Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[shellyga]

My timing was off.. as it always seems to be,. We went to move Mama down from the top row of nest for the eggs to hatch TOMORROW.. and what do I see peering out of the box-- tiny eyes!!!

So picked her up.. moved the nest to the ground and counted 7 little fluffies and semi-fluffies.. we were working so quickly..DH says pipped on another one of the three left.. She settled in -- at least she is ground level now. going back out in a bit for a chance at a picture.

Three more to go -- one more this week.. let me check my notes again..

Shelly

 

[Miz Mary]

O K, here's my story ....... Miss Mama here, hatched 2 babies on Friday ..... inside the coop -in a nest 2 feet off the ground .... a day after they hatched , I moved them all to the floor of the coop , put a lip on the bottom of the pop door so they wouldnt fall out 3 feet to the ground outside ..... this AM , I go out and Miss Mama is outside on the ground WITH ONLY 1 CHICK !!!!! I searched everywhere, and I couldnt find chick #2 .... as I was looking around, Chick #1 got out of the run under the door ! OH NO !!! Caught it and put it back with mamma ... fixed that problem ASAP ( run is made from an old dog run - chain link with chicken wire on the bottom ) ...

My only guess is that chick # 2 escaped the same way , and one of our cats was out hunting this morning ....

....... no sign of it anywhere ...

Here is Mama and baby , showing the high drop from coop to ground .... I had NO idea she would do this yet ! Thought she's wait for baby to get bigger - she taught me !!
( this is my first time at this)

Here is Mama and baby ! ....

Then , checking on " Fancy " .... I see her first of 3 hatching !!! This chick is now fully out , but I watched Fancy help the chick hatch !! She was pecking and tearing away the shell !! .... I was so enthralled, I forgot to get my camera and record it , dang it !!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

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So happy to be of help. believe me It's a learning experience for every one of us. But i wouldn't trade it for anything. I enjoy watching mama and her little ones so much. Great pics and could see the little ones real good.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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Well be sure to keep us posted on what is going on...

 

[Miss Lydia]

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is she a first timer? I notice with mine they aren't really sure why they have set so long then it's like a light bulb goes off. oH yeah chicks. maybe she is just getting use to being a mama. or like they said better look for a predator

Well, no predators to be found. No mites or ticks either, although I've seen TONS of ticks already this year (eek!)

Mama seems to have calmed down. All my birds are from a family down the road a ways, and they were all 12-24 months old when I brought them home, so this is the first time she's gone broody for me, but she may have had a clutch before I had her. I'm guessing it's her first time.

When I came home from the grocery store today I could hear extra loud peeping all the way from the driveway. One chick had taken a tumble out of the nest and was peeping his/her little head off. I couldn't believe how loud it was! I stuck the fuzzy little thing back up with mama and all is peaceful for the moment.

Thanks, everyone!

Good to hear. I was watching my last broody that hatced this past week, when she saw the chick for the first time she pecked it pretty hard but I am not sure if she understood exactly what was going on at first. Now she is a great mama. So good to hear she has settled down, she'll get better everyday..

 

[Miss Lydia]

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Congratulations shellyga, looking forward to pictures.......

 

[Miss Lydia]

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MIZMary, so sorry you lost the one, but thank goodness the other is safe and sound and with mama, that one pic with them looking like they are kissing is priceless. Congrats are both broodys, more pics please

 

[smallcitychick]

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I actually started out with aspen shavings in the nest boxes for all my hens (last year). Then I experimented with some hay in one of the nest boxes with shavings in the other to see if they preferred one over the other. Hay was right out, they used it more as a bathroom than a nest box

Then I tried the pellet bedding one time because the tractor supply had 2 bags on sale because they had been ripped open when unpacking them. The chickens LOVED them! They completely stopped using the nest boxes unless there were pellets in the bottom. In fact, after I had used up the 2 bags i went back to the aspen shavings and they started laying their eggs outside on the ground instead of the nest boxes!

No problem with me, the pellets were cheaper and easier to clean the coop, plus when I clean it out the pellets just go directly onto my garden and don't blow all over like the shavings did. We had an EXTREMELY cold and long winter here this year. I didn't take out the pellets and replace with new pellets like I normally do, I just kept adding a new layer on top until it was about 4 inches thick (hoping that it would help insulate). Everyone survived.
We're now up to 7 chicks! How long should I let her sit on the remaining eggs? No new pips this afternoon. I guess I can take them away tomorrow if there are still no new pips.

If you don't have any pips by tomorrow I'd go ahead and remove the last eggs unless it was a staggerd hatch like NellaBean had, but after 48 hrs she will probably need to leave the nest anyeway and show chicks where food and water is. Congrats on the hatch..

Oh goodness, I went out this morning and there was a brand new baby chick! That brings the total up to 8, with 3 more eggs in the nest. I dare remove any eggs today since by last night the newbie hadn't even pipped yet.

I'll wait and see what the rest of the day brings. I put a small waterer and feeder up in the coop (the coop is about 3 feet off the ground with a ramp going up to the pop door, so now way the chicks could make it up and down that yet) and the momma has already been out several times yesterday and this morning showing the babies where to get food and water.

 

[Miss Lydia]

So do you think you miscalculated the hatch date? Congrats!!!!

 

[Alexander]

Hey everyone I have a little update for you.

My father opened up the eggs(2 of them exploded

)and what he saw was something like green slime.And some eggs had something brown like poo as he said.Could it be an early forming embryo?