Should I let my broody 23 wk old pullet sit on a clutch????

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Input im gonna give seems to be in the minority here. Having said that, i have had many MANY pullets of various breeds go broody & hatch chicks. Easter eggers, australorps, welsummers, marans, rhode island reds, buff orpingtons, production reds, red & gold sex-links (yes some have!), at 7-8 months. The youngest was a cuckoo marans that started laying at 24 weeks. I swear she laid 6 eggs then promptly went broody. She was an excellent first-time mother. She (Matilda) is now 5 years old & still raises chicks every year. I did always give the pullets bigger eggs from more mature hens. (Not small pullet eggs). Never once did i have a pullet quit setting, & ONly once did a pullet (production red) attack a chick as it was hatching. I didnt know i was "supposed" to let the pullets get older before hatching, & ignorance was bliss! I agree that after a broody has hatched her first clutch, she knows Exactly what she is doing, & there is no need to worry. But it seems like that would be true no matter the age of the broody? Personally, i would be more concerned about possible current cold winter weather than the age of your pullet. Yes the broody will keep the chicks warm, but u will need to keep drinking water warm-ish (so chicks dont get chilled.) You will also need to watch the chicks closely the first 48 hours to make sure they are strong enough to keep up with & go under the broody hen for warmth. Otherwise, chicks can quickly get cold, disoriented and die. And of course dont let mama hen or chicks get wet. Not discounting the expertise of others input, just saying all my dozens of broody pullets through the years have been excellent mothers. (With the exception of the one).

 

[Nija Chick]

My BLCM pullet is broody. She is only 23 weeks old, and started laying last month. I'd love to give her some eggs to hatch out. Has anyone ever had a broody pullet that they let sit on eggs?? And if yes, how did she do ??
It is day 2 for her. I was going to put her in a broody pen tomorrow after dark. I figure if she remains happily siting on the golf balls once I move her, then I'll let her try hatching some real eggs.

Thoughts?

I let any of my hens set on eggs when they become broody, no mater the hens age. (Even 10 year old geriatric hens who aren't laying but one a week...) If she decides to brood, she's old enough. This year my 20 week old Olive egger went broody, 21 days +6 weeks ago... and I swear she was only laying a week or two, and the only fertile eggs available were theirs. this flock all were the same age, 20 weeks, olive eggers Americauna, speckled Sussex, salmon faveroli, and cream legbar. The roo is an 5 year old Americauna who played Mr. Mom while his flock was growing from chick to hen. so when she went broody, I let her set on 12 "tiny teenager eggs", and she hatched 8, and they are all doing splendidly. The bb's are 6 weeks now. But danged if we got some white ones I can't figure where they came from because none of the moms are white, maybe dad isn't pure?!? But bb's are bb's, and all are welcome.

The experts do suggest though that you only hatch med or larger eggs because the chick has less space to grow in a smaller egg (which I didn't pay attention to...). But the hen is grown and fully capable of hatching anyone's eggs as soon as she says she is. And my Olive egger is a dedicated mommy now

 

[ariri30]

My BLCM pullet is broody. She is only 23 weeks old, and started laying last month. I'd love to give her some eggs to hatch out. Has anyone ever had a broody pullet that they let sit on eggs?? And if yes, how did she do ??
It is day 2 for her. I was going to put her in a broody pen tomorrow after dark. I figure if she remains happily siting on the golf balls once I move her, then I'll let her try hatching some real eggs.

Thoughts?

Yes let her do it. My little mutt was barely 6 months when she hatched 7 babies and 6 weeks after hatched three more. She’s sounds like a ticking bomb clucking every where. It seems that she’s doing it again.and she was a wonderful mom from the start

 

[Nija Chick]

My 2-cents. She's not old enough to have gained enough body fat to sustain her through the brooding process. Broody chickens tend to 'grab a quick bite' and lose condition while brooding; this could be fatal to a skinny girl without you helping her by serving HIGH protein and calorie dense foods like sardines packed in oil, meat scraps, fruit, sunflower seeds, mealworms and the like; and of course, only serving these delicacies to her, not the whole flock, to ensure that she's getting enough protein and calories without making the rest of your flock fat!

Good point, I always make sure any broody hen has food and water just a foot or two from her nest, and make sure to give her a few extra meal worms and cabbage leaves etc so when she does get up to stretch ,poo, and grab a bite, she's getting all the nutrition she needs.

