Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Johnn]

3 babys are with their mam now, pic of them anyways and my chicks (which were fighting before too):

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

Day 19, and I am a complete wreck.
Dreaming of having to do CPR on a drowning chick.
Should just be glad I am sleeping at all.
Does this ever get any less stressful? Or is this just how it is when new babies come, no matter how many you've had?
I remember last time I was this spun-out, and everything went fine. This is of no comfort to me at all, because this is a different hen, and I have no idea if she will take to having a family as well as she has done setting the clutch.
Should I be readying the brooder? Should I just sit in the coop and stare at her for the next 2 days? Should I be medicated for my own protection?
Thank god for the support groups...just having a confessor is a comfort to me. Surely there are others out there like me...

 

[Kassaundra]

Well I'm cheating. I had the oppurtunity to get some eggs I really wanted, and knew a couple of weeks before, so I started bribing any of the girls to go broody, but no one would take me up on it, so the eggs are in the incubator.

 

[Johnn]

 

[Johnn]

 

[bobbieschicks]

Awh - so cute -love all the pics!

 

[Johnn]

Awh - so cute -love all the picthN

thanks, shes starting to calm down now, do you think she will go broody next year??

 

[bobbieschicks]

thanks, shes starting to calm down now, do you think she will go broody next year??

I don't know, I never thought Smokey would go broody but she's been three times this year. I figured Topsy would be broody one time and she's just hatched her second clutch. So I'm guessing yes she will be broody again.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Well I'm cheating.  I had the oppurtunity to get some eggs I really wanted, and knew a couple of weeks before, so I started bribing any of the girls to go broody, but no one would take me up on it, so the eggs are in the incubator.

Oh man! Isn't that the way it goes! When you want a broody, nada. When you don't want one...what am I saying?!?! Who wouldn't want one

 

[featherz]

Anyone have a problem 'grafting' *shipped* chicks under a broody? I hatch in my bator all the time and throw those chicks under my broodies with no problems, but just got six shipped chicks yesterday for my two broodies and had no luck with either chicken, even one who is normally one of my 'go to' broodies. I think the chicks had something to do with it - they had a long trip and didn't seem to want to stay under mama - found all of them out and wandering around the coop this morning and of course the broodies were now ignoring them. I gave up and stuck them in a brooder. The chicks did spend yesterday under an ecoglow so I could put them under mama(s) at night - maybe they imprinted on that? =)

They just hatched monday and had no feathers yet, so it's not an age thing. Both mamas have been broody on fake eggs > 1 month, so it's not that. Hopefully they'll snap out of it eventually as I don't have space to do 'broody busting'. LOL.