Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[bobbieschicks]

Oh poor babies - lol - I watched Smokey do something similar a few weeks back. I rushed out there during a torrential downpour and ran around gathering babies & mommas to force them into the coop early. Took FOREVER to catch the little buggers and mommas kept jumping back out of the coop! Finally closed it up with everyone inside and rushed to the house. Twenty minutes later the sun was shining and a few of the pullets were peeking out the door like "hey let us out of here!" I kept them in until morning - just in case it started raining again. haha.

Well, it turns out my hen is great at sitting on eggs, but a dumb mother. She took the chicks out of the nest less than 24 hours after hatch. She kept them in the coop run, but we are having a severe thunderstorm and she did not take them back into the nest. There is water ponding in the run, and she is still sitting there in the middle of run with the chicks under her. Once the lightning stops, I will go out an see if the chicks are still alive. If so, it looks like I will have to lock her up with the chicks, at least for a week.

Cindy

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
You gather the eggs that are not falsies and bring them in the house and store them as close to 50 degrees as you can. pointy end down. Then if she goes broody on the falsies you let the eggs come to room temperature and swap out the falsies for her own eggs. You can store eggs this way a week or so. That way they don't get too cold and they hatch at the same time..... Make sense? and if she doesn't go broody then you can still use an incubator.

deb

 

[bobbieschicks]

Personally I wouldn't leave my eggs laying around in the nest box - I have too many that like the same one and will crush eggs and its a mess to clean up. I put fake eggs - ping pong balls in my nests. When they are ready to go broody they will sit on ping pong balls. I also gather my eggs and mark when I gather them. You could leave the eggs she lays in the nest - just be sure to mark them with a date or something so you can keep track of when they were laid and by whom if there are others using the same nestbox. The eggs can get cold - it will be fine as long as they aren't freezing at night. Storage of hatching eggs is usually around 50F - but I managed to hatch my pullet's first few eggs after they were on my kitchen countertop for over a week in 74F house.

The laying isn't what makes her broody - it's a hormonal change and what will make her broody is when she is no longer laying but instead just hatching her clutch.

ok but it takes every two days she lays a egg will the eggs get cold over the nights and then the eggs will not hatch if she go's broody on that clutch or will they hatch and so i let her lay every other day and then after she lays so many she will go broody

 

[bobbieschicks]

You gather the eggs that are not falsies and bring them in the house and store them as close to 50 degrees as you can. pointy end down. Then if she goes broody on the falsies you let the eggs come to room temperature and swap out the falsies for her own eggs. You can store eggs this way a week or so. That way they don't get too cold and they hatch at the same time..... Make sense? and if she doesn't go broody then you can still use an incubator.

deb

xs2!

 

[Silkie Chicken]

but can she be broody if she is with 5 roos and no hens but her

 

[bobbieschicks]

Phew! I think I'm finally caught up on the posts I missed by doing yardwork and coop stuff! I apologize if anyone got missed - and I'm excited to see so many broodies and babies!

Today I rehomed two of my cockerels - Spots, 20 wks old EE/WL (he was from hatching pullet eggs from my Bandit that died suddenly at the start of the year) and the unnamed Wellington, 16 weeks old - this was one of Smokey's first clutch.

It never gets easier for me to rehome my chickens - but at least those two are getting a good deal. They are going to a large property with 40 hens who don't have a rooster right now. So I'm sure they will be excitedly making new friends shortly.

I still have the rest of Smokey's first clutch - Willie, the other Wellie and the black AM, Miss Ebony (who may be a Mr. Ebony afterall) - and of course six 3 week old silkies with who knows how many cockerels! It's a never ending process dealing with cockerels isn't it.

 

[bobbieschicks]

but can she be broody if she is with 5 roos and no hens but her

Yes - the broody situation doesn't depend on roosters. Topsy went broody even when she was being mated by the WL/EE cockerel.

 

[stonykill]

Well, it turns out my hen is great at sitting on eggs, but a dumb mother. She took the chicks out of the nest less than 24 hours after hatch. She kept them in the coop run, but we are having a severe thunderstorm and she did not take them back into the nest. There is water ponding in the run, and she is still sitting there in the middle of run with the chicks under her. Once the lightning stops, I will go out an see if the chicks are still alive. If so, it looks like I will have to lock her up with the chicks, at least for a week.

Cindy

Mine take theirs out of the nest at 24 hours or less often. Once they are dry, they are strong enough to walk. I seen it many many time. Not a dumb mother. It's a mother warming up her babies and not caring if she gets wet. That is a good mother. Protecting her babies above herself. Look at it this way. What would a wild turkey do? A chicken in the wild do? A Pheasant do? Just what yours did.
Always remember this with your chickens. They survived 10,000 years plus without human help. If anything our interaction with domesticated critters has made them weaker. Your mama sounds like a really good mama to me. And I would be proud of her.
As long as the rain doesn't go above the chicks heads, I am sure all will be fine.

 

[perchie.girl]

but can she be broody if she is with 5 roos and no hens but her

Good question.... you certainly cant doubt that they are fertile......

I think it really depends on the age of the hen. You might restrict all but one of the roos for access to her. I have one hen in with four roos right now they are all the same or close to the same age. She is a pullet just started laying eggs too. Those roos are every where Not mean to each other or her just a bit of like a mob.

deb

 

[Silkie Chicken]

and does it effect the egg if you touch it will the hen not set on it