Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[bobbieschicks]

She might take the chick - chicks are a bigger gamble then eggs. I put eggs under Smokey to hatch and she only sat for about 14 days on them. So the time isn't the issue. It will be whether she believes them to be her chicks enough to raise them.

Hope it goes well!

I have chicks hatching today out of the incubator - was planning to give them away, but now that I have a broody..... Hmm.

Princess the baby araucana has only been broody for less than two weeks, but it's worked for me before so will try giving her a chick very early AM tomorrow (When still dark) - that way I can hopefully save said chick if she's not into mothering just yet. Poor thing sat in the coop nonstop in almost 100 degree weather (I had fans on her and water available). She needs to get up!
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Ok, not sure if it's a good sign or neutral. Stuck a chick under princess this morning (when still dark in the coop) and she did not attack or try to kill it, but she's not doing the broody comfort cluck either. Just checked and chick is still under her wing and alive. Think she's going to buy it? It's too early, so I only tried one chick.. juuust in case.

 

[featherz]

She might take the chick - chicks are a bigger gamble then eggs. I put eggs under Smokey to hatch and she only sat for about 14 days on them. So the time isn't the issue. It will be whether she believes them to be her chicks enough to raise them.

Hope it goes well!

So far so good. She's a tiny hen and the coop is very noisy (I have multiple fans going due to the heat) but I 'saw' her broody clucking a bit and the chick is still under her and alive. She poofed up and tried to beak me when I checked so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Miss Lydia]

So far so good. She's a tiny hen and the coop is very noisy (I have multiple fans going due to the heat) but I 'saw' her broody clucking a bit and the chick is still under her and alive. She poofed up and tried to beak me when I checked so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Broodiness is NOT contagious in my coop.

Probably because I want it too much. <sigh> So far, I'm lucky if I get one per year.

Aww BG so sorry and looking at all your flock you'd think you'd be over run with broodies. They are all beautiful by the way.

 

[Wynette]

Morning, fellow broody lovers! featherz - sounds good! Keep us posted!

I was able to get a quick pic of my Silver Penciled Rock broody...man, I hope her chicks hatch! She's got 9 eggs under her, but left the nest more than she ought to have...so here's hoping. My quandary is that they're due to hatch tomorrow...there are other hens and a cock bird in that coop, but I can't move them until tomorrow at the crack of dawn. So, broody will have the nest box all to herself. My plan is to move her and the chicks (assuming we get some!) into a broody cage with more room when the hatch is over. The lip on the nest box is about 3 1/2" so I don't "think" any of the chicks should be able to hop out until they're a few days old...thoughts? I suppose I could put chicken wire over the opening, but just outside on the floor (which is about a 12" drop) is the food and water for her, which I have up on a block...do you think the chicks will be safe in this nest box for 2 days?

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Quote:
I've got a LOAD of Silkies growing out now so hopefully my "lack of broody woes" will soon be over!!!!!

On the plus side - I've got eggs like mad around here. The girls are in the midst of laying madness here right now. I can hardly keep up with them!

And Broody Naima has accepted some food from me two days in a row now so I'm feeling better about her. And it has cooled off just a bit.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I've got a LOAD of Silkies growing out now so hopefully my "lack of broody woes" will soon be over!!!!!

On the plus side - I've got eggs like mad around here. The girls are in the midst of laying madness here right now. I can hardly keep up with them!

And Broody Naima has accepted some food from me two days in a row now so I'm feeling better about her. And it has cooled off just a bit.

Good news cause most of us with brood-itis have no eggs what soever. I have 1 little Bantam who is laying thats it. Good news about the heat wave too. Glad to hear Naima is eating. She needs to keep up her strength for when them chicks hatch she's gonna need it.

 

[JakRat]

Hopefully it will workout.

Sigh, never a dull moment right? Sometimes I feel as though I am not cut out for this chicken thing. I had to make the hard decision today to take my speckled sussexs baby away from her and toss her back out into the flock. I just dont think she is cut out for motherhood. While her and the other broody where in our kitty pool set up she kept pecking her baby and the silkies babies. When I took her and her baby outside she did nothing really to protect it from the other girls. So I took her baby and put it under our silkie in the kiddy pool set up. Everyone seems some what fine for now. I had gotten a one month old (?) silkie to put under the SSussex (since she stepped on and killed her smaller baby, I figured a bigger one would be safe) but she started attacking that one too and the poor thing is scared out of its mind. Now it is under the silkie and while the silkie pecks at it when it freaks out, it seems fine now... jeepers and I thought this was supposed to be a fun hobby!!!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I thought y'all might enjoy this pic. Tipsy was given 11 babies that I hatched in my incubator. She did a great job taking care of them. I sold 5 of her chicks and 2 of them were stolen by another broody leaving her with 4. She was in a funk for a few days after the loss of her chicklets. Then the other day I went back to the coop and found this:

Her chicks are about a week old, and I guess they were under there somewhere but I couldn't see them. There were so many chicks piled under her that she couldn't even sit down, she was just kind of teetering from one side to the other trying not to fall over. When she stood up it sorta looked like a chicken and a caterpillar got together and had a baby, what with all the little legs moving around under her

 

[featherz]

Well my broody experiment didn't work out. Thankfully tho, no chicks were harmed. I went back to the coop after she had the chick for about six hours and it was wandering around the coop peeping loudly while she was on the nest. She didn't seem concerned so I think she's not 'into' chicks yet. Ah well! I'm going to give her TWO eggs I guess and let her try and hatch them. Poor neglected chick is back in the brooder waiting for his or her buddies to hatch.