Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[CarolJ]

Thanks for the replies. I was concerned that it might be too hard on her body to be broody again so soon. I just set some eggs in the incubator on Monday afternoon. Tomorrow I will set up a nest in my broody pen with some of those eggs and put Onyx in there. She was such a great mama to her first group of chicks. And she's such a dedicated broody, if I put eggs in the broody nest - she'll sit on them.

 

[stonykill]

It must be something in your water that makes all your girls go broody

this year has been something. i always KNOW nearly any Sumatra hen will go broody. but in 7 years of RIR's until this year I never had 1 even think about it, now there have been 3. penelope was a given, that's why I bought her and Patrick. They were hatched from a broody, so it was just a matter of time was my gamble, and I was right

. Not goingto get my hopes up on this white leghorn. But would be pleased if she did. Ultimately this is what I've been working towards. Self incubating flock. All breeds. Let mama do the hatching and raise the young.

 

[aoxa]

  yes she can and yes you can let her sit again if she is serious. My best broody "Mama" was sitting on new eggs 6 weeks after hatching her 1st brood. She is currently raising 15 from that clutch

My Silkie hen Lorraine went broody exactly six weeks after her clutch hatched too. Crazy silkies.. She wasn't even back to laying a week before going broody!

 

[erinszoo]

Quote:
Well, we moved them tonight since day 18 is rapidly approaching and we couldn't leave them in their old house for another week or so. At first they were both extremely upset and ran off but our white leghorn returned and took back over her nest with all ten eggs in it. If the barred rock returns tomorrow then we'll see about dividing the nest again ...

 

[aoxa]

Well, we moved them tonight since day 18 is rapidly approaching and we couldn't leave them in their old house for another week or so. At first they were both extremely upset and ran off but our white leghorn returned and took back over her nest with all ten eggs in it. If the barred rock returns tomorrow then we'll see about dividing the nest again ...

Hope she goes back!! I did move my barred rock at night after she took off. I brought the eggs back to where she was used to and then proceeded to move her again at night. She was fine come morning.

 

[3 NH reds]

Day 21 and no hatching yet but Jersey Giants could take longer I hear. Three day of My 1st buff being back in the layer coop after I took her away from chicks due to Buffy 2 being close and she was still getting beat up by golden comets. I pulled the two comets out and put them in a dog crate in the other coop. Buffy 1 would not come off the roost and the comets were waiting there to beat her so off to "jail" they went. Now Buffy 1 and the other 5 birds are fine. I will wait a few days and let the Comets in one at a time. Hope this ends the fights. Now for the eggs to hatch.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

I may have yet another broody wanting to sit. I picked up half a dozen eggs from her clutch and put them in a carton, set that in the next shelf up in a new nesting shelf I'm converting, promptly got distracted and forgot the half box of eggs. Next day I went to get her egg, and her nest was empty! Then I saw the carton, flipped over and all the eggs situated in a nice neat pile snuggled down into the nesting material. She's prob thinking - shesh! These people are kind a dumb huh? Eggs don't belomg in a box!

 

[aoxa]

My RIR hen is a horrible mother! She killed the only chick that hatched, and is therefore grounded from being broody. She was placed with the others on the roost last night. Never again!

Poor little chick..

 

[Chicken Frenzie]

My RIR hen is a horrible mother! She killed the only chick that hatched, and is therefore grounded from being broody. She was placed with the others on the roost last night. Never again!
Poor little chick..

I'm sorry :*(

 

[Johnn]

Well on a posotive, Melow was back with the chicks today! although she sleeps on the perches now. On a negetive, i took one of my dogs to the hens today, the orp has never ever seen her before and she let of a huge warning call as my dog was walking through the flock and all the hens scattered and the little black chick got split off from it's mam and ran away in a different direction to all the other hens (the orpington chick got away with it's mam), anyways i heard the little black chick calling and i couldn't leave it because the orp didn't have a clue were it was and the chick didn't know were it was so i went to find it and took it back to mam!




theres a pic with melow in!: