Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Ponypoor]

I keep my eggs in the basement...65 to 74f, big end up for 10 days
You can check for a bullseye if you have extra eggs
View attachment 2843660

AWESOME photo! that is really great - I will check on my Silkies eggs tonight to see if they are fertile. I know Stallion Chicken has been breeding them for a while now.

 

[Faraday40]

I also have turkeys who I blame for the problems lol

x2 Me too! I blame them for much of the problems here.

First, I am new to chickens but not new to livestock, so having baby animals around is the norm here.

I have a Silkie/Cochin gal who is going through her first bought of broodiness. I tried to stop it but she is one tough determined lady so I decided to let her sit on 4 eggs (starting this Saturday 25th Sept). I will put 2 Silkie eggs from her sisters (whom I know my young rooster has had his wicked ways with successfully), and 2 from the Americana cross hens (again young stallion chicken has done his duty with).

Questions:
1) I am keeping the eggs a couple days then placing all under the hen on Saturday as I have heard eggs can be stored ~10 days and remain fertile. I am putting them small end up, how warm does the place I am storing them have to be?

2) The young Stallion Chicken in question here is 13 weeks old but has been actually breeding the gals successfully for a couple weeks now. He is not shy about breeding the, usually in front of me at the most in opportune times (usually when talking with co-workers and clients on the phone :O ) Can I assume he is actually fertile?

3) Is four eggs too many for a little silkie/cochin first time hatching?

1. up to 10 days in cool storage is fine. I store mine in carton wide end/ air cell up and turn them a few times per day. (One side of carton elevated, then rotate which side is elevated)

2. You can always crack one of the eggs and check for fertility. Otherwise you'll have to wait about a week of incubation to candle and find out that way.

3. Look at the surface area of the hen's pancaked spread. How many eggs can fit on a plate that size? That will be her egg capacity. If not all are developing in a week, remove the clear ones.

 

[Ponypoor]

x2 Me too! I blame them for much of the problems here.



1. up to 10 days in cool storage is fine. I store mine in carton wide end/ air cell up and turn them a few times per day. (One side of carton elevated, then rotate which side is elevated)

2. You can always crack one of the eggs and check for fertility. Otherwise you'll have to wait about a week of incubation to candle and find out that way.

3. Look at the surface area of the hen's pancaked spread. How many eggs can fit on a plate that size? That will be her egg capacity. If not all are developing in a week, remove the clear ones.

Luckily I only had to store one egg for one day - the other three hens kindly all laid an egg this morning so I plunked all 4 eggs under Henny Penny. I checked her about an hour ago and all the eggs are covered under her and warm, so I guess I will just wait until next week and candle them.

Since she has been sitting on the nest the past week not wanting to get off the nest, I have been hauling her butt out twice a day to eat and drink, can I still do this now that she is on the eggs? She has her fill then trots back to the nest after a few minutes, is this ok for me to ensure she is eating / drinking?

 

[Molpet]

Luckily I only had to store one egg for one day - the other three hens kindly all laid an egg this morning so I plunked all 4 eggs under Henny Penny. I checked her about an hour ago and all the eggs are covered under her and warm, so I guess I will just wait until next week and candle them.

Since she has been sitting on the nest the past week not wanting to get off the nest, I have been hauling her butt out twice a day to eat and drink, can I still do this now that she is on the eggs? She has her fill then trots back to the nest after a few minutes, is this ok for me to ensure she is eating / drinking?

Mine get off when they want, 10 minutes to an hour. Eggs can get broken if they aren't cooperating when we take them off.
Most of mine sit tight the first few days and last few.

 

[Faraday40]

Luckily I only had to store one egg for one day - the other three hens kindly all laid an egg this morning so I plunked all 4 eggs under Henny Penny. I checked her about an hour ago and all the eggs are covered under her and warm, so I guess I will just wait until next week and candle them.

Since she has been sitting on the nest the past week not wanting to get off the nest, I have been hauling her butt out twice a day to eat and drink, can I still do this now that she is on the eggs? She has her fill then trots back to the nest after a few minutes, is this ok for me to ensure she is eating / drinking?

Depends on the hen. I take one hen off her nest 1x per day. (She's an unusual one that gets very thin.) All my others will go off nest by themselves every day or 2. In extreme heat of summer, sometimes I give them breakfast in bed (bit of chilled watermelon or other froz veggie treat).

 

[Feathercrazie]

Note: If you see any misinformation, things you think should be added, information needing updated or removed, or any other changes to the FAQs please PM me. I will try and keep them updated. Thanks!

FAQs

How old does a hen and rooster need to be to be able to breed?
They need to be between 16 and 18 weeks old.

How do I know if a hen is broody?
They tend to stay in their nest boxes - getting up only a couple times a day - if that - to get nurishment and to relieve herself. A broody hen also might growl or bite at you if you come too close. They also tend to puff out their feathers to look larger and also to pull some feathers to keep their eggs warm.

