Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[stonykill]

I'm so excited for you stony... I love that color runner. I think of all the colors the fawn and white is my favorite. If i hadn't have decided to let my 2 Muscovies brood this year, they aren't getting any younger [almost 4] I would get eggs from you in a heart beat. Maybe next year

anyway depending on the size of her egg [I'm thinking Muscovy] she could probably sit 6-7 my ducks are probably 5 lbs and they can sit at least 10 without any problems. Now my 2 drakes could probably sit 30-40 they are so huge compared to the girls. Thank goodness they don't go broody. my hands look like I've been in a fist fight now. lol Keep us updated on miss Penelope

thanks! I'm pretty eggcited myself! I don't know how large a Muscovie egg is, but her eggs are smaller than my Pekin eggs, and larger than most of my RIR eggs. A few of my RIR's lay extra jumbo! I was hoping, if she contiunues to sit for an entire day, I could slip her what I have. Or at least let her add if she isn't quite ready, then slip her a few extras. I'd love to give her 6 or 7 total. Just in case some don't make it. Of her eggs in the bator, all are developing nicely!
I know what you mean about the drakes. My Pekin drakes are SO HUGE! One of the girls is as well. She must go 10 or 11 lbs. So big!

 

[CALI CHICK]

Hi again

Just an update (and question) about my broody Buffy. She is still sitting faithfully day and night -nonstop! This is the 14th day she's been broody. She's had those Trader Joe eggs under her for 12 days. (5 of the 6 are developing. The other one had a bloodring.) If they hatch, the chicks will be white leghorns. We intend to sell them all within the first week.

I'm so proud of her, yet a little worried.

At first she got off her nest once a day to eat, get water and poop. (We saw her and would watch for her to do this.) But, she hasn't gotten off the nest for the last 5 days to eat OR drink. Yesterday I finally picked her up and set her in front of her food and waterer. She thankfully drank several sips of water (which I added Sav-A-Chick to) but ignored the food. She just sat broody on the floor, so I then picked her back up and put her back on her eggs. Should I just leave her alone OR try to get her to eat and drink every day?
Also, the first week was really tough on her because the other 2 hens wanted to lay their eggs in Buffy's nest. One egg actually had a big peck in it-with small cracks. There is a developing embryo inside, so I drizzled candle wax over the cracks and put it back under her. (Why not...considering these TJ eggs and are more of an experiment than anything?) Eventually we got smart and built a seperation for her out of hardware cloth. Buffy's food dish and waterer is inside the "caged off" area about 2 feet in front of her. The other 2 girls cannot get to Buffy now. They are finally getting used to the idea of using the "other" nest box! Is that OK to have her in such a small area? (It's 2' X 5') I'm really worried about her, but maybe just leaving her alone is best? Any suggestions would be great.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Sounds like things are going great. You can take her off the nest occassionally, but you don't have to. She will eat if she's hungry. She may sense she's near the end of the hatch and is hanging out longer preparing for that. Her area sounds fine. She's probably happy not to have competition for the nest box.

Hi again

Just an update (and question) about my broody Buffy. She is still sitting faithfully day and night -nonstop! This is the 14th day she's been broody. She's had those Trader Joe eggs under her for 12 days. (5 of the 6 are developing. The other one had a bloodring.) If they hatch, the chicks will be white leghorns. We intend to sell them all within the first week.

I'm so proud of her, yet a little worried.

At first she got off her nest once a day to eat, get water and poop. (We saw her and would watch for her to do this.) But, she hasn't gotten off the nest for the last 5 days to eat OR drink. Yesterday I finally picked her up and set her in front of her food and waterer. She thankfully drank several sips of water (which I added Sav-A-Chick to) but ignored the food. She just sat broody on the floor, so I then picked her back up and put her back on her eggs. Should I just leave her alone OR try to get her to eat and drink every day?
Also, the first week was really tough on her because the other 2 hens wanted to lay their eggs in Buffy's nest. One egg actually had a big peck in it-with small cracks. There is a developing embryo inside, so I drizzled candle wax over the cracks and put it back under her. (Why not...considering these TJ eggs and are more of an experiment than anything?) Eventually we got smart and built a seperation for her out of hardware cloth. Buffy's food dish and waterer is inside the "caged off" area about 2 feet in front of her. The other 2 girls cannot get to Buffy now. They are finally getting used to the idea of using the "other" nest box! Is that OK to have her in such a small area? (It's 2' X 5') I'm really worried about her, but maybe just leaving her alone is best? Any suggestions would be great.

 

[Fuffy]

Sooooooo EGGCITED!!!!!!

All 6 Dorking are coming along nicely

As for the Marans...Well I knew it was going to be hard to see anything!

Either they are ALL duds, which doesn't seem likely, or I just can't see anything

Due date is May 3rd. Such along way away!!!!

So potentially still 16 babies!!!!

And Helen is vry grumpy!!!!

