Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[ldrwnorman47]

I tryed to candle with a regular led flashlight I have. No such luck. I think i will borrow my husbands Sheriffs office issed light, I know its much brighter. I just have to wait until he has a day off!!

I also have a mouse comming in and out of the hens nesting "cage" will that hurt anything but the mouse? (if the hen catches him)

 

[phasianidae]

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I have seen shrews around the hen pen and as soon as my broodys see it they will stretch their neck out... and good bye shrew.

 

[arianna]

I posted this on a separated thread. I’m hoping to get more answers here.

"I have a Partridge Cochin bantam hen on 6 eggs since Feb 21, so today is day 18. This is a first for me and her. Every day I take her out (twice) and let her run around for few minutes. She doesn't leave the nest on her own. She has some food right next to her where she can reach without leaving her eggs right now. She is very skinny and barely eats anything.
My question is:
“Can I still take her of her nest for the next few days since she is so close to her hatch day?“ (I read on BYC forum about incubators and something about lockdown on day 19?)
Second question:
“Should I bring her in the house and put extra heath for her when she hatches?” (right now she is in the main coop with a separation between her and the other chickens)This weekend is supposed to be more warm, but inside the coop is still a little chilly. I use a little blanket to cover her up at night, should I put it on her after she hatches at night to make sure she stays warm with the chicks? It's like a cocoon. "

This is from the other side

 

[Raven81]

well i posted a few days ago about my broody on eggs & she abandoned them on day 17, so i cranked up the home made incubator & 2 hrs ago i got my 1st pip from the eggs & its nearly out, almost fully zipped now.

 

[pkw]

Here is my momma. She is due I believe March 18th ... I originally didn't think I wrote the date down but I did find my pocket calendar I had written the date down in:

 

[michaelinnc84]

Beautiful bird. I wouldn't pull her off anymore. I would think let the hen do her thing as momma knows best but maybe someone more experienced then I will chime in. Good luck on the hatch.

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[kuntrygirl]

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I agree. I would leave her alone . I never, never, never bother my broody hens. I provide fresh food and water on a daily basis and I keep their brooder clean. I let them do all of the work so that I don't have to. She'll be fine.

 

[haTHOR]

i did not allow my Black Java broody to hatch her eggs but put foster babies under her at one day old (at night) as i wanted FCBMs and their breeder had just hatched her last bunch for the year--couldn't resist!

anyway, my response is about raising babies in a pen with other adults.

i penned off a portion of the coop for her and the babies for 4-5 days BUT opened it up after i saw that the other hens did not seem to be aggressive (a piece of the hardware cloth came down and other hens got in and were digging in the shavings--broody mama was fine with them and they were fine with the babies.) at one week, black java mama brought babies down the ramp and kept them with her in the pen with about a dozen other adults. we do have one roo (a Black Java) only in that pen, and he is a real gentleman--doesn't truck with any fighting in the pen and is himself very gentle. he walked around with the BJ mama and babies like he was protecting them at times. the raising in the adult group went great and there were no issues whatsoever.

i think you have to consider the personality of the chickens in the pen with the mama. also the heirarchy--is mama already picked on? does roo not protect the hens?

this was our setup (over 100 degree weather--ventilation was essential). adult birds roosted above this in the coop. you can see linoleum poop board which protected the broody setup from being pooped on).

a few pics that show my broody with her babies both in the brooder in the coop and in the yard.

 

[ldrwnorman47]

ha THOR your babies are so cute !! Awesome.

I FINALLY got to candle my eggs. I started with 16 and 1 didnt develope and 1 was taken care of by momma.
I saw something in all of them. Im getting sooo excited. Mine are set to hatch next friday !!

I hope for at least half. Is that to much to ask for?

 

[arianna]

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I love the photos with the chick on mama hen. So cute