Hatching Baby Chicks with Broody Mommas

If you have a rooster with your hens, then you have a chance of hatching your own eggs.  You need a broody momma or a good incubator.  We have never had success with an incubator but have read the stories of others who have had great success.  We have had the pleasure of watching hens incubate and hatch a clutch of eggs.  So how does all this work? 

 

By the time a hen reaches about eight months of age, she should be laying regular size eggs and may begin to get broody.  You will know this when she begins sitting in the nest on eggs and will not want to leave.  If you pick her up, move her off the eggs, and set her down somewhere else, she will just sit there and not want to move.  This is a sign that she is going broody.  They may also pull feathers off their chests and bellies, and some will sit in the nesting box with a far away look in their eyes, almost like being in a trance.  After a day or two of this behavior, you can begin preparing to have her sit on a clutch of eggs. 

 

Collect eggs each day and once you have 8-15 eggs (depending on the size of the bird), and you are ready to begin.  I candle my eggs first to make sure there are no cracks or double yolks.  Cracked eggs will most likely break and double yolks have little chance of surviving and may jeopardize your whole clutch of eggs (see All Things Eggs or check out website below for more information). You will want to have a spot where you can isolate her.  You will need a space about four feet square.  You will want a nesting box and a small waterer and feed dish.  Set the eggs in the nesting area and put momma in this isolated area.  She should go sit on the eggs.  If she is sitting on the eggs within an hour, you are probably good to go.  When most hens sit eggs, they will eat and drink very little; therefore, will not have a bowel movement (poop) very often.  Every day you need to check feed and water, and if there is any poop, you will want to clean it out and keep the pen area clean.  We have a hen right now who desperately wants out every day.  She runs out of the pen, has a bowel movement, digs in the dirt for five minutes and then wants in to her pen again.  There is a first time for everything!

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On the calendar, mark the date your hen began to sit the eggs.  In three weeks (21 days) you should hear and then see chicks.  Every couple of days, you will want to move the hen and check the eggs.  If there are any cracked of broken eggs, you will want to remove them.  I also candle mine at one week and two weeks.  You can do this with a flash light and your hands, so you don't need to buy any fancy equipment.  Here is a link that explains what you are looking for.  If I have any eggs that are not fertile or not developing at the same rate as others, I will remove those from the nest. 

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There are many other links, but this is a good one - Candling Eggs

 

Once chicks begin to hatch, they can hatch over the next 24 hour period.  After 24 hours, you will want to remove all eggs that didn't hatch.  Give her and the chicks a couple of days in this isolation pen.  You can then move them to a larger protected area.  Now the fun begins!  There is nothing greater than to watch a hen and her chicks!

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We have had the greatest success with hatching chicks in the spring and fall.  We tried to hatch chicks in the dead of summer and had very little success due to the high temperatures (100 or more in the coop area).

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https://www.homesteadingwhereyouare.com/2022/06/22/best-broody-hen-breeds/

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/chicken-breeds-for-broodiness/

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/hatch-eggs-with-a-broody-hen/

https://grubblyfarms.com/blogs/the-flyer/hatch-raise-chicks-using-a-broody-hen