Natural breeding thread

[fluffycrow]

Great thread BDutch!

I have limited experience in both. I’ve done two incubator hatches, and have had 11 broodies, 5 of which I have let hatch, 4 of which have been successful (some more than once).

Hoping to get some more ideas and advice from this thread, as I continue letting my hens (and sometimes pullets) brood, with the intention of one day having self-sustainability within all my groups, and with multiple birds

 

[BDutch]

It’s was a staggered hatch. Chicks were hatched in 3 groups a week apart. There’s day old, week old and 2 week old together in the video.
Those details are in the video description.

Were hatched in 3 groups? Do you mean they were hatched in an incubator?
Can you tell more about what you did and what happened along the way?

The video description I saw just shows this:

 

[wrathsfarm]

Does anyone have experience with a broody killing their first born and how you handled it?

And did you allow her to brood again and how that went?

8 of my 10 last year were first timers. I had 2 separate broodys that killed their first born. I was fortunate that I had other broodys setting to hatch the same day both times, so I pulled the eggs from both of these and slipped under another broody and then had to break the 2. This was a first for me and just didn't know what to do and time is of the essence here so I hastily made that judgement call to save the remaining chicks about to hatch and not risk other deaths if any hatched while I wasn't out there.

I'd like to try them again this year if they go broody again and curious if others have been in this situation and let more hatch. I have read that some hens are just sitters and get confused when chicks appear.

An interesting footnote...
Every broody I have does 'soft clucks' at the eggs right around pip and zip time. And I spend most of my day checking in on the broody on hatch day (hands off mostly but excited for the hatch) mainly just to make sure she's taken to the chicks.

But I noticed with both of these 2, they did not do this and it didn't really 'click' in my mind until later. An after thought....

 

[TOMTE]

I obviously don't have any advice but just a random thought: it's so interesting to me that a broody chicken will spend weeks on top of a nest... Only to kill the chicks that hatch. It seems counter productive. Why waste all that energy and nearly starve yourself keeping the eggs warm, and then kill your offspring? Does that happen with wild fowl or is it a product of domestication?

 

[Perris]

I had 2 separate broodys that killed their first born.

Are you certain that the broody actively *killed* the first born? did you see an attack? was there blood? or did you just find it dead in the nest?

 

[Pigeony]

I'm very grateful to have a trio of Ayam Cemani/Polish cross sisters who are my amazing broodies. All 3 of them sometimes participate in the raising if one has chicks, and they often start a domino effect of going broody once one is. I've had them raise about 25 chicks altogether at this point, and they're younger birds so I'm sure they'll have plenty more. They've accepted every baby I ever gave them except one that I tried to sneak in late (that's on me, shouldn't have done that) and they didn't even hurt the baby, just shooed it away and rejected it. I'm hoping to try to let them hatch their own eggs this spring.

 

[Pigeony]

I'm very grateful to have a trio of Ayam Cemani/Polish cross sisters who are my amazing broodies. All 3 of them sometimes participate in the raising if one has chicks, and they often start a domino effect of going broody once one is. I've had them raise about 25 chicks altogether at this point, and they're younger birds so I'm sure they'll have plenty more. They've accepted every baby I ever gave them except one that I tried to sneak in late (that's on me, shouldn't have done that) and they didn't even hurt the baby, just shooed it away and rejected it. I'm hoping to try to let them hatch their own eggs this spring. View attachment 4057070

 

[wrathsfarm]

Are you certain that the broody actively *killed* the first born? did you see an attack? was there blood? or did you just find it dead in the nest?

The first, I witnessed the chick in the corner of nest box with a bloody wound on it's head. It was still alive and actively trying to get under Angel my broody. At which point, I saw her attack it's head and immediately pulled the chick out and tried getting it under heat but was dead by then.

The 2nd broody 'Black', I found the dead chick with same type of wound laying off to the side of nest box.

This one of course threw me into panic mode so I pulled the eggs also after witnessing the first a few days/week prior.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Does anyone have experience with a broody killing their first born and how you handled it?

And did you allow her to brood again and how that went?

8 of my 10 last year were first timers. I had 2 separate broodys that killed their first born. I was fortunate that I had other broodys setting to hatch the same day both times, so I pulled the eggs from both of these and slipped under another broody and then had to break the 2. This was a first for me and just didn't know what to do and time is of the essence here so I hastily made that judgement call to save the remaining chicks about to hatch and not risk other deaths if any hatched while I wasn't out there.

I'd like to try them again this year if they go broody again and curious if others have been in this situation and let more hatch. I have read that some hens are just sitters and get confused when chicks appear.

An interesting footnote...
Every broody I have does 'soft clucks' at the eggs right around pip and zip time. And I spend most of my day checking in on the broody on hatch day (hands off mostly but excited for the hatch) mainly just to make sure she's taken to the chicks.

But I noticed with both of these 2, they did not do this and it didn't really 'click' in my mind until later. An after thought....

I've had broodies kill their entire hatch. Not even the first day. Absolutely no explanation for it. Still scratching my head over it - but its one of the reasons my wife insists I incubate. Did they do it a second time??? No idea, my girls look too much like one another for me to remember, season to season.

 

[Shadrach]

I've done both. I wouldn't hatch with an incubator again and haven't for the last fifteen years.