Unfortunately, the only way to know whether a hen will be a good mother is by being a good mother. Some abandon the eggs after a number of days or weeks, or worse- they kill the chicks that hatch. Just because a hen is broody does not mean that she is going to be a successful or dedicated hatching hen. Broody poop is distinctive, ginormous and the most foul smelling deposit possible. The sweetest hen in a flock is barely recognizable when she is broody. When she is approached, she growls, shrieks, puffs out her feathersand pecks at the intruder, trying to be as intimidating as possible in defense of her eggs. She sits in the nest all day and night, leaving it briefly once or twice a day to eat, drink and relieve herself. She plucks her own breast feathers to expose the warmth and moisture of her skin directly to the eggs (hence the expression “to feather one’s nest”). Her chosen spot can range from a nest box inside the coop to a hidden location away from the coop. In general, a broody prefers a dark, private, comfortable location in which to set. Some breeds are more inclined to brood than others in particular, Silkies, Cochins and Australorps are perpetual contenders for the Broody Mother of the Year Award. Not every hen will become broody in her lifetime, but those that do are fiercely protective of their nests. Left to her own devices, a broody will lay a clutch of eggs, then stop egg-laying and sit on them for 21 days (more or less) until they hatch. The state of being broody is controlled by instinct, hormones and lighting conditions. WHAT IS A BROODY HEN?Ī hen that is committed to hatching chicks is known as a broody. In this article, I’ll discuss the hard way and the easy way to care for broody chickens to facilitate egg-hatching, but first, let’s discuss broody basics. Managing mother hens can be done the easy way…or the hard way. Mother hens handle all of the hatching details from humidity to temperature and egg-turning to raising the chicks. As much as I enjoy pulling up a chair and watching chicks hatch from eggs in an incubator in my kitchen, there is no question that allowing a hen to hatch eggs is significantly easier than monitoring and managing the process in an electric box.
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