Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[RcoM]

Martha's been pretty steady since I last posted. I candled her eggs on Friday and saw veins in the first three!

The next day she took a good break, and one of the other hens sat for the duration...and laid her egg there!

I’ve never heard of that before! A good break, a nanny and then returned to nest?

 

[RcoM]

Here’s my mumma who I tricked into going broody. Due to her love of foraging and intense desire to feed her 5 hatched chicks, 3 got left in the shell. But the ones now are healthy and strong at 2 weeks old tomorrow!

Update on this post.
The 5 chicks are now 12 weeks old. 2 weeks ago I took the suspected rooster whom we loved (called Snowy) and swapped him with a breeder who had same colour and breed. His were almost same size and age . Mumma was not happy with the teenage intruder but he’s finally been accepted into the flock now. I now have a little family flock of 6 chooks! The last photo is mum and her big fat babies checking him out in his bachelor pad (before integration).

 

[beckster01]

Sometimes I thrive on chaos until I have to deal with the consequences.

The lesson learned this year: separate your broody! Or else half your flock is going to go broody. At least I can move eggs if the momma on the left ditches her nest after 2 chicks hatch like my last broody hen did. The hatch just started today, but I'm anticipating this to take 1-2 weeks. I went from 1 broody, to 2, to 5 over the course of about 2 weeks.

https://flic.kr/p/2pVJVMF

I was hoping that once the hatch started, I could lock the rest of the flock out during the day, and let them roost at night. But I have one dumb as rocks americauna that repeatedly jumped over the barrier I placed and tried sitting on top of the broody hens. I can't have anyone getting trampled so I made them sleep in the run (there is a sheltered corner). I'm getting myself a crate that I can cover and leave in the run for future separation needs, so I think if I put the americauna in that at night, I can block the "nursery" and everyone else will roost like normal chickens. Another option is asking my brother in law if he wants a new chicken

 

[RcoM]

Sometimes I thrive on chaos until I have to deal with the consequences.

The lesson learned this year: separate your broody! Or else half your flock is going to go broody. At least I can move eggs if the momma on the left ditches her nest after 2 chicks hatch like my last broody hen did. The hatch just started today, but I'm anticipating this to take 1-2 weeks. I went from 1 broody, to 2, to 5 over the course of about 2 weeks.

https://flic.kr/p/2pVJVMF

I was hoping that once the hatch started, I could lock the rest of the flock out during the day, and let them roost at night. But I have one dumb as rocks americauna that repeatedly jumped over the barrier I placed and tried sitting on top of the broody hens. I can't have anyone getting trampled so I made them sleep in the run (there is a sheltered corner). I'm getting myself a crate that I can cover and leave in the run for future separation needs, so I think if I put the americauna in that at night, I can block the "nursery" and everyone else will roost like normal chickens. Another option is asking my brother in law if he wants a new chicken

Oh my goodness!! 5 broodies! Thank you for sharing all those observations as I will definitely take them on board!!! 1 clutch is enough! Plus my husband whinges when we get no eggs. So I have to keep some on the lay.
When my hen went broody, I seperated the others fairly quickly due to her sister trying to roost with her and pooping on her all the time. That was ideal to manage the situation as I had an old coop. Later, her sister wanted to adopt the chicks but no way was Aunty getting close! And she was sad as to why they were no longer 'friends'. After I sold the chicks at 9 weeks, (around Xmas) she all settled back down. Then she went broody again in March. Mumma rules the roost but this time we are keeping all the chicks (except for the 1 rooster). One thing I like is no flock integration issues when you keep your own hen-raised chicks.

 

[NagemTX]

Lol, I'll raise you on broodies!

The one in the middle is a Halloween hatch so not even a year old.

This is Zilla and she's not that great of a mom. She left her two chicks to back and sit on eggs again.

These three girls are the best moms. They share chick duties and shared nest brooding duties. I really love my Silver Phoenix moms.

 

[beckster01]

Lol, I'll raise you on broodies!

The one in the middle is a Halloween hatch so not even a year old.
View attachment 3855094

This is Zilla and she's not that great of a mom. She left her two chicks to back and sit on eggs again.
View attachment 3855095

These three girls are the best moms. They share chick duties and shared nest brooding duties. I really love my Silver Phoenix moms.
View attachment 3855096

Aww look at them! I suppose you win I had fun trying to explain to my husband how broodiness is "catching." It went something along the lines of "when women are around other pregnant women and/or babies, they all want to start having babies. It's a hormone thing lol

 

[Evadig]

Broodiness is definitely catching! First Matilda (turkey) went broody, then Winnie (duck under M's wing) joined her, and Hilda (other duck) moved in a week later (I personally think 'cause she just wanted to get away from Henry the drake)! They are sitting on nineteen duck eggs...

 

[beckster01]

Broodiness is definitely catching! First Matilda (turkey) went broody, then Winnie (duck under M's wing) joined her, and Hilda (other duck) moved in a week later (I personally think 'cause she just wanted to get away from Henry the drake)! They are sitting on nineteen duck eggs...
View attachment 3855123

I did have the thought that most of them were trying to get away from one of our roosters We had 2, and one of them was a bit rough. After half my flock went broody, we decided that Ding Dong the Australorp needed to go to freezer camp... Our other one is much more gentlemanly.

 

[fuzzi]

Update:

The first hatch resulted in all boys, but I am keeping one. The father (rooster) tried to kill his chicks, so he's been removed. Martha was a wonderful and conscientious broody momma. I would use her again.

Here are the boys, currently:

One of the Dominiques sneaked her egg in the bunch!

I obtained 12 more Sussex eggs (shipped), placed half in an incubator and half under a broody (Tamar). Of those 12 eggs seven hatched, but one succumbed within a day or two, so I have six more chicks with two different broodies in the coop.

The hatched incubator eggs went under the second broody, Rahab.

It's been interesting, and I have learned a lot.

Broody hatched (Tamar)

Incubator hatched (4) with Rahab

Now Martha's gone broody again, but we're done for the year!

 

[labelo]

Sometimes you get an unlikely broody. My parents' black laced gold wyandotte was not quite 7 months and had been laying for less than a month when she went broody. They finally have a (splash laced red wyandotte) rooster, so they decided to let her hatch a few days' worth of eggs (from GLWs, black stars, and a green-laying EE wyandotte mix), not sure if she'd be successful. She stayed in a laying box in the coop with the flock (only 4 chickens in a coop built for 20).
Fast forward three weeks and this young first time mama successfully hatched all 7 eggs she was given!
One was a late hatcher and ultimately didn't make it, but the other six are happy as clams. They considered moving her and chicks to the brooder, but the other chickens left everyone alone so they stayed in the coop. Now to integrate a bunch of new 8 week olds from the brooder--they hadn't counted on a broody and had bought a bunch of chicks from the hatchery!