Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[tommysgirl]

Haha pysankgirl I guess I always pictured a hen sitting, laying till she got a clutch and just staying there.

Thanks for your patience and your straight forward answers

How do you check for fertility in eggs you would like to hatch?

 

[farmer boy]

i got some bad news with my eggs i candled them and one was rotten it was broke a bit and my light brown eggs is ***** black i don't see nothing in it idk what that means and the other is a white eggs and its light inside you can see the air sac and the top but the middle is a lighter dark i don't see veins or a chick

 

[farmer boy]

ops i mean pitch wrong button

 

[Fentress]

additional notes about your questions and clarification.

Usually if a chicken goes broody it is when they lay about 7-10 eggs in the same nest. They do not set the nest until the eggs all have been layed, some hens may lay during the first few days, but, usually not. All her egg laying energy goes into nesting. We, as egg collectors take eggs out of the nest daily to discourage a hen from going broody. Some go broody reguardless if we take the eggs or not.

I take the eggs out every night. I have been under the assumption that one night I would go out to the coop and a broody would be setting in the nest box. Just how important is it to leave eggs in the nest (or I guess golf balls would work) for several days in order to encourage a broody response. Does the breed matter? I have New Hampshire and Speckled Sussex that are 9.5 months old. I am doubtful that they will even go broody.

 

[tommysgirl]

so just did a little research on my own question and found out that:

Fresh eggs have to be cracked to determine if they are fertile

Candling can be done after 5 or more days of incubation

If you have a rooster with the hens and their cracked eggs are fertile you can assume that at least some of the other ones are too but there is no way to know for sure w/o candling or cracking.

So, here is the plan please tell me if it makes sense:

Starting in February of next year I will leave fake eggs in a nest in hopes one of my hens will go broody

When/if she does I will check a few cracked eggs to see if they are fertile then I will collect them for a few days and stick them or other hatching eggs under her.

Then I will wait till dark and move her to the broody pen and hope that everything goes as hoped for/ expected from there.

If I am missing something please steer me in the right direction. Thanks!

 

[fisherlady]

Then I will wait till dark and move her to the broody pen and hope that everything goes as hoped for/ expected from there.

Other folks may disagree.... but if you are planning on moving her, and giving her new eggs rather than just letting her collect her own clutch... I would move her while she is sitting on 'dummy eggs', so in case she breaks her broody mood you don't chance the good eggs getting cold and dying.
I would rather move her with the dummy eggs, let her sit for a while to make sure she isn't going to throw a fit over the move, then replace her eggs with the ones you want hatched.
If she does happen to break her mood, then just put your intended hatch eggs into an incubator.

 

[tommysgirl]

Fisherlady Thanks! That makes total sense so that's what I will do!

 

[pysankigirl]

Fisherlady Thanks! That makes total sense so that's what I will do!

yeah...sorry about my shortness earlier...I was at work and trying to answer as quick as possible and get off the internet before I got in trouble!
sounds like you are on the right track to me! and I love Dorkings!

 

[Leahs Mom]

We set up our ceramic to keep her water from freezing, otherwise we aren't interfering... coop temp is around 21 degrees tonight, she's got herself hunkered down and is looking fine. She can get up when she wants. Now the hard part is staying out of it for us!
I will feel better after the weekend after the eggs hatch...

What is your ceramic? Is it a ceramic heat emitter like you'd use for lizzards?

 

[fisherlady]

What is your ceramic? Is it a ceramic heat emitter like you'd use for lizzards?

Yep, in fact, he picked it up at the pet store and the one we got is a Reptology brand, 125 watts. The area we have Gracie in is seperate, so she has her own small waterer and feed... I didn't want to use a regular heat lamp to keep it thawed, and the heated water dish is way too big for her broody box, so we went with the ceramic... so her water stays thawed and available for her whenever she wants it, and she isn't bothered by 24hr light.