Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

So we were clearing the poarch off, and behind stored const stuff we find a bucket of roofing nails with a broody inside!,?.? Another one. Is this unusual at this time of year? Four broodies already and they are all less than a year old. Is mother nature making up for all the predator hits we've taken? I chalked up egg losses to a newly discovered egg eater, who will have to be culled and soon, but I guess she was only eating one a day. I had to move the broody to the coop behind rat wire, away from more eggs getting laid in there, I also, moved the eggs into a sodded nesting box...she came off the nest and ate and everything, went back on now she's off again.....did I break her...I wonder? It can't be more than two days being broody, I counted her on the roost night before last...just couldn't leave her exposed on the poarch, and those nails are really sharp ( with a little plastic ring) but still, 20 days of turning on those will prob scratch them good. I'm hoping now, in a dark secluded corner, and night coming on, she'll nest again...I'm going to try to post the pic...another surprise!!!!
 
Yay, my broody project is successful! One of the chicks can be heard peeping through its egg.
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So we were clearing the poarch off, and behind stored const stuff we find a bucket of roofing nails with a broody inside!,?.? Another one. Is this unusual at this time of year? Four broodies already and they are all less than a year old. Is mother nature making up for all the predator hits we've taken? I chalked up egg losses to a newly discovered egg eater, who will have to be culled and soon, but I guess she was only eating one a day. I had to move the broody to the coop behind rat wire, away from more eggs getting laid in there, I also, moved the eggs into a sodded nesting box...she came off the nest and ate and everything, went back on now she's off again.....did I break her...I wonder? It can't be more than two days being broody, I counted her on the roost night before last...just couldn't leave her exposed on the poarch, and those nails are really sharp ( with a little plastic ring) but still, 20 days of turning on those will prob scratch them good. I'm hoping now, in a dark secluded corner, and night coming on, she'll nest again...I'm going to try to post the pic...another surprise!!!!
I hope she continues to sit for ya.
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I'm seriously considering giving my other broody a trio of chicks. She's only been sitting for a couple of days, but the feed store's shipment comes in tomorrow and the chicks will be youngest then. Does she need to be sitting longer than that in order to take the chicks?

Oh, and the little polish was gone this morning. I'm sure something was wrong with it since it didn't look like it had grown at all since I brought it home. :\
I'm sorry about the little polish chick. All I can say about putting chicks under a 2 day broody is try it. If it works great if not you'll have to brood them yourself, but give it a try.
 
Ive got a quick question, i set my first time broody on 5 eggs yesterday, and would like to add 2 more. she is a small sebright bantam cross and will that be too many eggs for her? and i know they will hatch a day later but is that okay?


If she can cover them without them sticking out it should be fine. Are they bantam eggs? Putting them under her now is fine. You don't want to keep adding to the clutch though. But a couple of days shouldn't matter.

Keep us posted!
 

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