 

[ariri30]

Input im gonna give seems to be in the minority here. Having said that, i have had many MANY pullets of various breeds go broody & hatch chicks. Easter eggers, australorps, welsummers, marans, rhode island reds, buff orpingtons, production reds, red & gold sex-links (yes some have!), at 7-8 months. The youngest was a cuckoo marans that started laying at 24 weeks. I swear she laid 6 eggs then promptly went broody. She was an excellent first-time mother. She (Matilda) is now 5 years old & still raises chicks every year. I did always give the pullets bigger eggs from more mature hens. (Not small pullet eggs). Never once did i have a pullet quit setting, & ONly once did a pullet (production red) attack a chick as it was hatching. I didnt know i was "supposed" to let the pullets get older before hatching, & ignorance was bliss! I agree that after a broody has hatched her first clutch, she knows Exactly what she is doing, & there is no need to worry. But it seems like that would be true no matter the age of the broody? Personally, i would be more concerned about possible current cold winter weather than the age of your pullet. Yes the broody will keep the chicks warm, but u will need to keep drinking water warm-ish (so chicks dont get chilled.) You will also need to watch the chicks closely the first 48 hours to make sure they are strong enough to keep up with & go under the broody hen for warmth. Otherwise, chicks can quickly get cold, disoriented and die. And of course dont let mama hen or chicks get wet. Not discounting the expertise of others input, just saying all my dozens of broody pullets through the years have been excellent mothers. (With the exception of the one).

Very good points

 

[ariri30]

I let any of my hens set on eggs when they become broody, no mater the hens age. (Even 10 year old geriatric hens who aren't laying but one a week...) If she decides to brood, she's old enough. This year my 20 week old Olive egger went broody, 21 days +6 weeks ago... and I swear she was only laying a week or two, and the only fertile eggs available were theirs. this flock all were the same age, 20 weeks, olive eggers Americauna, speckled Sussex, salmon faveroli, and cream legbar. The roo is an 5 year old Americauna who played Mr. Mom while his flock was growing from chick to hen. so when she went broody, I let her set on 12 "tiny teenager eggs", and she hatched 8, and they are all doing splendidly. The bb's are 6 weeks now. But danged if we got some white ones I can't figure where they came from because none of the moms are white, maybe dad isn't pure?!? But bb's are bb's, and all are welcome.

The experts do suggest though that you only hatch med or larger eggs because the chick has less space to grow in a smaller egg (which I didn't pay attention to...). But the hen is grown and fully capable of hatching anyone's eggs as soon as she says she is. And my Olive egger is a dedicated mommy now

Lol I have a barred rooster and an brownish EE hen and I got a rainbow of color from the pair including pure black pullets.

 

[Nija Chick]

Personally, i would be more concerned about possible current cold winter weather than the age of your pullet. Yes the broody will keep the chicks warm, but u will need to keep drinking water warm-ish (so chicks dont get chilled.) You will also need to watch the chicks closely the first 48 hours to make sure they are strong enough to keep up with & go under the broody hen for warmth. Otherwise, chicks can quickly get cold, disoriented and die.

Yes that's another thing to prepare for when she hatched in the winter, I personally make sure there is a heat lamp available to them if they choose. My OE has two nests in the broody room, one has a heat lamp over it, and the other doesn't and the hen does go under it with her brood on the nights that it freezes here. And other nights sits in the unheated nest, which is right next to the heated one. And yeah heated waterer. (Not the bowl type until the chicks are at least 4-5 weeks, no drowned chicks allowed.)

 

[Nija Chick]

Lol I have a barred rooster and an brownish EE hen and I got a rainbow of color from the pair including pure black pullets.

It's amazing. the color patters that come from mixed flock genetics lol a black jersey giant and an AM roo produced an all black roo chick with a black pea comb and black feet with feathers black on black. Now that he's a young adult his comb is finally turning red, but I was (mom's comb red-dad comb red, chick black on black on black???? lol it's fun.

 

[Nija Chick]

It's amazing. the color patters that come from mixed flock genetics lol a black jersey giant and an AM roo produced an all black roo chick with a black pea comb and black feet with feathers black on black. Now that he's a young adult his comb is finally turning red, but I was (mom's comb red-dad comb red, chick black on black on black???? lol it's fun.

That roo btw I named TRex, for good reason he is HUGE. He was twice the size of the other babies when he was born lol amazing stuff

 

[ackie]

Someone mentioned good and bad mothers on the first page - I have a couple grown hens that will fight you off their chicks, and I have one younger one that left her baby screaming bloody murder while she was up in a tree he couldnt get into.

edit: she only hatched 2 chicks and one drowned in the water bowl. no idea how many eggs she laid.