Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Sonya9]

A fly layed eggs on the pipped chick. No way I could have removed them. Would have been crawling with maggots.
Trying to save the remaining 4 eggs. This was a mixed hatch. The "incubator" is roughly 102 and eggs are up to 98 now. Will keep an eye on it. Could still be a week more. $35 incubator on amazon can be here Friday?

If the chicks will be hatching in the next day or two then the goal is to help them keep their body temp up but be darn sure not to get it too hot so 95-98 is good. Earlier in the incubation the exact temp is more important to prevent death or deformity.

You probably know this now, but this is why people mark the hatching eggs and make sure they all start incubating on the same day.

 

[Perris]

while shutting up the coops tonight I found one of my 9 wk old chicks snuggled in the nest box with the 2 wk old chicks and their broody. Then when the other three 9 wk olds went in, one of them squeezed in with her too, while the remaining pair are cwtched up just in front of it; so cute! (The 9 wk olds' own broody decided this week that she's had enough, and has been beastly to them to drive them away.)

I finally remembered to take a photo of this before all the May hatch migrate to the roost bar (2 have gone already). Maria (lavender Arauncana) is the broody; one of her chicks is just visible below her beak; and her CCL cockerel is squashed between her and Kenfig, one of the May clutch, who is almost as big as she is now! Maria's third chick must be underneath somewhere.

 

[Tilhana]

Currently have a Black Star hen raising her (and my) first very small brood of hen-hatched chicks.

I'm wondering at what age a hen will normally start letting the chicks go off on their own? The chicks are 4.5 weeks old now and the last couple days she's been going off and leaving them. Or maybe they've been going off on their own and she's just not bothered by it anymore.

I'm a little nervous because I have them free ranging, so I worry she might be losing interest and the chicks might not find their way back to the coop. Occasionally I'll corral them back together and they'll forage together for a while, but a few hours later I'll see the hen or the chicks on their own and have to go searching for the other party.

Is this early for them to start separating?

On the other hand, I want to introduce them back into the run with the other chickens pretty soon, but I want to make sure she'll still defend them from the roosters and the geese.

 

[BullChick]

She definitely would leave them to explore on their own now. I understand wanting to find the babies, but they only need to know to respond to the rooster sounding the predator alarm.

 

[CindyinSD]

The littles already know their way home and will go there when food or twilight makes an appearance.

 

[Tilhana]

She definitely would leave them to explore on their own now. I understand wanting to find the babies, but they only need to know to respond to the rooster sounding the predator alarm.

Thanks, that's helpful. I've noticed them wandering farther and farther away from her but they always kept a close line of sight. It seemed very abrupt that suddenly they were on opposite ends of the property.

 

[Tilhana]

The littles already know their way home and will go there when food or twilight makes an appearance.

Actually they are still learning - by an accident of timing, I just moved their brooder from the mudroom of the house to the chicken coop less than a week ago, and they are still trying to go to the house. But tonight she taught them to follow her to the coop. Or she started teaching them. There's definitely a learning curve - she seemed to think they'll just find their way in there on their own, but they had only ever been carried there, and they were very wary of crossing the threshold on their own, even when she was inside calling to them. But we're making progress

 

[Perris]

Yesterday I found one of my May clutch suddenly dead, and I suspect she was killed by one of the mature hens in the flock, because I saw said hen launch a ferocious attack on another of that clutch this morning. This is the first time I've experienced this, and I'm not sure what to do.

Should I put the aggressor in jail (dog crate cum broody jail) for a few days to demote her, or will that just make things worse? I realize she's just wanting to preserve her position in the flock and the clutch are on the verge of maturity, but I don't want to lose any more to her and don't want an overly aggressive hen in the flock. None of the roos were around when this happened. If not jail her, how should I proceed? They are live free range from dawn to dusk btw; there is no fenced pen here, though I could rig up something temporarily.

 

[Ted_Harrell]

One of my SFHs is raising her first chick, all she has to do is squawk and that little baby chick is right there. She has already shown the 4 week old chick how to jump up on the roost bar and forage for bugs. Awesome...

 

[CindyinSD]

Yesterday I found one of my May clutch suddenly dead, and I suspect she was killed by one of the mature hens in the flock, because I saw said hen launch a ferocious attack on another of that clutch this morning. This is the first time I've experienced this, and I'm not sure what to do.

Should I put the aggressor in jail (dog crate cum broody jail) for a few days to demote her, or will that just make things worse? I realize she's just wanting to preserve her position in the flock and the clutch are on the verge of maturity, but I don't want to lose any more to her and don't want an overly aggressive hen in the flock. None of the roos were around when this happened. If not jail her, how should I proceed? They are live free range from dawn to dusk btw; there is no fenced pen here, though I could rig up something temporarily.

I have no solutions to this situation that do not include a stewed hen for supper. I have done exactly this on a couple of occasions, though for unwarranted "beyond-the-pecking-order" infractions against other adult hens. The most recent one, a Cochin jumped a Buckeye just walking by with her chicks. Jumped on her back, forcing her to the ground and started just TEARING into her neck. Until I grabbed her. It was evening, so she got to spend the night in *the CRATE* until I could get to her next day. I do not need that kind of shite in my flock.

The older girls will occasionally aim a peck at an uppity chick, but nothing hard or serious. I have a special, small tractor I use for mommy-less chicks. I prop the door so only the small can enter. It stays near the adults' tractor. This way if things should get too rough, the littles have a safe place to run to. Mine also free-range all over the place (twelve acres). There's plenty of cover and thus far I haven't had a problem with older hens killing chicks. The mommies usually take their littles to the shady, high-cover areas, so that probably helps.

Seriously though... you're already raising her replacement. Nobody doesn't love chicken & rice.