Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Miss Lydia]

I am hoping for some advice (I have been a chicken mom for 9 months and experience raised exotic birds in the past).

My situation:
coop 10 x 24 ft...with outside run aprox 20 x 30 with 11 hens and 1 roo
I have 2 broody hens....they have been broody for about 3 weeks so far. I wanted to wait until after my vacation and now want to put fertile eggs under them this coming weekend.

Is it possible they will loose their broodiness half way through sitting on fertile eggs since this has been going on so long?

I really would prefer to not seperate the hens out from the rest of the hens-no real way to do this without upsetting either the broodys or having to buy and put up new nestboxes for the rest of my girls and closing off their normal laying area. I would love to hear success stories of people that left hens in witht he rest of the flock & any advice on tips for this?

When you talk about putting a broody in a dog pen with eggs-the hole son this would allow babies to escape once hatched? how soon after hatching do you take them out of cage? Could trying to move her into a dog pen-cause her to losse/give up on sitting?

I sell eggs at my work-last week-one of my customers left a pkg on desk with a note "Please save baby duck egg". After talking to others with more experience_ I went ahead and put this one lone duck egg under one of the broody hens. I am thinking if I wait until one week after Broody mom has been sitting on this, I should be able to then add fertile chicken eggs and they would all hatch around the same time? Ducks=28 days, chickens 21 days). Any thoughts on this working?

As long as it's not a muscovy it may work. they take 35 days. what breed duck?

 

[stonykill]

another broody. A blue born last year. Tonight is the 1st night she is sitting. If she sits a few nights I'll replace her warm golf balls with fresh eggs! Up to 5 broody's so far

 

[Miss Lydia]

another broody. A blue born last year. Tonight is the 1st night she is sitting. If she sits a few nights I'll replace her warm golf balls with fresh eggs! Up to 5 broody's so far

Warm golf balls that funny, and congrats on yet another broody, I' m just at 3 so far not counting my 2 ducks. hey stony ducklings hatching here 2 so far!! how are your runners doing?

 

[This_chicks_place]

another broody. A blue born last year. Tonight is the 1st night she is sitting. If she sits a few nights I'll replace her warm golf balls with fresh eggs! Up to 5 broody's so far

 

[vmdanielsen]

another broody. A blue born last year. Tonight is the 1st night she is sitting. If she sits a few nights I'll replace her warm golf balls with fresh eggs! Up to 5 broody's so far

Soon you will be putting 125ish chickens in your signature line!!!

 

[stonykill]

Warm golf balls that funny, and congrats on yet another broody, I' m just at 3 so far not counting my 2 ducks. hey stony ducklings hatching here 2 so far!! how are your runners doing?

ducks count!

.

NICE! I so want a broody duck! Ducklings are so adorable. And don't tell my chickens, but I may just like my ducks better

.

Patrick and Penelope are doing great! Penelope lays most every day. She ALWAYS bury's the egg in shavings. My Pekins rarely do that. I have 7 or 8 (I forget) Runner eggs in the bator. I got an order for a few. As of day 5 all were showing great veining! Patrick not only protects his girl ( he likes to charge the Pekins through a fence

but he is obviously up to the job! I can't wait to see fawn and white runner ducklings!

 

[stonykill]

Soon you will be putting 125ish chickens in your signature line!!!

lol. I am counting my new incubated chicks as chickens. So rooster going to the freezer will change that number. But I'm sure the broody Sumatra's may just make your prediction come true!

 

[vmdanielsen]

lol. I am counting my new incubated chicks as chickens. So rooster going to the freezer will change that number. But I'm sure the broody Sumatra's may just make your prediction come true!

I will drive by your house and your tree will be filled with blue and black sumatras!!!!!

 

[stonykill]

I will drive by your house and your tree will be filled with blue and black sumatras!!!!!

my broody's will certainly do their best!

 

[MamaRoo]

Well, tomorrow is day 21. My silkie went broody a couple days before I left for vacation so I stuffed some eggs under her, locked her in a cat crate, and told the sitter to make sure she has food and water, but otherwise ignore her. Got back from vacation and had some non-chicken drama to deal with, so today was really the first day I've started to think about her.

I don't remember if I put three, or four eggs under her, and I have no idea what they were, or even if they're fertile. I'm certainly not going to start digging around underneath her and candling the eggs at this late date, so the next few days will be interesting. I like the 'wait 25 days' advice given some pages back and I'll be out there listening to the cat crate for the next few days.