Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Terri O]

Too bad about your duck...she might be sitting on a clutch though. Decided to hide it so you wouldnt take her eggs? I have 4 sitting on nests right now...but they are muskovies and seem to delight in making me worry about frozen feet etc! Good luck--hopefully she will just show up with babies in tow!

Here is what I found yesterday:

This is her FOURTH batch this summer! She started really early in spring. She had a nest under a bunch of hay up in the barn and I heard peeping later in the afternoon (after I took the picture) I went out to investigate and there were two more chicks that had dropped into the hay feeder from up in the barn! One was dead but the other seemed fine. I tucked him under the Mama and she was happy. The yellow chick in the pic is just huge! About twice the size of the other two...wonder who the daddy was?

So this time she has a small clutch...all the better to keep them warm I guess!
Terri O

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
Sorry to hear about the chick, but Congrats on the other 2 . My Muscovies are through for the year, [thank goodness] let us know about the ducklings when hatched too and pics, we love those pics.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
I live in PA...it's been cooling down for sure! We have a little stream that runs past the duck shack, across the street is a nasty red swamp--it's kind of dead from the mining activity in the 70's, then about a mile away we have a river. Yes, I took her eggs. She was hatched this spring. I haven't looked that hard, I've been sick...I plan to scour the area where I saw her last hopefully tonight...might be able to find a nest or enough feathers to know she was killed. Mister is really missing her; he walks around calling her and last night he slept in the chicken coop where they use to sleep while all the other ducks were in the duck shack.

Anything is possible she could be sitting on a clutch somewhere. I hope you can find her. Has the male never flown off before? if they are a pair then I just don't see her leaving him unless she felt the need to migrate but still think he would have followed, so maybe she is brooding, hope you feel better and can find her. let us know how it's going.

 

[Jloeffler]

Quote:
I live in PA...it's been cooling down for sure! We have a little stream that runs past the duck shack, across the street is a nasty red swamp--it's kind of dead from the mining activity in the 70's, then about a mile away we have a river. Yes, I took her eggs. She was hatched this spring. I haven't looked that hard, I've been sick...I plan to scour the area where I saw her last hopefully tonight...might be able to find a nest or enough feathers to know she was killed. Mister is really missing her; he walks around calling her and last night he slept in the chicken coop where they use to sleep while all the other ducks were in the duck shack.

Anything is possible she could be sitting on a clutch somewhere. I hope you can find her. Has the male never flown off before? if they are a pair then I just don't see her leaving him unless she felt the need to migrate but still think he would have followed, so maybe she is brooding, hope you feel better and can find her. let us know how it's going.

x2

 

[Chicken Chat]

I feel really bad, I haven't been on the computer in 4 days or so and was way behind on everyone's news. Good to see more babies. I had an interesting last few days as well. My other 2 out of 3 eggs hatched on Sunday. Here is a pic of my two mommas and their 3 chicks. The 3rd chick is under mom and wouldn't come out to have their pic taken. I put them in the bator to hatch them and gave them to Gypsy (the partridge) during the night, she loves them. Good thing I had them in lockdown in the bator, the first one decided to pip at the wrong end of the egg. After 21 hours without any change, I helped a bit, wrapped it in a wet paper towel and back in the bator. Took another 4 hours, but he finally had enough room to zip and come out on its own.

The two moms are cute! I figured they might fight over babies but they are actually helping feed each others, but the babies still know who mom is and only goes under that mom to warm up. They stay pretty close together but haven't stepped outside with the kids yet. 3rd egg hasn't hatched yet, at one point, it got shoved to the back of the nest and got cold. After it warmed back up, I saw movement in it but I think it delayed developement. I think I saw movement in it yesterday but it hasn't gotten big up to the airsack like it's ready to hatch. I'm going to wait a few days to see if its growing in the bator before tossing it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
Really sweet pics, Congrats on the hatch, I had some hens share duties a couple years ago it was so sweet.

 

[Niss]

Mrs. is back! She came running and quacking about 15 mins ago. Mr. quickly flew over to join her. I want to watch her so I can move her and nest to a cage in the coop, but I have to eat, put on laundry, and go back to town for a training @ 7:00.

edit to ask--does she sound broody? She ate some of the cheese I through her indtead of running away before the chickens swooped in.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
Lordy!!! That SUCH a relief. (You RUINED my day with your sad missing duck tale!!!!

)

I'm SO glad to hear that she's back!!!!!

Sheesh!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
It does sound like she could be Niss, glad shes back but you know every night she stays out there she is vunerable to predators. do you really want to take the chance or clip her wing and ground her and leave those eggs, I had 3 chickens go out into the woods to have their nests only 1 came back. you ultimately have to make that decision.

 

[cackler]

I want to start by saying that this is my very first attempt at incubating ANYTHING so I'm hopeful that things go well! First off I have a broody who hatched a guinea baby on the 28th of September. I have 12 guinea eggs incubating and they will hopefully hatch on the 18th of October. My question is - can I put the little ones with the mama when they hatch? They will be pretty much 20 days younger than her hatched little one.