Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[stonykill]

Thats right Tripp the eggs are probably okay..

x2. Sorry that happened Tripp

 

[bobbieschicks]

Oh I know how you feel. My silkies arent the smartest chicken in the hen house. LOL

I have one that will stand in a corner and act like its a threat and sparred with the corner at one time!

Do you trim their feathers by their eyes? I started doing that so my silkies could get around without tripping or bumping into things.

 

[artsyrobin]

they need to be able to see to eat- i have trimmed mine, i have heard of using hair gel, since it washes out, elastics, and hair tape like they use at beauty salons- can't find the picture, but Judy at 3 cedars has some pics

 

[bobbieschicks]

they need to be able to see to eat- i have trimmed mine, i have heard of using hair gel, since it washes out, elastics, and hair tape like they use at beauty salons- can't find the picture, but Judy at 3 cedars has some pics

 

Haha! Davy already gives me the stink eye when I trim him, I can't imagine what he would do if I attempted hair gel on him. He's over due for a trim and so is Topsy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

This isn't broody related but maybe ya'll can answer it. Yesterday i went and adopted 2 white bantam cochins. about 5-6 months old, well 2 of them a friend got one i got the other that had all their tail feathers plucked out, it was said so the roo could mate with them, well it looks like a chicken that has been plucked on the lower back and bottom, pitiful, her and her sister who wasn't plucked are being kept away from the rest of my flock for now and i cleaned them up and sprayed blue kote on the naked skin of the one, they are eating good and seem healthy,

for being kept in a small rabbit cage with a rooster that had just about stripped all the fathers off their heads, what i want to know has any of ya'll ever seen anything like this and will her tail feathers grow back? I have clipped the fluff from around the vent of some of my cochins but this is very extreme. They are very sweet i can just walk right up and pick them up, which i can't do to some of my hens that were from last years hatch.

 

[CALI CHICK]

Buffy has hatched 2 baby chicks (that we know of). One of the chicks dodged back under Momma before I could get my camera...But I got pictures of one of the babies. Buffy is still sitting on the eggs, so maybe the other 3 will hatch tonight.

I have another question:
We bought a little Welsummer chick at the feed store which is maybe 2 or 3 days older than Buffy's babies. It is already eating and drinking (Buffy's are not). When is the soonest you would add the foster-chick to your broody hen? Should I wait until Buffy gets up and leads her babies to eat and drink OR could I add it tonight when it's dark?

Here's a picture of Buffy and one baby:


And, here is a picture of a very lonely baby in need of a Momma:

 

[Miss Lydia]

Buffy has hatched 2 baby chicks (that we know of). One of the chicks dodged back under Momma before I could get my camera...But I got pictures of one of the babies. Buffy is still sitting on the eggs, so maybe the other 3 will hatch tonight.

I have another question:
We bought a little Welsummer chick at the feed store which is maybe 2 or 3 days older than Buffy's babies. It is already eating and drinking (Buffy's are not). When is the soonest you would add the foster-chick to your broody hen? Should I wait until Buffy gets up and leads her babies to eat and drink OR could I add it tonight when it's dark?

Here's a picture of Buffy and one baby:


And, here is a picture of a very lonely baby in need of a Momma:

I'd do it tonight but stay close by in case of problems more so on chick not accepting mama than vise versa. put food and water close by that way chick can eat and drink and Buffy won't have to get up. Hope it goes smooth, Sweet pics. cup chick in your hand with the top of you hand over the chick when you slip it under Buffy, that way if she is going to peck it will be you and not the chick.

 

[CALI CHICK]

I'd do it tonight but stay close by in case of problems more so on chick not accepting mama than vise versa. put food and water close by that way chick can eat and drink and Buffy won't have to get up. Hope it goes smooth, Sweet pics. cup chick in your hand with the top of you hand over the chick when you slip it under Buffy, that way if she is going to peck it will be you and not the chick.

Thank you, Miss Lydia.
I took the baby out to the coop about 8pm before it got too dark to see. I doned my right hand with a leather glove and held the chick with my left hand. I sort of lifted Buffys chest with my right "protected" hand and set the baby in front of her. I was hoping the baby would crawl right under....but she just sat there. When I moved my hands away, Buffy looked at the chick and then started to prod her underneath. YEAH! It worked. The baby crawled out of sight and enjoyed being wanted for the first time.

It was precious!

Can I assume, that once Buffy and Ginger (the pullet) have met like this that they will stay bonded? Do hens ever decide to UN-adopt a baby? I'm almost afraid to find the chick dead and neglected in the morning...but that probably isn't likely, right.

 

[kara_leigh]

Thank you, Miss Lydia.
I took the baby out to the coop about 8pm before it got too dark to see. I doned my right hand with a leather glove and held the chick with my left hand. I sort of lifted Buffys chest with my right "protected" hand and set the baby in front of her. I was hoping the baby would crawl right under....but she just sat there. When I moved my hands away, Buffy looked at the chick and then started to prod her underneath. YEAH! It worked. The baby crawled out of sight and enjoyed being wanted for the first time.

It was precious!

Can I assume, that once Buffy and Ginger (the pullet) have met like this that they will stay bonded? Do hens ever decide to UN-adopt a baby? I'm almost afraid to find the chick dead and neglected in the morning...but that probably isn't likely, right.

I'm interested in the answer to this as well. My Cochin/Ameraucana hen hatched 3 chicks yesterday/today, and tonight we went out and bought 8 more for her at the feed store. Before it got dark out I went out and stuck them under her (she isn't aggressive with me, just growls, so I didn't need gloves), and the babies immediately took to her, and she to them. I just hope they are all still alive in the morning. She has been broody for almost two months, so she is beyond thrilled to have a whole bunch of babies now.

The chicks I got at the feed store are a mix of bantams and standard breeds. Will that matter? I got two blue Ameraucanas, two buff Cochins, and four unnamed bantams, two white and two brown/black. The chicks that she hatched are Ameraucana/Production Red crosses, and so far they are really pale yellow with black circles on their backs, and spots of pale red, with puffy cheeks.

This is the first one she hatched.

 

[kara_leigh]

They'll probably be fine. Plenty have said their eggs got cool and still hatched.

Last weekend my broody was off her eggs for over two hours, and they were cool to the touch when I put her back on them so I thought for sure they were goners. Three of them hatched yesterday/today and the other two have pipped so should hatch tonight or tomorrow.