Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[bobbieschicks]

So I candled the eggs under Caesar and well they are growing 5 of them I think.... there were 2 newly laid ones in the nest from when I returned.  I think they must be on day 15-16-17-18?? ish maybe more..... I candled in the daytime so it was really hard to see 

I guess I will just wait and see what happens.... Caesar gets up off her nest to stretch , dust bathe , eat, drink & poop and my Ameraucana Mole Negro goes in and sits on her nest....  Its great as it allows Caesar to be out of the nest a bit longer.  I also noticed that Caesar has been much nicer and more tolerant to the other chicks in the coop so she is ready to become a mom!  

That's wonderful! Can't wait to see pics. My Smokey was flighty before her 1st brood, then she was super sweet and friendly when they hatched. That was until about the 2nd day when the alpha roo picked up and flung one of the chicks. The chick was unharmed, but the roo got a good beat down from Smokey. Haha. Never underestimate the strength and fortitude of a broody momma.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Yeah! The storm missed us, but brought the cool air. The coop went from 106F to just over 82F in less than an hour. Should cool off nicely tonight for them hope they sleep well.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Heat here has been frightful as well. We aren't used to this sort of nonsense. Had 2 of my best Ameraucanas go down on me yesterday, I assume, because of the heat. I was in a total panic - truly. Got them in an ice bath and then into the basement in the house. Thankfully, no losses. Horrible year. But Broody Naima seems unaffected. Blows my mind.

Looking forward to seeing Betty White's brood!!! Good luck!!

Really glad to hear Miss Lydia is feeling better!!! Hope she continues to improve!

Had Broody Naima out again this afternoon. One of her kids ended up under the coop. Long story but suffice to say -- her solution was to run back to the broody box with the other two and expect me to fix it - which I did.

(Anybody that thinks chickens are "dumb" or can't learn clearly hasn't spent any time with them. They never cease to amaze me.)

They got our number anyway don't they? lol I glad to hear you didn't lose your girls, I think we'll all be ready for fall this year.

I am still amazed it is already July.

 

[MomToTheZoo]

So far My Salmons are the only ones to go broody! And three at the same time Go figure. So far they are doing well. Settled in and sitting on those eggs

 

[MomToTheZoo]

This is probably been answered a million times before but I haven't found it yet. I have three broody girls on eggs at the moment. I picked up some fertilized eggs for them to hatch out.
I am however wondering when/if They hatch chicks do I HAVE to separate the mommas and babies to a different location or will letting them remain in the main coop be adequate?

We do not have any roosters if that matters

 

[bobbieschicks]

This is probably been answered a million times before but I haven't found it yet.  I have three broody girls on eggs at the moment.  I picked up some fertilized eggs for them to hatch out.
I am however wondering when/if They hatch chicks do I HAVE to separate the mommas and babies to a different location or will letting them remain in the main coop be adequate?

We do not have any roosters if that matters

There are no have tos with broodies. You can separate, but if they get along, why bother. The moms will know whose chick is whose, and the babies will know which mom is theirs. I'd leave them if they are buds.

Also if there are other flock members having all those moms and chicks together will help protect the chicks from any overly bossy flock mates. If one broody doesn't run the offender off, then one of the others will.

 

[MomToTheZoo]

Great! I was hoping I could leave them. The mommas are are in there together and are all hatchmates themselves. I haven't seen any aggressive behaviors (besides the usual pecking order stuff). Hoping they all just simply get along

 

[bobbieschicks]

We are starting to get some nice cool breezes as a storm is headed this way. I'm happy it's going to cool down.
Topsy was sitting on the floor of the coop a bit ago scooping under her breast the ping pong balls she found on the floor.
When I peaked in the window I noticed her glancing towards the nestboxes again.

Went out at 6pm ahead of the storm and found Topsy was back in the nest box. I took her down and put her on the floor because it was 106F in the coop. Thats when I found that earlier she had somehow managed to pick up the two ping pong balls from the floor and move them into the nest with her. Apparently she had them tucked under her wings. They fell out when I sat her down on the floor. It was too funny to see her quickly gather them under herself.

I went back out at 8:15pm to close up and she had those stupid balls under her again in the nest box. Her two almost 7 week old silky babies were in there with her. When she was sleeping on the roost they had been sleeping in the nest boxes. So I moved them out to a separate box to give her some room and airflow. If she stays on the nest two more days and stops laying I'll call her broody - again! And figure out what if anything to do with her...

This will be my fourth broody event this year with both Smokey and Topsy going broody twice.

 

[stonykill]

broody pics. I have others on eggs right now that I couldn't get pictures of.



these 2 last girls both sat on the same day. That should be an interesting hatch day. These are the 2 I enticed into going broody by leaving egg filled nests constantly

. They are Sumatra's so they just needed a nudge

the 1st girl I started calling "daughter" when she went broody in March. She is one of Mama's girls from last year. She looks a lot like her mother. Acts like her too. 2nd time sitting already this year

 

[bobbieschicks]

Great! I was hoping I could leave them.  The mommas are are in there together and are all hatchmates themselves.  I haven't seen any aggressive behaviors (besides the usual pecking order stuff).  Hoping they all just simply get along

If they get along usually it's nice to just leave them together. Sometimes their hormones will make them act differently once they hatch heir broods so you may end up needing to separate if they get aggressive with each other, but usually if they get along before they'll get along after as well.

My two broodies are "mortal enemies" of each other. I'm often seeing Smokey climb on poor Topsy's back to dominate her. I don't know what Topsy did, but Smokey has never let her forget her lower rank in chickendom. When they both went broody and hatched shipped eggs together I divided their section down the middle with landscape fabric curtain so they could sit without killing each other.