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

[BDutch]

I only let my broody hens hatch in spring. Imo thats the best time of the year for chicks to grow up in a natural setting. No problems with cold and nasty weather. Lots of healthy sunshine to give the chicks a good start.

You also need an indisturbed and safe place for the mother and chicks. The age is not so very important.

 

[ariri30]

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

He’s so pretty

 

[Ebony Rose]

I only let my broody hens hatch in spring. Imo thats the best time of the year for chicks to grow up in a natural setting. No problems with cold and nasty weather. Lots of healthy sunshine to give the chicks a good start.

You also need an indisturbed and safe place for the mother and chicks. The age is not so very important.

Prefer to let them grow up in the summer here. We have two seasons really. Wet and dry. It rains every day for at least a couple of hours for months in the spring; and rain drives the cocci and their eggs to the surface. I never ever ever have issues with it being too cold for chickens, but I am sitting here shivering as I type at 77°F/25°C.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

OMG that is the best handle. Egg snatcher.
Love it

Are you asking what is the best handle? This is what I had to do with mine; make sure she has plenty of food and water, make sure she went out of the box to use the bathroom, sometimes I had to put food and water in her box so she would eat and drink. I also had to take her out of her box and let her walk around so she could got to the bathroom. MAKE SURE TO HOLD YOUR NOSES!!! Broody poop STINKS! I hope this helps you!

 

[AgnesGray]

I had a half dozen or so pullets go broody this spring and summer. The first 5 experiences didn't not go well for one reason or another. I had moms that didn't want their babies when they hatched and tried to kill them before leaving me to raise them. I finally had my first successful broody hatch about week ago.

Then little satin gal that was dropped off to me as a teenager (for being a boy lol) laid 5 or so eggs and went broody. I gave her some standard eggs (hers weren't fertilized) and she hatched them out like a pro and has become the fiercest mom. After the many failed attempts, I am a little cautious at this point and only willing to let them try to hatch eggs if I'm planning to do so anyway. But I have to say, there are few things sweeter than a good broody with her babies!

Henry with her jersey giant chicks.

 

[Minky]

Are you asking what is the best handle? This is what I had to do with mine; make sure she has plenty of food and water, make sure she went out of the box to use the bathroom, sometimes I had to put food and water in her box so she would eat and drink. I also had to take her out of her box and let her walk around so she could got to the bathroom. MAKE SURE TO HOLD YOUR NOSES!!! Broody poop STINKS! I hope this helps you!

No I am saying I love your name.. it is called a handle.

 

[Minky]

I moved her to the feed room yesterday evening. She didn't squat or batt an eyelid. This morning she was still sitting tight on her nest of golf balls. Tonight I will pick some eggs and give them to her. They will all be olive Eggers eggs. The feed room is insulated and will not drop cold temps. IF she manages to hatch them out, they will be fine in there. But I have a ton of space in the basement and lots of room to brood them myself if need be. I will post photos and updates as we go.

She has not been named yet.. So ideas are welcome. She is a blue marans (grey feathers and singlet comb).

 

[aart]

I moved her to the feed room yesterday evening. She didn't squat or batt an eyelid. This morning she was still sitting tight on her nest of golf balls. Tonight I will pick some eggs and give them to her. They will all be olive Eggers eggs. The feed room is insulated and will not drop cold temps. IF she manages to hatch them out, they will be fine in there. But I have a ton of space in the basement and lots of room to brood them myself if need be. I will post photos and updates as we go.

She has not been named yet.. So ideas are welcome. She is a blue marans (grey feathers and singlet comb).

Sounds like you, and her, are all 'set'...haha!
Do let us know how she gets on.
F1 OE's?

 

[Minky]

Sounds like you, and her, are all 'set'...haha!
Do let us know how she gets on.
F1 OE's?

yes CLB over some pretty dark layers (welsummers/marans/mutts)

 

[Anime2lover]

Then who is going to get the chick feed? What do you expect the chick to eat? The hen will do the mothering, the human has to provide the shelter, food (chick food - mama eats it right along with baby as she doesn’t need extra calcium) and water. You need a backup brooder with a heat lamp just in case the babies are rejected.
Chickens do not breast feed, and that’s the only thing I can think of as to why you would say that. Also, a mother chicken is more than capable of keeping her chicks alive during freezing temperatures. They have been hatching and raising chicks way before human beings started caring for them and building them coops. Chicks raised by a chicken are super tough, are rarely affected by coccidiosis or pasty butt, and regulate their own temperatures way better than wussy little brooder chicks.

mamas will break up the food she find for the chicks. like how they would do in the natural world, before they became domestic birds. my mother hen did all that herself for her baby. and yes i know that they can provide the heat and such themselves. i've had hens raise chicks before. either way, like they did before humans kept them, they find and break up the food for the chicks, therefore, chick food specifically isn't as neccessary when a hen is raising them. infact, when i offered it myself for mine, the momma preffered to go for the bigger food that was out of the chick's reach, and then i watched her break it in her beak for the baby.