NewChickenMomma2020
Hatching
- Aug 2, 2023
- 5
- 2
- 7
Hi everyone, first time poster here! 
We’ve been raising chickens for 3 years now, but this is our first experience with broody hens. We don’t have a rooster, but there’s one next door who visits, so we think he got to some of our hens.
It started with one hen brooding; we waited the 21 days but nothing happened. When we collected the eggs and cracked one open, we found out it had been fertilized but was a quitter, so we left the hen to sit a while longer to see if any more hatched. Another week passed with no chicks hatching, and I tried candling the eggs, but I don’t think I did it correctly. When we cracked two open, they had also been fertilized.
Another week passed, and now a second hen is brooding on the nest. Yesterday we went out and found a dead chick in the coop. It didn’t look like it had anything wrong with it, but it was away from the mom(s), so maybe died of exposure? This morning we found another chick in the coop, half alive. We got it under a heat lamp and tried to give it some water with a pinch of sugar in it. But it died two hours later. My kids are so crushed.
What am I doing wrong here? Should I be collecting the eggs and trying to incubate them away from the hens? I thought it’d be best to leave the chicks with their mom, but I’m not sure why they’re dying. What can I do to help these mommas? They’re both first-time brooders. Thanks so much for any advice!!
We’ve been raising chickens for 3 years now, but this is our first experience with broody hens. We don’t have a rooster, but there’s one next door who visits, so we think he got to some of our hens.
It started with one hen brooding; we waited the 21 days but nothing happened. When we collected the eggs and cracked one open, we found out it had been fertilized but was a quitter, so we left the hen to sit a while longer to see if any more hatched. Another week passed with no chicks hatching, and I tried candling the eggs, but I don’t think I did it correctly. When we cracked two open, they had also been fertilized.
Another week passed, and now a second hen is brooding on the nest. Yesterday we went out and found a dead chick in the coop. It didn’t look like it had anything wrong with it, but it was away from the mom(s), so maybe died of exposure? This morning we found another chick in the coop, half alive. We got it under a heat lamp and tried to give it some water with a pinch of sugar in it. But it died two hours later. My kids are so crushed.
What am I doing wrong here? Should I be collecting the eggs and trying to incubate them away from the hens? I thought it’d be best to leave the chicks with their mom, but I’m not sure why they’re dying. What can I do to help these mommas? They’re both first-time brooders. Thanks so much for any advice!!
. What type of hens are your broodies? It’s going to be hard to give advice for the future without knowing what your coop set up is like, are there other laying hens in with the broody, where is the nest they chose to sit etc. I get a broody every summer and although my coop situation isn’t ideal, I always let her hatch chicks. I think it’s always best to make sure your broody has her own space where other hens are not trying to lay their eggs. It is also good to try to candle when the broody gets off the nest to eat or drink. That way you can remove duds or quitters before it’s hatch time. That also helps to avoid eggs developing at different stages. That can be a real problem if a couple hatch and she won’t leave the nest due to other eggs there. I think it’s good to also mark the eggs you give her so any other eggs can be removed before hatch time. Hatch time for mine is kinda stressful, because my broody usually chooses a high nest. I wait till around 19-20 days and then put a little cardboard fence around her nest, so she can get out but the babies can’t fall out. I spend more time in the coop listening for tiny peeps, and as soon as one hatches, I move her and the whole nest down to a safe spot on the floor and put baby water dishes and chick crumble nearby. Some of the things you can kind of control, but even under the best circumstance, chickens are weird and unpredictable and you can have losses. I hope going forward your momma can get a couple babies!
