What do I do

[Zizix123]

I am a first time chicken owner we have 3 barred rock hens and a barred rock rooster. We let them lay 20 eggs as one of our hens became broody first 3 was on May 25th I did candle them around day 18 and 2 where not viable so I took those out the rest where dark on top and light on the bottom so I am assuming by the videos I've watched are viable. We are now on June 18th and I have not heard any peeping coming from the coop. She is not separated from the flock and sits in the second nesting box while the others use the other box to lay there eggs. What should I be doing? I'm scared to pick up the hen to scare her off and check eggs plus I have no clue what I'm doing. Thanks in advance for any advice .

 

[AlleysChicks]

Well. I’m assuming you didn’t give her all 20 at once, that they were just laid in the nest over 10 days? If so not all of those eggs will hatch. I would take her off the nest, collect the eggs and candle them.
Ones that look further along I’d put back under the hen. The others will not hatch because once the chicks start hatching she won’t be sitting for more than a day or 2.
If you have a incubator I’d put the extras in there.

 

[Zizix123]

Well. I’m assuming you didn’t give her all 20 at once, that they were just laid in the nest over 10 days? If so not all of those eggs will hatch. I would take her off the nest, collect the eggs and candle them.
Ones that look further along I’d put back under the hen. The others will not hatch because once the chicks start hatching she won’t be sitting for more than a day or 2.
If you have a incubator I’d put the extras in there.

Thank you for the reply. No they where not all at once and we do not have an incubator. Will she sit back on them if I take them away last time she stopped sitting on them although it was just a week in and the first time she started brooding. What am I exactly looking for? And do I have to cover the eggs when taking them to the house to check them to keep them warm? Sorry for all the questions in advance I'm such a newbie lol.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not sure of the exact sequence of events. What day did incubation start? Did you collect all the eggs you want her to hatch and start them at the same time or did you gradually add eggs? How many eggs does she have, 20? I think the due date on some of the eggs was last Friday but I'm not sure how many..

Do not be afraid to take her off the nest and check the eggs. You will not break her from being broody doing that. Since you are probably past the due date be a bit careful picking her up. Baby chicks don't always peep so you may have some and not know it. Baby chicks sometimes crawl up under the hen's wings or other feathers. I crushed a chick once that was under the hen's wing when I picked her up. So gently slide your hand under her and lift her up. She may peck you so you might want to wear long sleeves.

If you have chicks all you should be doing is to have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to them when she brings them off the nest. That's all I do, I leave the rest up to the broody hen. But I start all my eggs at the same time.

For the next time I'll tell you how I manage a broody, others will do it totally differently. When a hen goes broody I collect all the eggs I want her to hatch before starting any. A hen needs to be able to cover all the eggs, otherwise some can get pushed out, cool off, and die. They get pushed back under her and another gets pushed out to die. You usually don't get great hatches if she can't cover them all.

How many can a hen cover? It depends. I normally give a hen 12 eggs of the size she lays but I once had a hen that could only handle 10. Another time I had a hen hide a nest and come off with 18 chicks. I never did find her nest so I don't know how many she started with.

After I collect all the eggs I want her to have I mark the eggs with a black Sharpie. I draw circles around the egg, one the long way and one the short so I can tell at a glance which eggs belong. I start all of them at the same time.

Then every day after the others have finished laying I check under the broody hen to see if any eggs that don't belong showed up. Sometimes other hens will lay with the broody hen. If you remove those eggs daily they are still good to eat. That's all I do until she has chicks.

When she has chicks I put food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it when she brings the chicks off the nest. Sometimes the hatches are over within 24 hours of the first one hatching. Some hatches drag out for more than two full days. I figure the hen knows what is going on better than I do so I let her decide when she wants to bring them off. When she does I clean out the nest.

I don't know what your coop looks like. Is it a nice big walk-in coop at ground level or is it a tiny elevated coop. That can dictate what your next steps should be. With my big walk-in coop I just stay out of the broody's way. She decides when to take them outside, usually two or three days later. At night she takes them to a corner of the coop floor where they spend the night. If you have one of those tiny elevated coops you may need be a lot more hands on.

I see you pasted while I was typing. I'll post this anyway and respond to your last post in another post.

 

[Zizix123]

I'm not sure of the exact sequence of events. What day did incubation start? Did you collect all the eggs you want her to hatch and start them at the same time or did you gradually add eggs? How many eggs does she have, 20? I think the due date on some of the eggs was last Friday but I'm not sure how many..

Do not be afraid to take her off the nest and check the eggs. You will not break her from being broody doing that. Since you are probably past the due date be a bit careful picking her up. Baby chicks don't always peep so you may have some and not know it. Baby chicks sometimes crawl up under the hen's wings or other feathers. I crushed a chick once that was under the hen's wing when I picked her up. So gently slide your hand under her and lift her up. She may peck you so you might want to wear long sleeves.

If you have chicks all you should be doing is to have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to them when she brings them off the nest. That's all I do, I leave the rest up to the broody hen. But I start all my eggs at the same time.

