Raising chicks with a broody hen provides fascinating entertainment and a great example of superior parenting skills! Here are some simple steps assure success:
Gathering Fertile Eggs
First, get 6 to 12 fertile eggs from someone who has a rooster. Make the broody her own nest box, line it with dry straw or sawdust, and put the nest outside the coop, but inside a secure place.
Broody Hen Basics: Relocating and Settling In
After dark remove the hen from her nest inside the coop and gently put her on the fertile eggs in the new location away from other hens. She may want to return to her normal nest and it may be necessary to put something in front of the nest box the first night so she can’t escape. She will soon settle into incubating the new eggs. During incubation she will only leave the nest for a short time each day to eat, drink and defecate.A small bowl of water and feed is all she needs near the nest box.
Motherly Instincts: Observing a Hen’s Protective Behavior
On the 21st day expect chicks and a very protective mother hen. She’ll keep her babies warm, and offer an opportunity to observe her parenting. It is important to keep baby chicks away from mature birds, which sometimes will kill them if they get the chance.
Feeding Guidelines: Providing Proper Nutrition for Hatchlings
Feeding baby chicks who are hatched by mom is also important. You need to make sure that you are only offering chick starter to the entire group. Young birds cannot eat layer feed because the elevated levels of calcium can harm their internal organs, so feeding chick starter (even to the hen and any other older birds that have access to the feed) is a must.
The Language of Clucks: Decoding a Broody Hen’s Communication
Mom has a diverse vocabulary of clucks. She almost constantly gives a low cluck to re-assure the chicks. When she scratches in leaves or dirt, revealing food, she’ll give a special higher pitched cluck that means, “Come here and eat, kids.” If she feels threatened or thinks her chicks are in danger or are getting too far away, the tenor and speed of the cluck increases. Initially the chicks scamper to her. As they get more confident, they roam further away and the intrepid chick that does not adhere to the call “Chicks, come home,” gets scolded by the mother hen when it does return.
Transitioning Roles: When Mother Hen Returns to the Flock
Being a good mother hen is hard work, and after her chicks are eight or ten weeks old and putting on weight she’ll decide it’s time to quit parenting and rejoin the flock. After a couple of weeks she’ll likely start laying again.
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If you find an egg rolled out of the nest–just toss it. Somehow they know when an egg is bad
How old is too old for a hen to lay eggs?
It depends on the hen, her environment and health conditions. Chickens usually lay until about 5 or 6 years old, with consistency in egg laying declining as they age. Some hens have been known to lay for much longer, however!
I have a hen laying on a clutch of eggs. I didn’t know you were supposed to gather them and place under all at the same time I have 3 days of eggs. Will she set on the eggs until they hatch they should hatch all within 3 days of each other. And do I need a light in with the hen? My brooder coop is dark
Hello Connie. You can gather those eggs and place them and the broody hen in a nesting box in a separate location. That way she and her eggs are safe from other hens. Only take as many eggs as the hen can comfortable sit on, without any coming out the sides.
A bright light is not necessary. Lights are usually used for heat (red) or extending daylight to promote laying (white). If you use a light, keep flammable items away from it and inspect electrical cords to prevent fires.
A safe, warm and comfortable environment for your hen to raise her chicks is the most important. Good luck raising your chicks with a broody!