Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[BooBear]

Go with starter preferrably or flock raiser

Layer has allot of calcium that in not good for wee chicks.

 

[BooBear]

Ok I got a picture of the new arrival. This little baby has been playing hide n seek with me. Everytime she sees me she dashes under momma.

See if you can spot her in this picture.

Did ya see her in all the fluff?
......
.....

Want a better shot at finding her?

Try this one:

Blueberry is being such a good momma, but she is so fluffy it is hard to spot the wee baby.
The first chick is a Silkie and the other egg that has a pip is the other Silkie egg. There is also 1 Wyandotte egg from Saphire under her.
1 of the Silkie eggs is from Blueberry and the other is from Rita. Cinnimon is their daddy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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What a cute picture, Love to see chicks playing hide an seek in all the fluff. Congrats.

 

[Fuffy]

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Hi James

Go for the chick crumb and then the layers' at 6 to 8 weeks

And good luck!

 

[Layira]

Ok, so my mama hen's clutch is set to hatch starting tomorrow. Should I leave her alone today and tomorrow and not take her off the nest? I usually take her off at least once a day to make sure she's getting water, just because its been sooo hot here (in the upper 90's in the day and barely going below 80 at night). But I don't want to mess with incubation especially since I know with an incubator the last 3 days are lockdown.

Also, I've read some stuff about moving the hen and babies to ground level. So my question is how high is too high for the babies to reach? The box she's in is on cinderblocks, so its not too high up but I'm not sure.

And how long should I wait before trying to interact with chicks? I don't want to upset mama but I want the chicks to be socialized and friendly.

 

[stuckinthecity]

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I wouldn't mess with her anymore until she hatches all her eggs. Then, you could move her out of the nest box to keep her from overheating or getting too hot. The chicks won't be able to get back into the nest unless it's on the ground. Mine were having trouble getting back into my hens nest and it only had a 2X4 nailed to the end to keep the eggs from rolling out, ect. I had to build up a layer of hay around the edge so they could climb back in. You can start whenever they hatch! I always brought mine treats so they aren't too scared of me.

 

[Sphinx]

So, I figure it's day 6 or so for my eggs under the chicken. I tried candling them. I'm thinking maybe only 1-2 are possibly viable.

I candled an egg that was laid today, and it was totally clear. I was hoping it would be a good "control" for me.

Egg 1: (white egg) seemed fairly porous, but I saw a black spot that moved around. I'm not sure if it moved because I was moving the egg, or because it was moving on its' own. Also seemed to be a pretty good air hole.

Egg 2: (light green) saw a round shadow, and an air hole, but couldn't see any spider legs or anything.

Egg 3: (dark olive green): totally impenetrable. Couldn't see in at all.

Egg 4: (lighter olive green): thought I saw a darker shadow and an air hole, but kind of porous.

Egg 5: (light blueish/green) also thought I saw a darker shadow and air hole.

The only ones I feel very optimistic about are #1 and #5.

-sigh- I don't know. When I saw some pictures online, the blood vessel lines seemed so obvious, but I didn't see that at all.

 

[Layira]

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Ok, I'm gonna set up a little area for them tonight so it's all ready when everyone's hatched! Should food for mama be close to the nest as well as the babies' food?

Oh good! I hope my hen lets me hold them and play with 'em, they're just gonna be so darn cute!! So excited!!! I'll be sure to post pics!!

 

[stonykill]

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Ok, I'm gonna set up a little area for them tonight so it's all ready when everyone's hatched! Should food for mama be close to the nest as well as the babies' food?

Oh good! I hope my hen lets me hold them and play with 'em, they're just gonna be so darn cute!! So excited!!! I'll be sure to post pics!!

food for mama and babies should be the same thing....chick starter

 

[Miss Lydia]

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What day was it? I think most people candle at day 7 or 10, so maybe give it a few more days then try again.