Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[KirkKoop]

I have a broody hen on eggs right now. Rooster is a RIR. She is a White Leghorn sitting on 1 WLH egg, 2 bantie black sex-link eggs and 4 standard red sex-link eggs.

I just went to check on her and...her egg is pipping!!!!! I am so beyond excited! This is her first clutch and our first time with hatching anything! This egg is right on day 21...the others are about 1 day behind.

I have 4 bantie chicks that were purchased last night at the feed store - they are in an indoor brooder for now. I am wanting to move them under her at night. But when? Should I do it tonight or at least wait for 1 more egg to hatch since they are offset by a day? Any chance the chicks wont take to mom since they've been in the brooder/store a few days?

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

My silkie, Nee Nee, played with broodiness all last weekend, and finally got down to business around the beginning of the week. I gave her two eggs on Tuesday because I had nothing to lose: incubator runs constantly

, so if she changed her mind I have a backup plan. She will be hatching two OEGB in a few weeks...hopefully!

 

[Attack Chicken]

This weekend have two broody bantam wyandottes BB and Pepper that are due. 7 goodlooking serama eggs under each of them so hopefully 14 bouncing chicks by Monday!

AC

 

[Fuffy]

Quote:
If you look further up I posted a pic of my funny little setup. It is made from a dog house for something the size of a yorkshire terrier....Nest size, in fact. It has little feet underneath and I can lift up the roof to talk to Mama or lift her off the nest. The mesh bit is one of those cages for childrens' rabbits. This is attached by means of very technical bungy cords.

Mama and the babies were fine in there last year until they babies were 6 weeks old. But I might try and get another mesh cage the same and join them together so they have more room. The mesh thing has a hinge so you can lift up half the roof to clean and handle the little people.

I am giving her 10 buff sussex eggs tomorrow...so wish me luck.

Am thinking that for the next clutch I might try having mom and the nursery setup in the run with the other hens around. And maybe take away the mesh cage whrn the babes are 3 or 4 days old. Then mom can either teach the babies to go into the big coop or sleep with them in the nursery until she doesn't want to anymore..... Hmmmm

I should say that as I live on an island, every hatching egg is flown in from the mainland and I don't want to waste money and stress on just seeing if it works. If mom is separated, at least I know it works....

 

[KirkKoop]

The first baby is here! Mama is doing a great job and baby loves staying under those warm feathers

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
How unusual to have a broody White Leghorn! Not impossible, but sure unusual, they're bred to be egg machines. That's a great photo, the one where you're holding the chick and her eyes are shooting venomous rays.

The chance you'll take trying to graft the brooder chicks to the hen is that the hen herself will reject the chicks. I would wait until very late tonight, hopefully after all the hen's egglings have hatched. Then add the brooder chicks under the hen. If all goes well, the hen will accept all the chicks as hers and take them all for an outing together.

Sometimes the hen will accept chicks under her at night but in the light of day will reject them. Even if they look like her other chicks, she may reject them if she doesn't like the sound of their peeps. You'll have to watch her to make sure she doesn't peck them.

If your hen's chicks are still emerging by sunrise, you should wait until the next night to add the brooder chicks. It wouldn't do to have active older chicks in the nest with emerging chickies.

 

[Airplaneguy57]

I have two BOs that are broody right now. After a complete failure at using a bator I decided to let the goes do it. I thought it would be so cute to have the babies walking around the yard. The first batch is due 10 March. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[KirkKoop]

Thanks for the input Sunny. Yea from what I have read and seen, the white leghorn is not know for being a good broody or mother for that fact. I guess Flash proved that she can be the exception

Now I was feeling adventurous and introduced a dark brown chick to her in broad daylight earlier today. I tucked him under her after a brief introduction and gave them about 30 minutes alone time. Went back in to check on them all and offer some feed to momma. Well brownie was right up in her face pecking at her red waddles and jumping on her back. She wasn't the least bit annoyed and let him carry on. He settled in with the original chick under mom and the few remaining eggs. That was several hours ago now and as everyone has been put away for the night. She still has "her" 2 babies nice and warm under her. Hopefully the 2 banty eggs hatch tonight/tomorrow as it will be their day 21 and I can still detect life with candling!

Such a fun experience this is for me and my 7-yr old daughter! Gotta love these little miracles from God. Seeing a life start out as just a yolk and how it can evolve into this beautiful living creature is really incredible!

Hoping to wake up in the morning to some more peeps!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Yay, I'm glad that Mama & her hatchlings AND her adopted chicks are getting along well. Some hens will accept chicks much more readily than others. The ideal way is to tuck them in under the hen after dark and then in the morning they'll be one big happy family. But I've had hens that would allow new chicks under them by night, but in the morning would reject them. Even though the new chick looked just like the others, I figured it was something in the way they sounded that made the hen want to dismiss them. If you have a more accepting sort of hen you can give her new chicks at any time.

 

[Raven81]

im missing an egg
the blue orp due on the 10th i just checked her & i found a piece of shell in the run & she is missing an egg.
i candled them a few nites ago & took out the ones that werent developing & left her 9 now she only has 8.
would she have eaten it?