Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

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bobbieschicks said:
I second Johnns advice and would add to it this, when chosing the number and type of chicks keep in mind how large they will be at 3-4 weeks old in relation to the size of the broody and your weather. The broody will usually stop mothering them about that age and they will need to keep each other warm at night. My silkes and LF chicks generally huddled together once momma starts pecking them away. Some moms will stay longer with the chicks but that is not the norm.
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my orp is deffo staying longer than normal!, i wish i had thaught to say that after i lost 3 chicks out of 15 because the hen was to small to cover them in the cold, i took 8 away and she has 4 happy ones :)
 
earlybird10842 said:
In the "breeds" section of this wbpage, Australorps are listed as " average" Brooders. on the list of good Broodies, on this thread, they are listed as " very frequent"
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I started with 6 hatchery BAs. Of those 6, 2 have been broody. Is this average? I don't know. But 30% broody rate seems very frequent to me. Especially when broodiness is a heritable trait and hatcheries breed it out wherever possible.
Just throwing that out there.
 
Johnn said:
my orp is deffo staying longer than normal!, i wish i had thaught to say that after i lost 3 chicks out of 15 because the hen was to small to cover them in the cold, i took 8 away and she has 4 happy ones :)
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My 10 8 week olds still follow Mamma everywhere (although at this point, it is more like she is following them).
She has been every bit as protective of them as she was at the beginning, and still tries to cover them with her wings at night, despite the fact they are all roosting now.
I don't know if this is normal or not, but she shows no signs of cutting them loose and getting back to laying.
 
Johnn said:
my orp is deffo staying longer than normal!, i wish i had thaught to say that after i lost 3 chicks out of 15 because the hen was to small to cover them in the cold, i took 8 away and she has 4 happy ones :)
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Mine are still with mom but she has stopped guarding them from the other lady in the coop and she doesn't call them to good food anymore. But she hasn't chased them away and still snuggles with them at night. The two of us seem to have Über Mommas. :)
 
Chick_In_The_Burbs said:
Mine are still with mom but she has stopped guarding them from the other lady in the coop and she doesn't call them to good food anymore. But she hasn't chased them away and still snuggles with them at night. The two of us seem to have Über Mommas.
smile.png
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my orp still calls them to food amd holds the seed or what ever she finds for them to peck out her mouth!
 
Rachel'sFlock said:
My 10 8 week olds still follow Mamma everywhere (although at this point, it is more like she is following them).
She has been every bit as protective of them as she was at the beginning, and still tries to cover them with her wings at night, despite the fact they are all roosting now.
I don't know if this is normal or not, but she shows no signs of cutting them loose and getting back to laying.
Click to expand...
my orp hasnt layed an egg in 19 weeks (she was broody for 4 weeks and has been raising chicks and still is for 15 weeks)
 

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