Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[stonykill]

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I move them after the hatching is done, and I try to do it before mama leaves the nest.

 

[gretamae]

Thank, stonykill.

The only problem is I never candled, so I'm not sure if hatching is done.

Is there a typical amount of time that mama stays on the nest?

 

[Alexander]

I think it depends on the hen.Some may stay some may not.Depends if they are first timers etc.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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She'll stay at least 48 hrs maybe a day longer. after that she has to take the chicks for water and food. Congrats on your broody and chicks!!

my broddy hatched the last chick on Thurs. and took them out for the first time yesterday. But they also had food and water right in their coop .

 

[Miss Lydia]

dawng, it will have to be your call, today if she seems disinterested then it might be a good thing to move her eggs. Hope it all goes well.

and NellaBean, those chicks are adorable, I don't know how you kept up with it all. Congrats on the great hatching!!!!

 

[smallcitychick]

I'm so happy my first time broody momma did it! Way to go Fanny!!!!

She has 6 right now, one more in the nest has pipped. The first one hatched out Saturday morning and we had some major drama (see my thread here https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=509381 )

ETA: since we don't have a rooster we didn't have any fertile eggs. So these are barnyard mixes from my parents' house. They have black austrolorp, easter egger and buff oprington roosters and those same breeds of hens as well as some hatchery red sex links. Looks like we've gotten mostly EE and BA crosses so far.

 

[gretamae]

Possible disaster!

I just saw my broody mama out and about like she usually is once every day or two, clucking the broody cluck and all fluffed out. But she has newly hatched chicks today! I looked in and saw 3 fluffy chicks and one still wet, just out of the shell. I shooed miss broody back into the coop and shut her in. She's back on the chicks, but she seems very agitated, and has already gotten off of the nest and back on again.

Is it normal for a hen to get off of her chicks like this or do I have a bad mama on my hands?

 

[stonykill]

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that would be unusual for my Broody's. Mine sit tight for 48 hours at least.

 

[Chicklette 1]

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Hi everyone! I'm a silent learner on this thread and finally have a Q.
There is a lot of talk about how wild and hard to handle broody raised chicks are. Have you all found this to be true? Is it just certain breeds? I see a literal handful of chicks in those pics that don't look very scared so I was just wondering.
I purposely picked breeds that have an excellent chance of going broody and am now wondering if I have made a mistake. Thanks!

It really depends. I find broody raised chicks that are out with the flock from day 1 are less friendly.

I sometimes let broodies stay in the flock but have more recently begun separating them into brooders for the first month or so. So they are in a brooder on eggs, hatch the chicks and stay with them at least a few weeks, hopefully up to a month depending on what else is going on. Get your wanna be broody hens nice and friendly FIRST. If your broody momma comes running to you for food, so will her babies! They learn fast.

I do very often take the broody momma out after a few weeks. Then the babies have a couple more weeks in the brooder under a heat lamp where they can get a little more used to me.

But then again, I don't handle my birds much so friendliness isn't a huge thing. ALL of my birds, broody raised or not, will come running for treats when I call them. Do I pick them up and carry them around? Not usually. I consider my birds friendly, but they have zero interest in being grabbed and picked up.

i think you said it right NellaBean.........Even when handled a lot, I would say that 85 to 90 percent of them really do not look forward to being picked up and handled. We like to think that they do and there are a few who truley do. I do think they can get to know their names and they do greet you but is it to be picked up or for treats? I love any attention they give me and often will have a chicken on my lap but only when they are free to get down when ever they choose to go.

 

[Fuffy]

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If it were me I'd want to be checking out that nest! Could there be a predator in/under/around? Maybe a rat, a hedgehog or a snake?

Also could there be mites? or ticks?

Just a thought