Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Katelee]

So we thought our Silkie Polish Mix was taken by the nasty fox but the GOOD news is she is just gone broody and hatching some chicks! So this is my first broody hen and we are thrilled. There are 8 eggs and we just cleaned the shed and made a nice little nesting box for her. She chose underneath the snowblower of all the crazy places. Took us a bit to slowly remove by lifting it straight up!

So anything else? I gave her water and food so she won't have to go far too.

 

[stonykill]

and now there are 10. A black Broody Sumatra joined the club

 

[featherz]

I have another broody! And she is cute and tiny! She's only 6 months old so let's see if she sticks with it. A little tail-less araucana with her tufts on the top of her head =). We call her Princess. I don't even think one chick will fit under her properly.

 

[CarolJ]

I have another broody! And she is cute and tiny! She's only 6 months old so let's see if she sticks with it. A little tail-less araucana with her tufts on the top of her head =). We call her Princess. I don't even think one chick will fit under her properly.

My broody that just hatched 9 chicks this week is a 10-month old rumpless Araucana (no tufts). She's not tiny, though - just an average size Araucana. So far mine has been a marvelous mother! It amazed me how many eggs mine was able to cover. When they fluff out those feathers to brood, they look twice their actual size!

Good luck with Princess! I hope she turns out to be a great brooder!

 

[featherz]

My broody that just hatched 9 chicks this week is a 10-month old rumpless Araucana (no tufts). She's not tiny, though - just an average size Araucana. So far mine has been a marvelous mother! It amazed me how many eggs mine was able to cover. When they fluff out those feathers to brood, they look twice their actual size!

Good luck with Princess! I hope she turns out to be a great brooder!

I didn't think I was getting bantam eggs when she hatched out on NYD, but she's little. All pancaked she's about the size of my hand with fingers spread. =) I'm hatching next week so it will be almost two weeks - I may put one chick under her and see if she'll take it.

Here she is before broodyness. Perspective doesn't show it, but she's like half the size of the easter egger behind her. She's got a poof on the top of her head and she egg songs more high pitched than any other chooks we have. It's very dainty. She does have tufts in the usual spots, but they are just a few strands.

 

[JoshU]

Hello Everyone! This is my first experience with a broody hen; my 7 month old Buff Orp decided to sit a few weeks ago and I got her 5 eggs from a friend to see if she would hold out for a hatch. She is on Day 10 today, and although I've had several concerns with her eating and drinking, and the recent heat, she is doing very well.

I decided to try candeling on Day 6, and didn't see anything real identifiable in the eggs. (My light may not have been bright enough?) In a couple of the eggs, I saw light "specks" throughout the entire egg, which I had read was the result of bacteria. My understanding was that these eggs needed to be removed, as they may break or burst and contaminate the other eggs. I decided to give it a few days and candled again today and saw the same thing, so I removed the egg that looked the most infected, set it on my counter to deal with later, and went outside for about an hour. When I came back in, the egg had cracked and blood and yolk had seeped out. When I cracked the egg open, I was surprised to see a developing embryo!
I am disappointed now that I removed the egg, and would like some clarification on what the specks in the eggs were...Is it true that it most likely was bacteria I was seeing and that it would have killed the chick eventually, before hatching? Was I right to remove it?

I really want to see my 'Butter' hatch a chick or two. She's been taking such good care of them.

I'm sure you can guess what sound she was making at me as I took this photo. Haha.

This may just be me but I candles eggs the first time I incubated and destroyed 3 perfectly fine embryos. I have hatched over 150 chicks since then with and without a broody and never candled again or has any exploding eggs. Some are more anal about infertile or dead eggs. i just let nature handle it.

 

[MamaManda]

This may just be me but I candles eggs the first time I incubated and destroyed 3 perfectly fine embryos. I have hatched over 150 chicks since then with and without a broody and never candled again or has any exploding eggs. Some are more anal about infertile or dead eggs. i just let nature handle it.

I tend to think the same thing. Obviously, chickens hatch eggs without human help...and since I've just created more upset than nature, I think I'll just butt out.
Thanks for the response.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I have another broody! And she is cute and tiny! She's only 6 months old so let's see if she sticks with it. A little tail-less araucana with her tufts on the top of her head =). We call her Princess. I don't even think one chick will fit under her properly.

Congrats on the broody! My little Araucana (EE) Smokey sat on 8 LF eggs her 1st time - she hatched 3 of them. This past time she sat on 5 silky eggs and hatched 4! She's not as small as my Silkie Topsy, but she's definitely not even as big as my White Leghorn. Here she is with her week old silky babies in the main coop.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I didn't think I was getting bantam eggs when she hatched out on NYD, but she's little. All pancaked she's about the size of my hand with fingers spread. =) I'm hatching next week so it will be almost two weeks - I may put one chick under her and see if she'll take it.

Here she is before broodyness. Perspective doesn't show it, but she's like half the size of the easter egger behind her. She's got a poof on the top of her head and she egg songs more high pitched than any other chooks we have. It's very dainty. She does have tufts in the usual spots, but they are just a few strands.

Awh - what a pretty momma! I love my little Araucana (EE) - she lays the most beautiful blue eggs and is more sweet now that she's been a momma twice.

 

[3 NH reds]

My wife and I are new to the game and lost one egg my wife dropped, of course it was fertile and she was so upset I cleaned up the mess in the basement near the incubator( we had 20 eggs and put half in an incubator) Next I went out to Broody MC Buff and looked her eggs over, she was quite mad and if looks could kill. The results were one egg I took and cracked from the incubator and it was not fertile, left all 10 of Brody's eggs because at day 14 I was still unsure. I hope tomorrow when I remove the egg turner at day 18 I can cull anything that looks bad but I fear killing any chicks due to my lack of experience and I think JOSHU and others have a point about letting nature take care of things. Broody was so upset by my day 14 visit she had diarrhea all over the coop and so I had to give her acv water and bread with live yogurt culture. Did the trick but I think my visit and picking up eggs was the cause.