For the next time I'll tell you how I manage a broody, others will do it totally differently. When a hen goes broody I collect all the eggs I want her to hatch before starting any. A hen needs to be able to cover all the eggs, otherwise some can get pushed out, cool off, and die. They get pushed back under her and another gets pushed out to die. You usually don't get great hatches if she can't cover them all.

How many can a hen cover? It depends. I normally give a hen 12 eggs of the size she lays but I once had a hen that could only handle 10. Another time I had a hen hide a nest and come off with 18 chicks. I never did find her nest so I don't know how many she started with.

After I collect all the eggs I want her to have I mark the eggs with a black Sharpie. I draw circles around the egg, one the long way and one the short so I can tell at a glance which eggs belong. I start all of them at the same time.

Then every day after the others have finished laying I check under the broody hen to see if any eggs that don't belong showed up. Sometimes other hens will lay with the broody hen. If you remove those eggs daily they are still good to eat. That's all I do until she has chicks.

When she has chicks I put food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it when she brings the chicks off the nest. Sometimes the hatches are over within 24 hours of the first one hatching. Some hatches drag out for more than two full days. I figure the hen knows what is going on better than I do so I let her decide when she wants to bring them off. When she does I clean out the nest.

I don't know what your coop looks like. Is it a nice big walk-in coop at ground level or is it a tiny elevated coop. That can dictate what your next steps should be. With my big walk-in coop I just stay out of the broody's way. She decides when to take them outside, usually two or three days later. At night she takes them to a corner of the coop floor where they spend the night. If you have one of those tiny elevated coops you may need be a lot more hands on.

I see you pasted while I was typing. I'll post this anyway and respond to your last post in another post.

I'm not sure of the exact sequence of events. What day did incubation start? Did you collect all the eggs you want her to hatch and start them at the same time or did you gradually add eggs? How many eggs does she have, 20? I think the due date on some of the eggs was last Friday but I'm not sure how many..

Do not be afraid to take her off the nest and check the eggs. You will not break her from being broody doing that. Since you are probably past the due date be a bit careful picking her up. Baby chicks don't always peep so you may have some and not know it. Baby chicks sometimes crawl up under the hen's wings or other feathers. I crushed a chick once that was under the hen's wing when I picked her up. So gently slide your hand under her and lift her up. She may peck you so you might want to wear long sleeves.

If you have chicks all you should be doing is to have food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to them when she brings them off the nest. That's all I do, I leave the rest up to the broody hen. But I start all my eggs at the same time.

For the next time I'll tell you how I manage a broody, others will do it totally differently. When a hen goes broody I collect all the eggs I want her to hatch before starting any. A hen needs to be able to cover all the eggs, otherwise some can get pushed out, cool off, and die. They get pushed back under her and another gets pushed out to die. You usually don't get great hatches if she can't cover them all.

How many can a hen cover? It depends. I normally give a hen 12 eggs of the size she lays but I once had a hen that could only handle 10. Another time I had a hen hide a nest and come off with 18 chicks. I never did find her nest so I don't know how many she started with.

After I collect all the eggs I want her to have I mark the eggs with a black Sharpie. I draw circles around the egg, one the long way and one the short so I can tell at a glance which eggs belong. I start all of them at the same time.

Then every day after the others have finished laying I check under the broody hen to see if any eggs that don't belong showed up. Sometimes other hens will lay with the broody hen. If you remove those eggs daily they are still good to eat. That's all I do until she has chicks.

When she has chicks I put food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to it when she brings the chicks off the nest. Sometimes the hatches are over within 24 hours of the first one hatching. Some hatches drag out for more than two full days. I figure the hen knows what is going on better than I do so I let her decide when she wants to bring them off. When she does I clean out the nest.

I don't know what your coop looks like. Is it a nice big walk-in coop at ground level or is it a tiny elevated coop. That can dictate what your next steps should be. With my big walk-in coop I just stay out of the broody's way. She decides when to take them outside, usually two or three days later. At night she takes them to a corner of the coop floor where they spend the night. If you have one of those tiny elevated coops you may need be a lot more hands on.

I see you pasted while I was typing. I'll post this anyway and respond to your last post in another post.

 

[Zizix123]

Here is our coop. Should I do a water candling just watched a video on that .

 

[Ridgerunner]

Where are my manners, welcome to the forum.

I'm not sure what you mean by she stopped sitting on them when you took them away. A broody hen normally leaves the nest once a day to eat, drink, and poop. I've had a hen in colder weather stay off the nest about 15 minutes. In hot weather I had a hen that would come off the nest twice a day for over an hour each time. Both still had good hatches. Is that what you mean or did she stay off the nest for days or weeks?

As long as the weather and your house are fairly warm you are in no hurry to candle the eggs. Don't get in such a rush that you drop one or shake them up. Cover them when taking them to the house? Yeah, probably, you don't want them to get hit by a cool breeze. In your house do not put them where an AC vent will blow on them. Be reasonable about it but take your time and do it right. I'll let Alley'schicks tell you what to look for when candling.

