Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Johnn]

Hope she will be ok. It feels awful when we injure our pets through accidental movements.

yeah hes fine now, went straight back to eating, im just so glad i didn't stand on it, i would be so upset if i killed him!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

yeah hes fine now, went straight back to eating, im just so glad i didn't stand on it, i would be so upset if i killed him!!

whew that was a close call, glad he's okay.

 

[Silkie Chicken]

Can anyone tell me tell me when I should put the chick starter in with my broody for the chicks, she has not had her chicks but when can I put the starter in.

 

[shellyk]

I usually put the starter in when the chicks start hatching. I've only done this 3 times but my hens didn't take the chicks out of the nest in search of food until I took the remaining unhatched eggs away from them (about 24hrs after the first chick was fully hatched). From what I've read the chicks don't need to eat or drink for the first 24-48 hrs. after they hatch. Hope that helps

 

[emmapal]

We are up to our ears remodeling our house, a new baby and husband's new job working long hours, that he doesn't have time to build a broody box, nor I the ability to do so. Where can I just buy one made specifically for a broody hen to hatch and raise chicks for a month or few?

 

[perchie.girl]

We are up to our ears remodeling our house, a new baby and husband's new job working long hours, that he doesn't have time to build a broody box, nor I the ability to do so. Where can I just buy one made specifically for a broody hen to hatch and raise chicks for a month or few?

Off of craigslist:

You can use an old dog crate.
A rabbit hutch.
Any cage big enough for a nest box and feed bowls
Even A big cardboard box that had watermellons in it with a chicken wire lid.

It only has to provide a safe place where the chicks cant get out and you can get food and bedding in.

deb

 

[Lacy Blues]

I usually put the starter in when the chicks start hatching. I've only done this 3 times but my hens didn't take the chicks out of the nest in search of food until I took the remaining unhatched eggs away from them (about 24hrs after the first chick was fully hatched). From what I've read the chicks don't need to eat or drink for the first 24-48 hrs. after they hatch. Hope that helps

Chicks can go three days after hatching before they need to eat. That's how the hatcheries are able to ship chicks across country. They NEED to eat on the third day though, at the latest.

 

[emmapal]

Off of craigslist:

You can use an old dog crate.
A rabbit hutch.
Any cage big enough for a nest box and feed bowls
Even A big cardboard box that had watermellons in it with a chicken wire lid.

It only has to provide a safe place where the chicks cant get out and you can get food and bedding in.

deb

This is something we plan to use fairly heavily and outdoors: we live on a busy county road, and my kids sell eggs at a roadside stand, and plan to sell pullets there as we raise them. When I Google "broody house" or "broody hen box" etc I get all these UK sites selling readymade ones. What's the term to search in the US to find one? My husband built our tractor in a "former life" lol! So I want something heavy duty and really easy to use, not needing to be retrofitted. Our current setup isn't functioning very well (kicking everyone out early am, and remembering to let them in on time every pm. A real pain, and we lost one hen already by going out too late to let them back in.)

 

[bobbieschicks]

This is something we plan to use fairly heavily and outdoors: we live on a busy county road, and my kids sell eggs at a roadside stand, and plan to sell pullets there as we raise them. When I Google "broody house" or "broody hen box" etc I get all these UK sites selling readymade ones. What's the term to search in the US to find one? My husband built our tractor in a "former life" lol! So I want something heavy duty and really easy to use, not needing to be retrofitted. Our current setup isn't functioning very well (kicking everyone out early am, and remembering to let them in on time every pm. A real pain, and we lost one hen already by going out too late to let them back in.)

Depending on your current coop situation - could you simply wire off an area within the tractor just for her use? I wire off a section of my coop for the broodies each time and take it out when they've hatched so that they can integrate the chicks without issue.

Otherwise the rabbit hutch would work -you'd probably want to put something over any open air areas depending on how your weather is where you live. You might try the term "brooder box" for a search instead of broody. Any area where you can put water & food and leave her alone for awhile is fine. Once the babies hatch at 21 days they will stay close/under momma and be ready to go out of the nest with momma on Day 3. So you may want to have a wired in area for them to forage without getting out/lost.

However, if momma's away from the flock during the sitting time she may have a harder time integrating herself and the babies once they've hatched. I prefer to leave my girls with the flock and just keep them wired off. You could accomplish that with a cage in the coop. Lots of options - some people just let the mommas sit on the eggs with everyone else there and mark the eggs that are being hatched with a pen so they can keep track of what needs to be removed and what should be left to hatch. That is another option of course it depends on how much you want to be involved in the process.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Can anyone tell me tell me when I should put the chick starter in with my broody for the chicks, she has not had her chicks but when can I put the starter in.

I didn't bother to put food in with the chicks this past time - I have bowls of chick feed out for them to eat outside. By the time they were ready for food momma was ready to take them out and feed them - that was Day 2.