Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Tanichca]

I am a newbie to hatching too and I am waiting to day 10, just to be safe. I have read posts that too much candling can hurt, even kill, the embryo. I figure any nonfertiles or early quiters will be obvious by that point, even to me.

I candle at days 5, 10, 15, and 20, with a flashlight. I'm usually kinda impatient to see the little wigglers inside.

 

[heatherscreations1969]

I was just wondering, does any one no when chicks in england leave their mothers?, i think it's 8 weeks and i was planning on letting the orp and melow out with their chicks at 5 weeks so they have 3 weeks to teach them to find food out side.

Why are you planning on letting them outside at 5 weeks? My mama's have always brought their little ones outside at 3-4 days old.....she keeps them safe and teaches them what its like to be a chicken Mama's usually stop looking after the babies anytime between 6 and 10 weeks.

*hugs* Heather x in cold and rainy Derbyshire.

 

[Johnn]

Why are you planning on letting them outside at 5 weeks? My mama's have always brought their little ones outside at 3-4 days old.....she keeps them safe and teaches them what its like to be a chicken Mama's usually stop looking after the babies anytime between 6 and 10 weeks.

*hugs* Heather x in cold and rainy Derbyshire.

Because the hens are being silly, Melow trys to take them through a bog to the other shed and they were getting trapped in the whole and nearly wnet under the shed, then the orp was trying to take them away and she tried taking them over a stream and one nearly ended up in it, the two hens both wanted to go to different places and the chicks were just going backwards and forwards, I will probs let the out earlier than that i just want them to be bigish, so they can run away from rats or mice if any show up and get over the stream with out falling in

 

[Miss Lydia]

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

Beautiful stony

 

[Miss Lydia]

Day 5 and candling tonight!!!


I lost my favorite chicken today, a 2 year old silkie roo. I'm very much hoping that one of the eggs is fertile by him, since he never had any babies before now and I'm really going to miss the cuddly little guy.

So sorry about you loss

, hope there are some of his kids in the mix

 

[bobbieschicks]

So sorry about you loss

, hope there are some of his kids in the mix

xs2.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I am so sorry to hear about your roo It must be heartbreaking.
I have a newbie question. I was planning in candling midway through. With never having candled before should I wait until halfway or is 5 days a good time to take a peek (for a novice)?

Candling eggs and knowing what to look for at different stages just comes with practice. You can candle every day without harming the growing chick. Just do so gently without sloshing the egg around or turning it upside down - and be careful not to drop it.

As far as what days to candle - my preference for light or white eggs:
day 5 to see if anything is growing in there (by day 3 you can see spidery veins if something is growing, but by Day 5 it will be even clearer)
day 14 to see if they've progressed or stopped short (they should take up about 3/4 of the egg by this point and you should see pulsing from the veins)
day 17 to see how many might hatch (can't see much now as they will have taken much of the inside of the egg, but you might be able to hear them soon)
day 25 to see if there is any possiblity they will ever hatch (if they haven't by now - chances are good they won't).

If the eggs are dark or blue - I give them the benefit of the doubt and don't toss (unless stinky or clear) until they are after day 25 and I'm confident they aren't any good.

But don't fear candling them - they aren't as fragile as some people want you to believe. I've seen my Smokey roll her eggs around pretty good - and they still hatched. My biggest reason for not candling daily is because I have dropped them before and I don't want to do that again.

 

[heatherscreations1969]

Because the hens are being silly, Melow trys to take them through a bog to the other shed and they were getting trapped in the whole and nearly wnet under the shed, then the orp was trying to take them away and she tried taking them over a stream and one nearly ended up in it, the two hens both wanted to go to different places and the chicks were just going backwards and forwards, I will probs let the out earlier than that i just want them to be bigish, so they can run away from rats or mice if any show up and get over the stream with out falling in

Can you put up some temporary chicken wire or netting to keep them in a safe area in the garden? I do that so they do try to take the babies down the driveway to a main road
Rats, mice? not a problem, mama's will teach the little ones how to kill them

*hugs* Heather x

 

[Johnn]

i cant because if i put wire up its stops the other hens getting to their shed :/, i will wait till one sunny day in a couple of weeks then let them out and stay all day and see how they get on

 

[bobbieschicks]

When I opened the coop I found my Topsy in her nestbox busy trying to hatch 3 ping pong balls.

Day 2 on the nest - we'll see if she lays today or not. I'm thinking she is broody again - but I won't make a plan until I know for certain.

When I picked Silky and EE girls I hoped to "one day" have a broody who maybe would hatch out a few chicks once a year - it was a dream for the future - to perpetuate my flock.
I didn't count on them going broody so soon and I certainly didn't count on 4 times in less than six months!