Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[aoxa]

YEAH! e I saw a pip on the orpington egg - she moved again and the egg was sticking out a bit and the pip was on the date I wrote. So maybe the blue egg and the orp egg will hatch today. Oh please! I don't want to have to go buy more chicks - I doubt the other ones will hatch - but maybe. Topsy is trying her best.

Congrats! It's exciting, isn't it?! I had an awful staggered hatch. I was very bad and didn't keep other hens from laying in the nest My hen hatched 1 last Monday, the next on Wednesday, and got up. I took the last 4 eggs and stuck them in the incubator. All 4 hatched on Wednesday THIS week! They are being raised by hand, because I gave that hen 5 chicks I incubated myself (silkies) and she has 7. I don't want to push the numbers. Anyway.. She is doing really well!

The 2 she hatched herself.

She left her last batch of babies to go broody AGAIN when they were 5 weeks old. She really needs a break after this group. I don't want to keep raising chicks throughout the cold season It gets mighty cold here!

 

[bobbieschicks]

Here are a few pics











I doubt that smooshed egg will hatch - but I moved it under Topsy along with the blue egg. I haven't managed to take a pic of Smokey's second baby yet. It's spending most of it's time under momma.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Adorable babies

and such a pretty momma.

Congrats! It's exciting, isn't it?!

I had an awful staggered hatch. I was very bad and didn't keep other hens from laying in the nest

My hen hatched 1 last Monday, the next on Wednesday, and got up. I took the last 4 eggs and stuck them in the incubator. All 4 hatched on Wednesday THIS week!
They are being raised by hand, because I gave that hen 5 chicks I incubated myself (silkies) and she has 7. I don't want to push the numbers. Anyway.. She is doing really well!

The 2 she hatched herself.

She left her last batch of babies to go broody AGAIN when they were 5 weeks old. She really needs a break after this group. I don't want to keep raising chicks throughout the cold season

It gets mighty cold here!

 

[aoxa]

Adorable babies  and such a pretty momma.

Thank you Lorraine is quite the character. She barely sees, so it is funny watching her show the babies where food is. She just pecks the air until she reaches it lol. I should probably trim around her eyes a bit

Your Smokey is beautiful as well! That smushed egg could hatch. I've seen it happen!

 

[Stacykins]

sometimes it happens. For me it isn't the norm, but I've had it happen. Curious as to why you wouldn't let newbie moms hatch the eggs? Chickens have hatched eggs for thousands of years before incubators were created. Not picking, just curious why science over nature that's all.

I'd rather not take the chance of losing eggs. Every day they decide to sit on a new nest, one brood box over usually. They were quite broody, not wishy washy broody. And it wasn't even nest competition driving them, they were on the 'unpopular' spots. So they wouldn't have stayed on actual eggs successfully. I incubated myself, and they got the chicks.

 

[bobbieschicks]

More pics! The blue one is definitely hatching - so hopefully it will be healthy and out soon!

 

[Chicken Frenzie]

=). I loved this expirience.. unfourtunatly I've got three who are chest bumping. Got one girl and one boy bantam... Not sure about the others.. =/. If my turken/Ee/silkie isn't a girl I am going to be SO devistated . So far I haven't seen the turken/ee/silkie chest bumb, the LB chest bumb, or the girl mystery bantam chest bump. 3/6 is good!

 

[Love n Chaos]

So this is our first hatch and excited to say we have a chick

!!! Seriously waiting for chicks to hatch is like watching paint dry and you just can't help yourself lol! I have been going crazy is everything ok with my broody? do I need to do something more? what about the other hens??? I wanted to pull out my hair trying to make sure everything was perfect!

Though my husband had the best piece of advice...let nature take its course and she (broody) knows what she is doing...just give it time! Saw some pipping yesterday on 2 eggs and one was almost out this am! Sooo Excited! So are all our friends! No matter how you look at it a baby being born is always something special! Really is nature at its best!!! Mama and baby just looking at eachother!

 

[farmer boy]

well a baby chick died then another hatched and one is oh most out right now and another is pecking the shell to get out these ones i have in my room no bator nothing and one hatched and another is hatching no broody just me doing all the work so 5 out of 8 eggs but two eggs broke so thats a good hatch for my first time and im doing most of the work

 

[aoxa]

So this is our first hatch and excited to say we have a chick !!! Seriously waiting for chicks to hatch is like watching paint dry and you just can't help yourself lol! I have been going crazy is everything ok with my broody? do I need to do something more? what about the other hens??? I wanted to pull out my hair trying to make sure everything was perfect! Though my husband had the best piece of advice...let nature take its course and she (broody) knows what she is doing...just give it time! Saw some pipping yesterday on 2 eggs and one was almost out this am! Sooo Excited! So are all our friends! No matter how you look at it a baby being born is always something special! Really is nature at its best!!! Mama and baby just looking at eachother!

Adorable! She still has those trance like eyes that broodies get