Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[AHDCST]

My Barred Old English Game Bantam Spice is broody for her first time ever! She is setting on 5 eggs and her sister Sugar is setting on 2 eggs. I don't think Sugar is broody, she is just keeping Spice company! She bit at my hand today when I checked on her. She gave me a look like she would like to poke out my eyes for bothering her! She doesn't make a peep but if looks could kill--I would have been a goner yesterday! This is the only picture I have been able to get of her so far. She started yesterday so 19 more to go!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Subbing.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Barred Old English Game Bantam Spice is broody for her first time ever! She is setting on 5 eggs and her sister Sugar is setting on 2 eggs. I don't think Sugar is broody, she is just keeping Spice company! She bit at my hand today when I checked on her. She gave me a look like she would like to poke out my eyes for bothering her! She doesn't make a peep but if looks could kill--I would have been a goner yesterday! This is the only picture I have been able to get of her so far. She started yesterday so 19 more to go!

we'll be here for you all the way, and pictures speak a thousand words.. LOL

 

[bobbieschicks]

Awwwhhh - adorable

Yay my chicks began hatching today! So far two are out. Yay!

 

[bobbieschicks]

So adorable!

here is my first baby! she is doing great and so is my hen... now just waiting for those 4 eggs in the back to hatch!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Post 7374 stony last thursday she hatched 3 for 3...

 

[stonykill]

Post 7374 stony last thursday she hatched 3 for 3...

congrats. They are adorable!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Scarlett are you sure she hasn't hatched already? I know when Smokey hatched her babies - I couldn't tell until I lifted her up and found them wiggling under her. They were so quiet under her, not even a peep. I thought she had broken an egg when I saw a piece of blue shell - turns out that was the first baby to hatch. The brown egg shell was stuck to her breast feathers or I might not have noticed that one had hatched.

Have you peeked under her? Smokey's babies would hide up under her breast in her wing area - difficult to see them. I counted the number of unhatched eggs to determine how many hatched because I couldn't see them under her and I wasn't loosing a finger trying.

Hang in there - hoping she hatches today for you.

 

[Niss]

Thanks for all the photos folks! And I love hearing good news about everyone's hatches.

 

[SnowytheNinja]

Just found this thread! We've hatched eggs successfully under broody hens twice. First time was with a group of three hens, two new hampshire reds and a light sussex. The sussex was broody so we got some eggs and put four under her and four in an incubator. We did have an incident involving our dogs where two incubator chicks died. But the sussex (Snowy) hatched two of her eggs; two barred bantams, which we kept. One was female (Emma) and is still in the flock today, and the other was a weird mix between male and female (Scruffy), but he broke his leg and died. The incubator chicks turned into a female indian game (Dinosaur) which we still have in our flock, and a silkie (named Silkie lol). We were delighted with the silkie, but unfortunately it died caught in some wire (now fixed). We bought another silkie chick and called it Silkie (again) and she's still with us today. While the sussex was sitting on the eggs and raising the chicks, she was in a pen, inside the run- away from the other two.

This group lived happily together, one of the new hampshire reds died of old age or sickness or something, I don't remember. So our flock was: a silkie, a new hampton red, a light sussex, an indian game, and a barred bantam. Passing a chicken breeder farm, we picked up a gorgeous black rock, named Roc (after the giant bird monster). That was all about 1-2 years ago. Our silkie was broody so we jumped in and got six or so fertile eggs of random breeds. And today, the first chick hatched! We had some issues with the silkie leaving them (she had been broody before we put them in), the eggs being left cold for a day, but then the indian game stepped in and sat on them. The first chick is in the picture below, along with my (most of the chickens are my sister's) beautiful black rock.

Oh and we did leave the hen in with the others this time. Other chickens did shove the silkie around a bit while laying their eggs, but we took them out. The fertile eggs were marked with a dot of nail varnish (I think?).

<a href="http://s884.photobucket.com/albums/ac44/fmb94w/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_4462.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac44/fmb94w/IMG_4462.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s884.photobucket.com/albums/ac44/fmb94w/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_4459.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac44/fmb94w/IMG_4459.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s884.photobucket.com/albums/ac44/fmb94w/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_2079.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac44/fmb94w/IMG_2079.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
And the proud mom all fluffed up defensively, she pecks anyone who comes near her >>>
<a href="http://s884.photobucket.com/albums/ac44/fmb94w/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_4458.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac44/fmb94w/IMG_4458.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>



Anyone know what breed of chicken the chick is? It had a pale blue-green eggs, quite small egg, and its body was pale yellow, with brown/black freckles on the neck and a bright yellow head.
Edit: I don't think the pics worked... Check out this thread for chick pictures https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/640411/first-chick