TheFatBlueCat
Lovin' The Homestead
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2021
- Messages
- 28
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- 102
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- 68
Hi all,
I promised to do a hatch along when I set my first eggs for the season, so here it is! I will update every few days, although there probably won't be all that much to say that's interesting until hatching day. But I'll try to be detailed, as just because I think it's not interesting, doesn't mean that others won't find the information interesting. I've done all my hatching with broody hens, and I've been doing to for quite awhile now.
It's pretty early in the season to get started, but I had a few pullets go broody. I usually like to let a pullet do her first sit while an experienced hen is also sitting at the same time. The experienced hens aren't silly enough to go broody while it's still winter, so we are just going to give it a try! I shut two broody pullets into broody hen pens, one stayed sitting and one broke her brood. It's quite common for pullets not to be overly committed to their sitting. I always wait at least 3 days from doing the move to be sure they are in fact going to sit. I leave them with a clutch of fake eggs during this time. Ginger Bonnet has decided she is committed, so she has 9 eggs to attempt to hatch. I set them under her on Monday (I'm a day ahead of most of the world here in NZ, so she has had the eggs now for 2 days). So far, so good. She is spending a bit too much time sitting and not enough time eating, but yesterday she did get up and wanted to have a good stretch of her legs. I let her out of the pen so she could go do what she wanted, where she wanted. The broody hen pens are fully enclosed, with food, water and a pile of dust bathing dirt. I do try to let them out of here though if I can be around to supervise that they do go back in a timely fashion, and that no other hens can go and interfere with the nest.
I have hatched many clutches by just letting the hen stay where she decided to brood. I prefer not to do this, as the other hens can be a nuisance, more eggs get broken, and it is much harder to manage the actual hatching day. I now move all hens to broody hen pens, and let them choose if they break or sit. I have so many hens that go broody that it really doesn't matter if some of them decide not to sit.
Here is Ginger Bonnet on her nest - she has 9 eggs, and they were set on the 14th of August - hatching day is 4th September, although I usually find that they start hatching on day 20.
The way I set up brood nests is - wool liner on base, covered with an empty feed sack. Then a layer of dry peat moss, wood shavings, and the top layer is a circle of straw to form the 'nest' for the eggs to sit in.
I promised to do a hatch along when I set my first eggs for the season, so here it is! I will update every few days, although there probably won't be all that much to say that's interesting until hatching day. But I'll try to be detailed, as just because I think it's not interesting, doesn't mean that others won't find the information interesting. I've done all my hatching with broody hens, and I've been doing to for quite awhile now.
It's pretty early in the season to get started, but I had a few pullets go broody. I usually like to let a pullet do her first sit while an experienced hen is also sitting at the same time. The experienced hens aren't silly enough to go broody while it's still winter, so we are just going to give it a try! I shut two broody pullets into broody hen pens, one stayed sitting and one broke her brood. It's quite common for pullets not to be overly committed to their sitting. I always wait at least 3 days from doing the move to be sure they are in fact going to sit. I leave them with a clutch of fake eggs during this time. Ginger Bonnet has decided she is committed, so she has 9 eggs to attempt to hatch. I set them under her on Monday (I'm a day ahead of most of the world here in NZ, so she has had the eggs now for 2 days). So far, so good. She is spending a bit too much time sitting and not enough time eating, but yesterday she did get up and wanted to have a good stretch of her legs. I let her out of the pen so she could go do what she wanted, where she wanted. The broody hen pens are fully enclosed, with food, water and a pile of dust bathing dirt. I do try to let them out of here though if I can be around to supervise that they do go back in a timely fashion, and that no other hens can go and interfere with the nest.
I have hatched many clutches by just letting the hen stay where she decided to brood. I prefer not to do this, as the other hens can be a nuisance, more eggs get broken, and it is much harder to manage the actual hatching day. I now move all hens to broody hen pens, and let them choose if they break or sit. I have so many hens that go broody that it really doesn't matter if some of them decide not to sit.
Here is Ginger Bonnet on her nest - she has 9 eggs, and they were set on the 14th of August - hatching day is 4th September, although I usually find that they start hatching on day 20.
The way I set up brood nests is - wool liner on base, covered with an empty feed sack. Then a layer of dry peat moss, wood shavings, and the top layer is a circle of straw to form the 'nest' for the eggs to sit in.
