Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Miss Lydia]

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Sat day 1, sounds like you have a good setup for them, she will probably stay on the eggs if you didn't add anymore after 2 days, they usually like to take the chicks out and about around day 3 of hatch, but with food and water close by hopefully she'll sit till all are hatched, after day 25 of last set eggs I'd remove unless she does it herself. She can take chicks around other members of flock anytime and will most likely, my last broody hatched hers in the coop with all her flock around her and has had them in there the whole time, Most flocks respect the mama and her chicks, they don't want to tangle with a broody. So good luck and keep us posted on how it goes..

Thanks miss Lidia , so after a week or so with the cage separating the chicks from the flock I could lose the cage? Hope so, but what about the feed issue , I'm thinking my big girls will probably eat there chick feed.?

yep they all love chick feed, so either you'll give them all the chick feed or start feeding everyone Flock Raiser, chicks all the way up can eat it but the chick feed won't hurt the rest of the flock just make sure to give oyster shell on the side to your layers. they'll eat what they need.

 

[Chicken from the hood]

Thanks Stonyhill I gave her 8 eggs hopefully at least 2 hatch

I dont know if this means anything about how dominant he is but the owners say he's pretty agressive towards them

 

[Sueg4332]

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sounds like the roosters are satisfling their selves and not the hens, So people say to remove the fluff around the hens bottoms so it see easier for the roosters to get the job done. Are the eggs fertile ?

 

[Miss Lydia]

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sounds like the roosters are satisfling their selves and not the hens, So people say to remove the fluff around the hens bottoms so it see easier for the roosters to get the job done. Are the eggs fertile ?

Maybe your roos are too small for your hens, that was my delima, I have 6 LF hens and 2 bantam cross roos. they are too small to breed my hens, and I did not know it until my hen sat for 21 days and was sitting on unfertile eggs, My fault poor girls. But she did finally hatch some bantams.

 

[hillbillycitygirl]

dumb question alert:

can I incubate (or put under a broody) fertile eggs that have been in the fridge? A friend said yes, I still think no. so...I thought I would ask here.

Thanks

 

[hillbillycitygirl]

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sounds like the roosters are satisfling their selves and not the hens, So people say to remove the fluff around the hens bottoms so it see easier for the roosters to get the job done. Are the eggs fertile ?

Maybe your roos are too small for your hens, that was my delima, I have 6 LF hens and 2 bantam cross roos. they are too small to breed my hens, and I did not know it until my hen sat for 21 days and was sitting on unfertile eggs, My fault poor girls. But she did finally hatch some bantams.

crack a few eggs open to see if they are fertile...thats what I did, and found some hens were fertilized and some not...just kept an eye on them to figure out who was laying what and we were good to go. (it was a nice sunny day, I grabbed a lawn chair, a book and some ice tea and watched to see who went into the coop for a bit, and then checked to see what they layed....it was a daunting task but worth it in the end)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008

 

[Theeggboxtoo]

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I have successfully hatched 12 refrigerated eggs under a broody, i didn't wait for them to get to room temp or anything.

(it wasn't a dumb question)

 

[Miss Lydia]

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I've heard of it being done and working. less than 10 days old though

 

[Alexander]

Some posts ago I said I had 2 broodies...

SCRATCH THAT.THEIR 5!!!

2 of them are in the same nest and they share at least 10 eggs.

The other 2 sit on nothing and the last turkey hen made her own nest and I cant locate her.

 

[Tiss]

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Oh my! No eggs to eat and chicks everywhere!