Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Pele]

Turkey number 4 is officially here!

Last night was hysterical. After work I went home to visit with them, and number three was at the very end of hatching. I was so excited that I picked it up to look and see how close it was to finishing. Apparently the answer was "super close", because it hatched right in my hands! I'm not sure who was more surprised, me or the chick. There was much blinking between the two of us.

Number five is entering the zip stage. Go little duuude!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Not sure what is going on but since Topsy has been occupying one of the nest boxes my Lav Orp Buffy has begun laying her eggs in a corner on the floor of the coop. She's also started screeching often as soon as I come near her.

 

[Kassaundra]

Congrats pele!!

 

[lcw1995]

Congrats pele I've always thought id be cool for a broody chicken to hate me some turkkeys
Best of luck to you your mom hen and the little ones
It'll be fun to watch them grow and thhrive
Continue to update with pics

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Gaaaaah! Snowi is giving me conniptions!! I ended up taking the eggs away from her because
she wasn't sitting on them and just kept her and Summer separated. Then I go to check on them and she has kicked Summer off her nest and is sitting on her eggs but has three of them out and not being brooded! Kicked her out, put Summer back on her eggs and mad Snowi a nest outside the coop. I don't know what else to do. If I put the eggs in the coop Summer may well start to sit on the infertile eggs since Snowi kept ignoring them.

Lordy, who knew broody and broody wannabes could be so stressful...

 

[Pele]

Thanks Kassaundra and lcw1995! It's so fun to have people to share this with. I'm sure my facebook buddies are like "this lady is seriously weird, what's with all the poultry pics?" by now.

 

[Kassaundra]

Thanks Kassaundra and lcw1995! It's so fun to have people to share this with. I'm sure my facebook buddies are like "this lady is seriously weird, what's with all the poultry pics?" by now.

Oh me too, I have several FB albums w/ a couple hundred pics of chickens.

 

[Tanichca]

I did the math today, and figured out that my babies will be due on my dad's birthday!

I finally figured out, too, whose eggs are under my turken. There's two from my splash rosecomb pair, two from my EE hen and EE rooster, one from my silkies (

) and the remaining 4 from the broody herself, with my EE as the dad. My EE has a coloring very similar to that of a Wheaton Ameraucana, but a few wrong-colored tail feathers keep him from being show quality. Can't wait to see what his babies look like! The turken also carries a frizzled gene, and the EE hen carries a rumpless gene. Freaky babies FTW!

 

[aaggjg]

Aww so cute!
I have to ask though......why the egg and giant stone on the ledge above???

*hugs* Heather x

Hahahhahahahaa.... That giant stone is left over from my last broody when I tried to make a make shift enclosure and I used the stone to weigh down one side

The 1/2 egg shell I picked up the other day and something must have happened so i set it down up there not thinking......

In other news I had another Pip this morning!!!! But Caesar was trying to move her nest to the floor.... I think it is because I kept pestering her trying to look for new chicks

I also saw some small bugs crawling on the eggs UGH are these mites???? I guess I will wait a day or so until all of the eggs hatch and then clean out the coop.

 

[homeschoolchick]

I had a broody decide after hatching four babies that she was ready to get up off the eggs, late yesterday. I brought the remainder of eggs in the house. This morning one of her eggs hatched. Can I put the baby under her tonight, in the hopes she will accept it! ??