday40]

I agree on the ones you stated as 'obvious' so far, but the rest are too close to call and genetics may cause a swing either way. I have had large combed hens and small combed roosters in the past, so won't be able to guess further till saddle feathers start to come in at about 10 weeks. All I know is the most curious/endearing/friendly ones inevitably end up being roosters that have to go....

Because of their sweet personalities, my DD is our rooster detector. If she falls in love with a chick..... it's a boy.

I have had a few pullets with large wattles. Here's a 5 wk old that I thought was male - but not 100%. The wattles were saying "Boy" but the comb was saying "Girl"

Since no one wants to buy males, it wasn't worth the effort to sell it.




Here she is at 11 weeks old. (With her mama, Smudge)
I guess I should have asked my DD. She didn't beg us to keep this chick.

 

[beetandsteet]

Welcome & make sure to post pics of the happy family once they hatch. I find allowing a broody to raise chicks is the easy way to do it.

I didn't think sex-links went broody, but I guess since your hen can't read, she doesn't know that. LOL

Here's the look I get from my hen "Trouble" every time I tell her that "Sebrights are not a broody breed." She's a very determined little hen!
View attachment 1559011

Haha Trouble looks like a fierce mamma! Yeah I didn't think they went broody either, but Pancake is proving me wrong.

Hatch date is this weekend, I'm hoping the eggs are okay with the cold front that blew in last night. They're tough little ones, they have already survived a lot! Mamma and her nest were in a dog kennel under our travel trailer. A couple nights ago something tried to get at her in the dog kennel, and ended up flipping it over a few times. I heard her screaming, and rushed out there to find everything in total chaos. Only one egg broke, and as far as I can tell, the other 5 look okay.

 

[Faraday40]

Haha Trouble looks like a fierce mamma! Yeah I didn't think they went broody either, but Pancake is proving me wrong.

Hatch date is this weekend, I'm hoping the eggs are okay with the cold front that blew in last night. They're tough little ones, they have already survived a lot! Mamma and her nest were in a dog kennel under our travel trailer. A couple nights ago something tried to get at her in the dog kennel, and ended up flipping it over a few times. I heard her screaming, and rushed out there to find everything in total chaos. Only one egg broke, and as far as I can tell, the other 5 look okay.

Oh my! That is scary!

Trouble had run-in with a squirrel this weekend. Because of all the yummy chick feed a squirrel wanted to get into Trouble's temp chicken tractor. = A baby play yard with a scrap of fiberglass tied to the top for hawk & rain protection. It's not safe enough for 24/7 housing, but great for providing safer grass time. I heard a ruckus outside & Trouble was screeching. I saw a squirrel & Trouble trying to go at each other through the bars. Just as I reached the cage, the squirrel slid down through a small gap between the roof and the playpen's walls. It actually jumped down into the tractor!


I quickly flipped the whole thing to allow the fighting animals to run apart. Trouble had no injuries, so I put them back inside the tractor. Since then, there have been no new squirrel incidents. I feel sorry for the chicks because of the cold/wet weather. The chicks are now the same size as mama, so they can't snuggle under her. But at 4 weeks they have most of their feathers.

I had a hen hatch chicks at the end of December. When they were about a week old & again at 3 weeks, we had some well below zero periods. (highs around -5'F and lows at -40'F) My coop is not heated & I didn't think it was wise to shock them by bringing them inside. One chick got a touch of toe frostbite (just by the outer 2 toenails) & the others were unaffected. The chick recovered just fine.

After learning that a broody hen can survive and care for her chicks in those extreme conditions, I know that a little snow & cold are no big deal. The main thing in winter to make sure is that the hen can cover all the chicks. Trouble is a small bird, so 7 chicks is a better brood number for summer. Now that it's cold, I wish she only had 3-5 chicks to care for. (Of course the person who was going to buy 5 of her chicks this weekend didn't show.....)

 

[Faraday40]

Trouble's orpington chicks are now 4 weeks old. Let's play, guess that gender!
1 = ?
2 = female
3 = obvious male
4 = male
5 = possible female
6 = possible female
7 = ?
* and this blue orp is the only one I considered keeping. The comb/wattles have a touch of color but not obvious like #s 3 & 4. This chick came from Jewel's line, which has been known to give females with early big pink wattles.

The only guesses I feel confident about are chicks 2, 3, & 4.

Numbers 2. 5. 6 were the females. I got rid of the males, so Trouble has an easier job raising the 3 females. I hope to sell them at some point.

*Orps have a very short "cute" phase. They already moved on to that awkward pullet stage - by 2 wks

 

[BullChick]

I have no idea if there are any ducklings under her.

 

[Faraday40]

I have no idea if there are any ducklings under her.
View attachment 1588588

So where is it she's nesting?

 

[BullChick]

Outside the backdoor in an old rosebush bed.

 

[BullChick]

Aretha has one yellow little duckling!

 

[BullChick]

 

[AllenK RGV]

Help my broody won't stop. I just locked her out of the dog pen she decided was her spot. Of course before she set in it was the favorite egg laying spot. However after 6 weeks of broodieness you know nothing is viable. I am hoping she will rejoin the flock and be a normal chicken. If at sundown she doesn't I imagine I need to allow her back into her broody nest.

Does anyone have resources or links to shoot my way?