Share your info about hatching under a broody

[caw555]

Anyone else got information to share???

 

[rebrascora]

I love broody hens so they get my vote every time although I have to be honest and say that I have never used an incubator. Benefits of a broody.... no worrying about power cuts, temp/humidity readings, turning the eggs and they do the job of brooding the chicks and integrating them into the flock and teaching them to roost....show me an incubator that does all that!

Firstly I would say, let your Dutch bantam back in with the flock.... she is clearly not fully ready to brood and I would guess that the stress she is experiencing at being moved will probably break her of it without the need for a broody buster cage. As CTKen says, it's best to wait for them to sit solid for a couple of days and nights before you set them. If you are going to move them, it is best to give them a portable nest at the site of their choosing with dud eggs, once they have set 2 nights solid, move the whole nest and eggs to their broody area and wait another day and night before giving them the fertile eggs to ensure they settle. If the broody pen you move them to is too large so that the nest is not obvious and they can see their old nest site, they will want to go back to it.... it is the nest site that is programmed into the chickens brain rather than the eggs, so moving them can be quite a big deal for them.

I've got my favourite broody(favourite chicken too) on hatch day today. It's her second clutch of the season and she has successfully raised 2 each year since I got her. First time was 14 of her own eggs and she raised all 14 in a free range environment to fledging. She was lowest ranking when I first got her but she is above average now. I've raised 56 chicks with broody hens this year so far and 9 more hopefully to come today or tomorrow.
The way I do it is that I have an old cupboard in the hen house with holes drilled in the door. I use old drawers for nest boxes. When a hen goes broody, I give her two days to set tight and then move the drawer to the cupboard with nest, eggs and chicken and close the door. There is room in the cupboard for food and water but I don't put it in there for the first day so that it doesn't get knocked over if she doesn't settle. Done at night there is little option for the hen but to settle on the nest. Depending on the hen, I will give her the hatching eggs straight way or swap them in the next night. I open the cupboard door and let the hen out once a day for a broody break. If she doesn't get out after a few minutes I lift her out and she usually comes out of her trance and heads off to do what she needs. During this time I close the cupboard door to stop other hens laying in there and remove eggs from all other nest boxes. I do chores whilst supervising her broody break and when she looks like she is ready to head back to the nest I open the cupboard door. Usually the first few days she will go back to her old nest site, even though there are no eggs in it. I wait for her to settle and then pick her up and put her on the nest in the cupboard. She will settle back down and I close the door, in the knowledge that she is safe on her eggs until tomorrow and the eggs can't get abandoned and none of the other hens can clamber over her. After a few days of this routine, she realises that the nest in the cupboard is hers and automatically goes back to it. She benefits from the peace and quiet of having her own nest in the dark where she can't be disturbed by other birds, but she still comes out to eat and drink with the flock once a day, so that she retains her pecking order status.

When the chicks hatch, I remove the nest and she stays in the cupboard for a couple of days with the chicks with food and water and then I open it and she brings them out into the hen house through the day and takes them back into the cupboard at night and I close the door to prevent rats etc getting in. Sometimes she takes them into a nest box and I have to move them, but with portable nest boxes I can just pick it up and carry it to the cupboard and scoop them out.

This system works very well for me, but it depends on your set up.

Good luck with your broody. They are a joy to watch raising chicks.

 

[caw555]

Thank you rebrascora and good luck with your hatch

 

[caw555]

Any other voters or information givers

 

[caw555]

So on day two the eggs get red lines in the yoke right?