Purpose of a broody hen?
A broody hen is great to have around if you want to hatch eggs the natural way. They are great on farms that want to be self sustainable or in case of a power outage when you can't use an electrical incubator. The broody hen will also protect and teach the young chicks. They do however stop laying eggs while being broody and this is a problem for some.

Other hens laying eggs in her nest?
If you find other hens laying eggs in the broody hens nest, it is is best to mark the broodies eggs with a washable non toxic marker. This will allow you to collect the extra eggs each day and ensure the broody continues to sit on the same eggs. Others have had success with moving the broody hen off by herself where other hens can't get to her.

How do I make my hen go broody?
You can't make a hen go broody, especially if it's not in her nature or if broodyness has been bred out of that breed by other breeders or hatcheries. You can however get a few golf balls and put in a nest to see if that will encourage her to go broody. If she sits on the golf balls for a few days without getting up except for a few minutes, then she is broody and you can put some fertile eggs under her.

What are the best broody hens?
Araucana - Frequent Brooder
Australorp - Very Frequent Brooder
Belgian D'Anver - Frequent Brooder
Belgian D'Uccle - Very Frequent Brooder
Brahma - Frequent Brooder
Cochin - Top Notch Brooders
Dominique - Frequent Brooder
Dorking - Very Frequent Brooder
Japanese - Very Frequent Brooder
Java - Frequent Brooder
Marans - Very Frequent Brooder
New Hampshire - Good Brooder
Orpington - Frequent Brooder
Silkie - Top Notch Brooder
Sussex - Good Brooder

An old cock fighter I knew would take a Silkie rooster and place him over his best broody game hen to produce exceptional broodies. Produces birds with longer and more open feathers than the game, less tendency to be aggressive than the game, and still retain most of the instincts of the game.

 

[Ponypoor]

Mine get off when they want, 10 minutes to an hour. Eggs can get broken if they aren't cooperating when we take them off.
Most of mine sit tight the first few days and last few.

I am thinking that I will just leave her be and see what happens. I can easily put feed and water within reach of her. It's just a worry for me as I don't know how long they can just sit there not eating and drinking.

I did take her out this morning for about 5 minutes she had some food but didn't drink, she became all hostile and started chasing an attacking the 13 week old roosterlets - which they deserved. When I went to put her back on the nest she was struggling a bit and I was worried about the eggs, so I am not going to touch her again. My big thing is her 2 sisters laying their eggs in the same nest box. I found one laid there this morning so I grabbed it before Henny could haul it under herself....

How long can the eggs she is sitting on go uncovered for if she leaves the nest to eat, etc?

 

[Molpet]

I am thinking that I will just leave her be and see what happens. I can easily put feed and water within reach of her. It's just a worry for me as I don't know how long they can just sit there not eating and drinking.

I did take her out this morning for about 5 minutes she had some food but didn't drink, she became all hostile and started chasing an attacking the 13 week old roosterlets - which they deserved. When I went to put her back on the nest she was struggling a bit and I was worried about the eggs, so I am not going to touch her again. My big thing is her 2 sisters laying their eggs in the same nest box. I found one laid there this morning so I grabbed it before Henny could haul it under herself....

How long can the eggs she is sitting on go uncovered for if she leaves the nest to eat, etc?

Food and water just out of reach has her getting up and less chance of pooping on the eggs.
Mine usually get up the hottest part of the day. Although I have had a few get up first thing.
I have had some go back to the wrong nest box and the eggs were cold but still hatched, probably off for 6 hrs.

 

[Ponypoor]

Food and water just out of reach has her getting up and less chance of pooping on the eggs.
Mine usually get up the hottest part of the day. Although I have had a few get up first thing.
I have had some go back to the wrong nest box and the eggs were cold but still hatched, probably off for 6 hrs.

Good to know re: food and water, and that being off them 5 min is likely not going to be harmful. it's not hot here now, getting on to winter, more worried about a cold snap, but I have a solid barn they are in so not worried too much about cold weather.

Her sister laid an egg in the nest box with her but I removed that egg in case she rolled it under her; I only have the 3 Silkies laying in that nest box so easy to keep track of them. It will be interesting to see 1) if any of the eggs hatch as my rooster is youngster (13 weeks), and 2) how good a mama she is (have an incubator ready to roll if she decides at day 12 or whatever she has had enough!).

 

[Ponypoor]

I keep my eggs in the basement...65 to 74f, big end up for 10 days
You can check for a bullseye if you have extra eggs
View attachment 2843660

Just cracked a few of my Silkies eggs for lunch and noted the tell-tale bulls-eye you described - was very egg-cited

Also surprised as my little raunchy rooster is only just 13 weeks now, and he has been breeding the hens for a couple week. Obviously an early bloomer.

It was easy to see once I knew what to look for, the three eggs I could clearly see, but the fourth I couldn't see anything so not sure... I used a magnifying glass to make sure.