Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Zootopia]

My Cuckoo Maran broody only has the one chick, but the chick was out and about at a couple of days old,

no one semed to pay any attention to it so I let mom out. There is a 6 inch door jam and the chick just hoops up and out with mom. It is neat to see the chick wandering around under all the others when they mob me for treats.
I candled the guinea eggs under the 2 broody Black stars and looks like they are all developing

. I also found a black Cochin being very grumpy when I went to pick up eggs in the afternoon. She was still there when I went to candle the guinea eggs so I'll give her a couple of my turkey eggs if she's still there tonight.
Except for the CM these guys are all first timers, having just started laying late last summer.

 

[perchie.girl]

Hi Angela ..... Glad your girl is giving it a try again. Keeping my fingers crossed for this next batch....

deb

Ummm...I might need some advice please. My broody, sitting for the second time around straight after sitting 30 days on unhatched eggs, doesn't seem too interested in coming off the nest to eat or poop or stretch her legs. Should I be concerned? With this egg (solo) she is only on day 2.

The first time around she came off for short spells ok and then went back again. First-time broody and has been excellent - very very determined.

Would love your thoughts please.

~ Angela

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ummm...I might need some advice please. My broody, sitting for the second time around straight after sitting 30 days on unhatched eggs, doesn't seem too interested in coming off the nest to eat or poop or stretch her legs. Should I be concerned? With this egg (solo) she is only on day 2.

The first time around she came off for short spells ok and then went back again. First-time broody and has been excellent - very very determined.

Would love your thoughts please.

~ Angela

Hey glad to see you are giving it a chance again, I had one last year that sat for the whole 21 days on non fertile eggs and i turned right around and gave her fertile ones and she did fine. I did get concerned she didn't come out much so i started taking her out every afternoon, she would run around screaming with her feathers all askew poop real big eat a bite and go right back but at least she got to poop. LOL we'll be waiting to hear about your hatch this time..

 

[Chicken Chat]

It's taken me awhile to get caught up on everyones news, I've been away from the computer for awhile. Loving all the new pictures!
I have 3 polish eggs on day 19 and 7 broodies. They are taking up most of my nestboxes! It's very hormonal around here and they are beating up the rest of the flock.

 

[Tripp16]

Guess what everyone! I know you guys are getting annoyed with me saying I "might" have a broody I am serious this time!

Gracies chicks turn 5 weeks on Monday and she gave them up this past week. She is back to laying, she took 2 of my Barred Rock hens eggs (More if I had let her) and shoved them under her and began throwing straw over her back and intertwining a new nest.... She isnt being mean yet so I know it may be a few more days but it gets me excited!

She has been on that nest 3 times today!!!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Guess what everyone! I know you guys are getting annoyed with me saying I "might" have a broody I am serious this time!

Gracies chicks turn 5 weeks on Monday and she gave them up this past week. She is back to laying, she took 2 of my Barred Rock hens eggs (More if I had let her) and shoved them under her and began throwing straw over her back and intertwining a new nest.... She isnt being mean yet so I know it may be a few more days but it gets me excited!

She has been on that nest 3 times today!!!

That's great! Hoping she makes it to broody stage soon for you.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Smokey is sitting in the nestbox with her freshly laid egg under her. She is making no signs of leaving the nest. I know she's not broody yet. But I do think she's contemplating it. Not sure if I am happy about that or not as I love her blue/green eggs and she just started laying them again. But I would also like to hatch me out some black orps and Wellies. So of course I'm torn between common sense that says I have enough chickens right now and dreamland Bobbie that says there is no such thing as enough chicks

I decided to get her egg. She didn't fight me. She's left the nest box so I'll have to wait some more for a broody.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Guess what everyone! I know you guys are getting annoyed with me saying I "might" have a broody I am serious this time!

Gracies chicks turn 5 weeks on Monday and she gave them up this past week. She is back to laying, she took 2 of my Barred Rock hens eggs (More if I had let her) and shoved them under her and began throwing straw over her back and intertwining a new nest.... She isnt being mean yet so I know it may be a few more days but it gets me excited!

She has been on that nest 3 times today!!!

 

[countrygirl911]

Ok I wound up having to move broody one and the 6 silkies to the coop that was empty the second broody kept steeling them for 2 days so I let it just pkay out then when I got home I found a chick wondering around in the yard out of the coop and run was funny to see me chasing it the second broody kicked the chicks out after 2 days taking carw of them and stealing broidy ones chicks also and decided to move to a new nest and sit on eggs again so what is wrong with her she faught over chicks and stole another hens chicks then decided to sit on more eggs again even though the eggs are not fertile because my roo is not doing his job he is over a year old and he trys but then hens are twice his size

 

[hennypenny99]

Smokey is sitting in the nestbox with her freshly laid egg under her. She is making no signs of leaving the nest. I know she's not broody yet. But I do think she's contemplating it. Not sure if I am happy about that or not as I love her blue/green eggs and she just started laying them again. But I would also like to hatch me out some black orps and Wellies. So of course I'm torn between common sense that says I have enough chickens right now and dreamland Bobbie that says there is no such thing as enough chicks

I decided to get her egg. She didn't fight me. She's left the nest box so I'll have to wait some more for a broody.

Mine has been contemplating it too and I had to put a stop to it. She has a baby I gave her and he is about 5 weeks old now. He spends alot of time on his own now and just goes with momma to sleep. All my silkies are kept up in a pen together except for this girl because she was used to free ranging with the big girls. Anyways she alwas slept under my car and I noticed a few days ago she hadn't been sleeping under there. Wednesday morning my FIL comes in the house and gives me an egg. He said my puppy brought it to him. It was a silkie egg and she is the only silkie in the yard. Then Thursday I got up and Ruby comes running up with something in her mouth. I holler at her and she drops another Silkie egg! So I went to her last broody spot and sure enough she was in her dog carrier so I think she was trying to go broody again. My cousin has some young RIR Pullets the same age as her adopted baby who is some kind of orange chicken, maybe a production red, so he wanted her baby so I took him to his new home and put the broody silkie in with the rest of the white silkies. Hopefully she will breed and lay some fertile eggs she can brood. I don't have a rooster in the yard at all so whatever she tried to brood in her dog carrier wouldn't have been fertile anyways. She thinks she's in jail and growls at me when I come see her.