(Let Broody Hen Do It All) Experiances Please

[schrephouse]

Id love it if people will share their experiances letting a broody hen be. No interference other than removing eggs that get layed after sitting. Almost all you see is warnings. I have worked hard to take all precautions in the past. Delt with anxiety that the way I choose (among a ton of suggestions) isnt the best for our broodys, worried for months after hatch, worried intergrating them. When I was a young we were told "don't take the eggs from 'this' hen, she is going to hatch babies". The hen was always in the coop with all the other chickens. Sometimes multiple hens sitting on clutches. I never heard talk or saw a broody moved, broody area, nursery, grow out pins, intergration. I love my flock but am desperate for a moment of relaxation. Can my hens handle this on their own? My hens have it better than me.I have never tried just letting momma do it all. I have a broody today and debating what to do this time. Maybe I should give that a go and relax a bit. What was your experiance and result? I know plenty of people will share the horror stories which are helpful. I'd love to hear successes too please. Our hen house isn't that big (4x8 with 17ft enclosed run). Spring is here and the whole flock prefers perching in their enclosed run in good weather. I have a Broody house (3x4 currently housing a rooster ) attached to the run with its own 6x5 run on the other side as well. Also a (4×5 grow out hutch housing another rooster) with its own large run.

 

[Rose Quartz]

I've mostly allowed my broodies to have their babies together with the rest of the flock. There were circumstances where I needed to separate them but the better outcomes were when the broodies stayed with their normal flock. The biggest interference I do is I'll usually set eggs in an incubator that coincides with when my broody starts sitting so I can hand off raising a bunch of chicks onto her.

The most common issue I find with broodies taking care of their own eggs is other hens wanting the preferred nest box and smashing eggs because the broody won't move.

 

[schrephouse]

I've mostly allowed my broodies to have their babies together with the rest of the flock. There were circumstances where I needed to separate them but the better outcomes were when the broodies stayed with their normal flock. The biggest interference I do is I'll usually set eggs in an incubator that coincides with when my broody starts sitting so I can hand off raising a bunch of chicks onto her.

The most common issue I find with broodies taking care of their own eggs is other hens wanting the preferred nest box and smashing eggs because the broody won't move.

I was considering incubating concurrent as well. If she is going strong tomorrow I'm going to swap out the eggs for marked ones I know won't be staggered hatch and maybe incubate as well.

 

[Sussex19]

The only thing I do, is just before they start to hatch I will close off that nesting box.
(and take out new eggs)
Once they are all hatched it gets opened up again, and then mother hen takes them out free ranging.
If the hen is top of the pecking order, I won't bother with that, but I have had lower down hens get chucked out just after a chick hatched, and almost lost the chick.

 

[schrephouse]

The only thing I do, is just before they start to hatch I will close off that nesting box.
(and take out new eggs)
Once they are all hatched it gets opened up again, and then mother hen takes them out free ranging.
If the hen is top of the pecking order, I won't bother with that, but I have had lower down hens get chucked out just after a chick hatched, and almost lost the chick.

Thank you for the suggestion closing off nesting box. If I go this route (seems alot less stressful) I will definately block off the nest.

 

[Iluveggers]

Curious as well, I have a first-time broody sitting. I added two laundry basket nest boxes for the flock, and she’s been ornery so they’ve avoided her spot. I’m going hands-off, whatever will be will be. Although I do pick her up every mornjng and put her outside to eat. She stretches, eats, and heads right back in for the rest of the day.

 

[Sussex19]

Thank you for the suggestion closing off nesting box. If I go this route (seems alot less stressful) I will definately block off the nest.

I just use a piece of netting that I have.
Around day 19, or as soon as I see an egg pipping.

 

[schrephouse]

I just use a piece of netting that I have.
Around day 19, or as soon as I see an egg pipping.

Excellent, I was thinking day 20, 19 is probably better

 

[FunClucks]

I decided to just let my broody do her thing. I marked her eggs so I'd know which were the ones being incubated. About wo days later, two of her eggs were smashed/eaten/missing, and there was a big wet mess in her nest and dried egg yolk all over the remaining 3 eggs. We don't have egg eaters, so I think it was an accident? So I fenced off her area with chicken wire so she could have her own area, with water and food in it, and some space to walk around. Put a few more eggs under her, and am prepared to incubate for the last day or so if she doesn't wait for them. All is going well, and her 6 eggs look fine so far.

This is my first time using a broody also. All the hens live in a covered run, and of course the broody had to pick the favorite nest box to brood in.

 

[HeidiGetsChicks]

So as a kid my family raised chickens the "old fashioned way". We had a coop enclosed in chicken wire, which we opened every day to let them roam, and that was it. During the day they had zero protection from predators (hawks and falcons, this was out in the Cameroonian bush btw) and zero shelter beyond what they could get from our porch or the eaves of outbuildings.

All of our hens were broody, to varying degrees of success. Our absolute best hen could routinely lay 12-14 eggs and only lose one or two from egg to adulthood. Our worst hen only ever managed to raise one chick to adulthood. The rest fell somewhere in-between.

We never closed off nesting areas or anything. We had two nesting boxes, and sometimes they used them and sometimes they didn't. Our hens frequently decided to nest elsewhere and we let them, simply making sure to bring them water if they were setting or, if they weren't yet and it wasn't good timing to have chicks, we'd leave one egg so they'd keep laying there and take the next. It was always kinda fun to find the eggs.

But I digress. I think a lot of it has to do with how you want to manage your flock. My parents very much had a "survival of the fittest" approach and accepted there would be significant loses in exchange for a flock that generally could take care of themselves. As a kid it was fun for me to discover a hen setting on some eggs in an obscure corner of our property, let my parents know that she wasn't dead after all and then bring her a small can of water. It was interesting to watch how some hens were great mothers and others were not. Chick deaths are awful, but we always knew with our best hen there was never anything to worry about.