Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Jloeffler]

Miss Lydia - most definitely! And I'm going to see if I can get a replacement camera cord so if there is anything to take pics of I'll post those ASAP too! Until then I'll be

 

[slurrywidow]

Quote:
Oh exciting!! Please keep us posted. Can't wait to hear your good news, and see those baby pics.

 

[Fuffy]

Good luck from this side of the pond, too!

We NEEEED pics!!!

And I'm so glad I'm not the only one who was in labour with her hen

 

[Jloeffler]

Well, the good news is I have four baby chicks. The bad news is they are in the brooder where I put them after watching their surrogate mother drag one of them out from under her and peck it to death. No matter what i did she was bent on the death of that little guy. I grabbed the others, not wanting to risk the chance that she felt that there was just something wrong with that one. By the time I had put the chicks into the brooder and went back to check on the ones that hadn't hatched yet, Pretty was back sitting on the eggs. Any advice? Frankly I'm a bit freaked out. Two of the chicks weren't completely dry yet and two were, and the dead chick was somewhere between still wet and on the way to drying.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Congratulations on your hatch!

Sorry to hear that it hasn't gone smoothly. Hopefully, some of the folks more experienced with broodies will have advice for you.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

My broody mama is having to work hard here today. Temperature dropped below 60 degrees with a chilly breeze. (Fall is in the air.) 10 day old chicks are requiring a lot of under mom time today!!

 

[Fuffy]

Quote:
I'd be freaked out, too!!!!

At least you know the others are safe!

And at least you had a brooder to put them in

Don't know what to say, except that sometimes things just don't go the way you plan them.

Over the past few years since I've had my chickens I've learned that a flock is a fluid concept

. Some get sick, some die and some new ones come in. Somehow the cycle of life moves

awfully fast in a flock of chickens!

I imagined I would have a starter pack of chickens, which would go on for X amount of years and then I would get some more

. Of my original 7 chickens, I only have 2 left

Good luck raising the little ones!

And can we have some nice pics, please?

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Day 10 - the family is growing up and the frizzle is frizzing!!!

Hard to believe the difference in size between the bantam and the full size chicks. And the feathering. Is fast feathering a hallmark of bantams or frizzles or just coincidence with my kids?

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

After 5 weeks of reading this thread, and watching my "ever-broody" Alice Ann, she has finally gone straight velocoraptor.
My eggs are now fertile, and my little girls are laying enough tiny eggs to keep us in breakfast.
She always goes broody in the same nest box, and has again. I gave her 3 golf balls to sit on, which delighted and amazed her (up to now, I am the evil ogress who is always banishing her from the nest and stealing her precious potential children).
I have a special, sectioned-off area for her to nest in, which I devised the second my eggs were 90% fertile, and I began this thread, in anticipation of this day.
I have a cardboard box "nest" in one section, and the rest is open space, under the nest boxes. I am hoping to coax her into sitting on the nest in the enclosure, and am going to move her and her golf balls there in a day or 2. She won't eat while nesting, so I don't want to wait too long to move her. She is a fierce broody, so I am hoping she will respond to this change well, and accept the contrived nest.
If she does, I will give her some fertile eggs to sit on, and begin Chick Watch 2011.
I am so excited to be able to Officially join this thread, instead of being a creepy lurker with a strong desire for homegrown fuzzy butts and a hen who goes broody every 5-6 weeks.
Thanks to everyone who has shared their wealth of experiences with this thread (and with me). I feel really good about this, and feel I have a good base of knowledge to begin with. These will be my first ever chicks hatched with a broody Mum, and I am so excited I can barely contain myself!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Rachel'sFlock :

After 5 weeks of reading this thread, and watching my "ever-broody" Alice Ann, she has finally gone straight velocoraptor.
My eggs are now fertile, and my little girls are laying enough tiny eggs to keep us in breakfast.
She always goes broody in the same nest box, and has again. I gave her 3 golf balls to sit on, which delighted and amazed her (up to now, I am the evil ogress who is always banishing her from the nest and stealing her precious potential children).
I have a special, sectioned-off area for her to nest in, which I devised the second my eggs were 90% fertile, and I began this thread, in anticipation of this day.
I have a cardboard box "nest" in one section, and the rest is open space, under the nest boxes. I am hoping to coax her into sitting on the nest in the enclosure, and am going to move her and her golf balls there in a day or 2. She won't eat while nesting, so I don't want to wait too long to move her. She is a fierce broody, so I am hoping she will respond to this change well, and accept the contrived nest.
If she does, I will give her some fertile eggs to sit on, and begin Chick Watch 2011.
I am so excited to be able to Officially join this thread, instead of being a creepy lurker with a strong desire for homegrown fuzzy butts and a hen who goes broody every 5-6 weeks.
Thanks to everyone who has shared their wealth of experiences with this thread (and with me). I feel really good about this, and feel I have a good base of knowledge to begin with. These will be my first ever chicks hatched with a broody Mum, and I am so excited I can barely contain myself!!!

Well congratulations!!! and sounds like you have a good solid plan I hope all goes great and you'll let us know when those fuzzy butts start hatching..