So you have a staggered hatch. Those can be stressful, I hate them. But it is what you are dealing with. Each broody is different so I don't know exactly what will happen with yours. Usually a broody hen talks with her chicks before they hatch. That way she knows one is coming and does not come off the nest too soon. The chicks absorb the yolk before they hatch so they can go 72 hours or more before they need to eat or drink. That way they can wait on the latecomers. When those first to hatch get hungry or thirsty they let the hen know they are ready. The hen has or make a decision, does she wait on any latecomers and possibly let her first to hatch die or does she abandon the unhatched eggs. Usually she chooses he first to hatch.

So what can you do as you do not have an incubator? One option is to just accept it as part of a learning curve. You can try removing each chick as it hatches and brood them yourself. She might stay on the unhatched eggs and finish that job or she might switch from sitting mode to taking care if the chicks mode and abandon the nest anyway. See why I hate staggered hatches.

 

[Zizix123]

Where are my manners, welcome to the forum.

I'm not sure what you mean by she stopped sitting on them when you took them away. A broody hen normally leaves the nest once a day to eat, drink, and poop. I've had a hen in colder weather stay off the nest about 15 minutes. In hot weather I had a hen that would come off the nest twice a day for over an hour each time. Both still had good hatches. Is that what you mean or did she stay off the nest for days or weeks?

As long as the weather and your house are fairly warm you are in no hurry to candle the eggs. Don't get in such a rush that you drop one or shake them up. Cover them when taking them to the house? Yeah, probably, you don't want them to get hit by a cool breeze. In your house do not put them where an AC vent will blow on them. Be reasonable about it but take your time and do it right. I'll let Alley'schicks tell you what to look for when candling.

So you have a staggered hatch. Those can be stressful, I hate them. But it is what you are dealing with. Each broody is different so I don't know exactly what will happen with yours. Usually a broody hen talks with her chicks before they hatch. That way she knows one is coming and does not come off the nest too soon. The chicks absorb the yolk before they hatch so they can go 72 hours or more before they need to eat or drink. That way they can wait on the latecomers. When those first to hatch get hungry or thirsty they let the hen know they are ready. The hen has or make a decision, does she wait on any latecomers and possibly let her first to hatch die or does she abandon the unhatched eggs. Usually she chooses he first to hatch.

So what can you do as you do not have an incubator? One option is to just accept it as part of a learning curve. You can try removing each chick as it hatches and brood them yourself. She might stay on the unhatched eggs and finish that job or she might switch from sitting mode to taking care if the chicks mode and abandon the nest anyway. See why I hate staggered hatches.

Thank you I have gotten a lot of info here and thank you for all your help. To answer your question about her getting up we tried with some other eggs and I went in to candle them and I put them back and she just left them she would not sit on them again it was a week later I removed them. Now she seems pretty dedicated. I have noticed she looks down and clucks at the eggs so maybe she's talking to them .

 

[Ridgerunner]

That is a nice big elevated coop, I like it. it gives you some options. You might want to add a short cleat in the middle of that pop door so the chicks can get a better grip but you'd be surprised at how well they can maneuver.

One option is to just let the broody handle it. Have food and water inside the coop and especially water outside where the chicks can get to it. It won't hurt to have food outside too but the broody hen should be able to find a lot to feed her chicks in that set-up. The issue I see with this is that while the chicks can physically use that ramp they may not know how. I can easy envision the broody hen hopping up to the top and and telling her chicks to come up but instead of walking up the ramp they gather under it and just peep. You will need to be there at sunset when they are settling down for the night and make sure they all make it in.

You have room for another option inside. You can build a pen that the chicks cannot escape from inside the coop and house the broody and the chicks in that for a week or so. That will give the chicks time to get better at maneuvering. By two weeks of age the chicks will be able to fly to the top of that ramp if they wish.

 

[Zizix123]

That is a nice big elevated coop, I like it. it gives you some options. You might want to add a short cleat in the middle of that pop door so the chicks can get a better grip but you'd be surprised at how well they can maneuver.

One option is to just let the broody handle it. Have food and water inside the coop and especially water outside where the chicks can get to it. It won't hurt to have food outside too but the broody hen should be able to find a lot to feed her chicks in that set-up. The issue I see with this is that while the chicks can physically use that ramp they may not know how. I can easy envision the broody hen hopping up to the top and and telling her chicks to come up but instead of walking up the ramp they gather under it and just peep. You will need to be there at sunset when they are settling down for the night and make sure they all make it in.

You have room for another option inside. You can build a pen that the chicks cannot escape from inside the coop and house the broody and the chicks in that for a week or so. That will give the chicks time to get better at maneuvering. By two weeks of age the chicks will be able to fly to the top of that ramp if they wish.

Ok thank you I did water handling and 8 out of the 9 moved. I candlelighted the 9 that did not float and it looks like there may be something in it but not sure .