Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[JakRat]

You are not a murderer, if she kicked the egg out and wasn't sitting on it any more then she wasn't getting any response from that egg. They can hear the chick inside the egg the same as we can but they hear better, Something must have been wrong with both of them. It happens and there isn't anything we can do. Mama knows what she is doing. If she has given up on the one you have left then I say you should too. I think I told you about the 2 from one of my broodys last year, she was able to take care of the first that hatched[kill] then i stepped in and felt like I had to rescue the second one, well i should have just left it alone and let her take care of it too. It never did look like full term chick, and died 5 days after it hatched. I'm sorry for this but it is just part of the journey we have chosen to go on by being animal lovers. I think we need to remember these chickens have been at this alot longer than we have, she is focused on the 2 healthy ones. go and enjoy them.

I took your advice and I put her egg back down with her and the other babies. If it hatches it hatches. I did keep it pretty warm in my bra though LOL!!!

 

[JakRat]

I also agree that it comes with the territory. I guess I am just over sensitive right now. I cant stop seeing that baby moving and my heart sinking knowing that I just gave it a death sentence. Maybe I will just be a vegetarian from now on because that will haunt me forever ... geez can I be overly dramatic or what!

 

[bobbi-j]

You are not a murderer, if she kicked the egg out and wasn't sitting on it any more then she wasn't getting any response from that egg. They can hear the chick inside the egg the same as we can but they hear better, Something must have been wrong with both of them. It happens and there isn't anything we can do. Mama knows what she is doing. If she has given up on the one you have left then I say you should too. I think I told you about the 2 from one of my broodys last year, she was able to take care of the first that hatched[kill] then i stepped in and felt like I had to rescue the second one, well i should have just left it alone and let her take care of it too. It never did look like full term chick, and died 5 days after it hatched. I'm sorry for this but it is just part of the journey we have chosen to go on by being animal lovers. I think we need to remember these chickens have been at this alot longer than we have, she is focused on the 2 healthy ones. go and enjoy them.

Well said. That chick would have died anyway since the mama had kicked it out of the nest. Don't beat yourself up.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Only on BYC would your comment not be construed as inappopriate - but I got a laugh when I first read it! Thanks!

Very exciting, hope to see your fuzzy butts soon.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I'm so sorry for your losses. It's never easy for me to lose one of our chickens - whether it's to rehoming or death. But please don't beat yourself up - you did the best you could. Treasure the new chicks you have and try to forget about the ones that didn't make it. Things like this are precisely why I quit doing eggotopsies on my unhatched eggs. Yes, you can gleen valuable info on what happened or went wrong - but at what cost? Do I really need to have that image in my mind forever - I don't think so. I prefer to go with the thought that if it was meant to be - it would happen. So, put this in the past, it's a lesson you've learnt - and now go focus on those adorable new babies! And post some pics!

I also agree that it comes with the territory. I guess I am just over sensitive right now. I cant stop seeing that baby moving and my heart sinking knowing that I just gave it a death sentence. Maybe I will just be a vegetarian from now on because that will haunt me forever ... geez can I be overly dramatic or what!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Personally if you are going to move her I would move her before giving her the new eggs. That way if she decides to stop laying you can make alternate plans. You can do it at night as it has been suggested to be a good time for sneaking things under broodies.

I didn't follow that advice - I moved my Smokey in the middle of the day from the main coop's nest box to another smaller coop where I had set up a nest for her. I picked up her entire clutch and moved it with the straw to the new area. Then when she was ready to go back to the nest I put her on top of that one. She took to it right away. It would have been perfect except it wasn't weather or predator proof so I got worried.

I then moved her again in broad daylight to another nest area I made in the main coop that was secured with hardware cloth from the other chickens. Again she sat right down, moved the eggs around and got to business.

Finally I replaced all of her eggs one day with ones that I had received and had been incubating for awhile. I gave her 8 that were viable from the incubator. She settled right down on top of the eggs and went to work.

So you can see that a dedicated broody won't care so much about the moving and the switching - if she wants to hatch something she will stick it out.

She doesn't need alot of room. Just a spot to sit on those eggs that's safe from other chickens and predators. When she's hungry or thirsty she needs access to water/food. She will also need to get up occassionally and relieve herself of those awful poops. So as long as she has room to do all that - I would leave her where she is until they all hatch out and she moves everyone into the main coop herself.

Anyone?

I would like an opinion on this...

I have been keeping my broody silkie in a rabbit hutch w/ some golf balls under her. I'll be picking up the fertile eggs in two days, and then will swap the golf balls for the eggs. When her chicks hatch (all silkies) I will move them over to a coop, so they have more room. My question is... Should I move my broody over to the coop now, before I give her the eggs and allow her to hatch them in there? Or should I move her and her babies after they hatch? The hutch she is in now is rather small to begin with, but after I added in a cardboard box for a nesting box (

) and a feeder and a water it got quite squishy. There really isn't any room in it, except that the run has 'bout 4 square feet in it. Of course, the run is shut off during the night. I've heard that broody hens LIKE small places to hatch their chicks in. I'm trying to figure out what would be best to do... Put her in the big coop ('bout 6 sq. ft.) with a more inclosed nesting box, or let her hatch her chicks in the hutch then move them. I just don't want her to stop being broody, or stop taking care of the chicks. Which would be best?

 

[bloom chicks]

Here is Grace and her babies......

Lily is broody again. She is sitting on 6 eggs. Lily's last hatch was Dec 29th. 2011. I went from 15 chickens to 44 chickens since Dec.

Chicken math snuck up on me quick.......... I don't know what I am going to do if her sister actually becomes broody..... She has been practicing for the past few days. She sits on the nest until 1:30 or so then gets off the nest, then starts all over the next day...... If she does she will be my 5th broody this year........

 

[Farmin Momma]

I have a question. When a hen goes broody, does she lay eggs untill she has a cluch to sit on or does she just quit laying all together? I have a black cochin mix ( I asume mix cause she has a beard) but for a few days now she sits in the nest box for quite a while but no longer lays any eggs. Could she be practicing to go broody?

 

[motherof7]

Bloom chicks what do you have Grace and her babies in? Just wondering...I have a cochin in a large dog crate with some eggs.

 

[perchie.girl]

Its my understanding that the sign of them going broody is they stop laying eggs. Um er one of the signs.... its more of a conformation. Other hens may add to the egg pile though.

deb

I have a question. When a hen goes broody, does she lay eggs untill she has a cluch to sit on or does she just quit laying all together? I have a black cochin mix ( I asume mix cause she has a beard) but for a few days now she sits in the nest box for quite a while but no longer lays any eggs. Could she be practicing to go broody?