Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[vegaschick]

stonykill - hope your chickie makes it!

 

[stonykill]

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I love them all BUT am VERY partial to Casino.

She is the broody mama queen. I got her from friends whose yard she showed up in with chicks. Roulette is actually her grownup girl. She's an incredible forager and fierce as a mama bear! She tried going broody again but I had to break her cuz of the heat.

she is a Sumatra right? The face shot certainly looks like it. They are CRAZY about being broody.

 

[Tiss]

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Vegas, these are too cute for words! I love mama chickens and their babies!!!

 

[vegaschick]

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When I got her I did the "What's this breed" thing and all I got back was that she's a game bird (hence her name). Still not sure what type...? Not familiar with Sumatra's at all though.

Tiss - Thanks! I have one more broody, a Delaware named Viola, who adopted two feedstore chicks and is also a great mom. When Roulette and one of her chicks died from the heat it left one chickie all alone. She adopted it even though it's at least 2wks older than her chicks. We have relocated our flock to the mountains in southern UT and had our first brush with natural predators a couple weeks ago. I came up to the run and couldnt see/hear a single bird. Then I heard a low growling from inside the coop. It was Viola warning her chicks to stay put! They weren't even with her, but were hiding in the rabbit brush 4 and 8 feet away. Those babies weren't moving a muscle. I finally noticed a HUGE bird in my aunts pine trees next door. It was an eagle. Wow! Don't know why I don't have a pic of her and her chicks. There is a pic of her on my BYC page though.

 

[stonykill]

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When I got her I did the "What's this breed" thing and all I got back was that she's a game bird (hence her name). Still not sure what type...? Not familiar with Sumatra's at all though.

.

look at my BYC page.Quite a few pics of a few of my boys and girls. I'm sure she is a Sumatra looking at both your pics. They ARE my favorite bird.

 

[Tiss]

Scary! I'm so paranoid about hawks around here.

 

[Cindilou]

My girl who hatched eggs out on Father's day laid an egg today. She and her 4 chicks are in a mini coop. Should I introduce them back into the main coop or continue to wait until they are a bit bigger?

 

[Sphinx]

I am hoping to join you all!

My black copper marans started going broody a week or so. She started right about the time I integrated my 4 month old cockerel to the group. I have no idea if the eggs are fertile yet or not, but I gave her 7 eggs yesterday (7/18). Then, last night, I realized I was short an egg for a cheesecake and took one back (it'd just been laid that day, so I think it was fine to eat). I think I saw that bullseye that's supposed to be visible in fertile eggs.

So, she has 6 eggs to sit on. I marked them all with a marker because she is in the favored nesting box and the other hens keep sneaking in there and laying eggs too.

Anyway, I figure next week I'll candle them to see if they are possibly developing chicks.

I think it'll be really exciting if it works out. The cockerel is a black copper marans. There's 1 BCM egg, 1 white leghorn(ish) egg, and 4 EE eggs (two of which are fairly olive to start with).

 

[kegbergman]

Well, today is day 19 of my broody BO hen sitting on eggs. As this is my first experience I was hoping for some advise as to what to expect. I candled the eggs again a couple of days ago and the 2 eggs I was questioning on day 10 have not changed, so I tossed them. As I suspected nothing had progressed with them when they broke. Of the remaining 5, 4 definately have completely become a shadow (chicks have formed?) and the last one is questionable.
My quesitons?
1. What is piping? Is it the peeping noises that the chicks will make before hatching and should I listen for it on Thursday? Day 21 is Friday.

2. My one other BO hen has been allowed to be with my broody hen in the coop and when I boot her off the nest to eat. Should I separate her on Friday when the chicks should hatch so she doesn't interfere with the hatching or will the broody hen keep the other hen away?

3. How do I monitor the hatching with the hen sitting on the eggs or is it even necessary as I shouldn't interfere with the process?

Thanks for all your advise you have given me thus far. You have all been very helpful.

Karen in WNY

 

[Miss Lydia]

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Hi and congrats on your first broody! you'll enjoy so much watching mama and her chicks. Thats all you'll have to do is watch, except for making sure they have food and water of course. BO make great mamas. Pipping is when the chick breaks through into the air sac. you'll be able to hear them peeping probably Thurs. so listen it is so cool. If your other BO has been on the nest with the broody all this time I would just leave her, unless it's such a small area chicks could get smashed. I have had several mamas share chicks very sweet. Best thing to do is just let mama do it and when it's all over take your head count. of course go and look every once in a while. But mama has been comunicating with her chicks for quite a while now and they to her, so everything will be fine. Please let us know when they begin to hatch so we can be nervous with you. we never get tired of hearing about hatch day.