 

[bobbieschicks]

This is what I'm up against! The LO isn't broody. Smokey is acting weird - tossing straw on herself and hanging out after she laid her egg - but she's not broody (yet).

Topsy - whom I thought was broody - got down from her side when I put her out for a bathroom break & to clean up the coop & then she got up in her old nest area & tried to roll the pingpong ball under herself. I just put her eggs back under her in there - she's not sitting on fertile eggs and I doubt she's ready to fully commit to it. I'm think I'm just going to leave her alone in the box and hope she doesn't get squashed in there. She definitely prefers to stay in that box. Her eggs are marked and of course easy to spot since they're small and cream colored.

UGH! Why couldn't she be easy like Smokey was! I'm glad I didn't jump and buy hatching eggs.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Yeah!

Congrats! Post pics when they hatch please

Sooooooo EGGCITED!!!!!!

All 6 Dorking are coming along nicely

As for the Marans...Well I knew it was going to be hard to see anything!

Either they are ALL duds, which doesn't seem likely, or I just can't see anything

Due date is May 3rd. Such along way away!!!!

So potentially still 16 babies!!!!

And Helen is vry grumpy!!!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

This is what I'm up against! The LO isn't broody. Smokey is acting weird - tossing straw on herself and hanging out after she laid her egg - but she's not broody (yet).

Topsy - whom I thought was broody - got down from her side when I put her out for a bathroom break & to clean up the coop & then she got up in her old nest area & tried to roll the pingpong ball under herself. I just put her eggs back under her in there - she's not sitting on fertile eggs and I doubt she's ready to fully commit to it. I'm think I'm just going to leave her alone in the box and hope she doesn't get squashed in there. She definitely prefers to stay in that box. Her eggs are marked and of course easy to spot since they're small and cream colored.

UGH! Why couldn't she be easy like Smokey was! I'm glad I didn't jump and buy hatching eggs.

Those broodys can be so trying, when I move mine to keep others from forcing them out of Their nest I lock them in for about 3 days if they are serious They usually don't even budge. sometimes when i let them out then I have to go get them out of the main coop because thats where they end up looking for their eggs. but usually after doing it once or twice then they find their way back to their eggs on their own. Topsy probably just likes being in the nest box she picked out. I'd give her a few more days to make sure she is 100% committed then try moving her again. After that incident with my little bantam of course those boxes got put up but I would check the coop more often too that had to have been a freak accident. Your coop looks so fresh and clean too. painted white. pretty

 

[bobbieschicks]

Okay - that sounds good. I'll leave her be for a couple more days and watch her. Then move her if she's still commited to it - in the evening.

Thank you - my coop is absolutely chicken dusty/dirty - I just try to stay ahead of the poop.

Those broodys can be so trying, when I move mine to keep others from forcing them out of Their nest I lock them in for about 3 days if they are serious They usually don't even budge. sometimes when i let them out then I have to go get them out of the main coop because thats where they end up looking for their eggs. but usually after doing it once or twice then they find their way back to their eggs on their own. Topsy probably just likes being in the nest box she picked out. I'd give her a few more days to make sure she is 100% committed then try moving her again. After that incident with my little bantam of course those boxes got put up but I would check the coop more often too that had to have been a freak accident. Your coop looks so fresh and clean too. painted white. pretty

 

[123ChickieLou]

This is what I'm up against! The LO isn't broody. Smokey is acting weird - tossing straw on herself and hanging out after she laid her egg - but she's not broody (yet).

Topsy - whom I thought was broody - got down from her side when I put her out for a bathroom break & to clean up the coop & then she got up in her old nest area & tried to roll the pingpong ball under herself. I just put her eggs back under her in there - she's not sitting on fertile eggs and I doubt she's ready to fully commit to it. I'm think I'm just going to leave her alone in the box and hope she doesn't get squashed in there. She definitely prefers to stay in that box. Her eggs are marked and of course easy to spot since they're small and cream colored.

UGH! Why couldn't she be easy like Smokey was! I'm glad I didn't jump and buy hatching eggs.

Chickie did the same as your Smokey, throwing straw on herself. That was shortly before she went broody. I noticed after that, when she was finished in the nest for the day, that the straw had structure to it, like she was building a real nest. It was round and concave. It's cute, huh?

 

[123ChickieLou]

Ok, here's my update:

Upon checking the chickens mid-morning, Chickie had her baby out near the feeder. They were SO cute together. If feather-sexing is accurate, the baby is a pullet. There were two distinct rows of primaries. One long/regular and one shorter, about half the length of the longer ones. If I'm right, I'm glad for that.

None of the other eggs have hatched yet. I guess that could mean this one was a early hatcher; or that the rest are dead. They'd gotten cold when she was off the nest but when she saw me fiddling with them, she went back to the nest and sat on them.

Oh, and she puffed and growled at me for being near her chick, lol!! Her chick just runs right up to me, so I don't know what her problem is.