In part 1 of the series we explained why breeding using broody hens to incubate, hatch and raise chicks is a viable model for the smallholder/homesteader. We’ve had lots of experience using this method and over the years we learned many ways to maximise hatch rates. In this next instalment of the series we’ll look at what you’ll need to set up a successful hatch with a broody hen.
It’s not rocket science. You’ll need 4 basic elements which we’ll look at individually:
- A broody hen
- A coop and run
- Fertilised Eggs
- Additional optional equipment
We covered broody hens in the first part of the series so let’s take a look at the other three.
Coop and run
Taking a lead from the behaviour of broody hens in a free-range environment is a great way to learn how to best care for your broody hen. These natural instincts have evolved for a reason.
Naturally broody hens would remove themselves from the flock to incubate and hatch their eggs. It’s not that they are having a hormonal moment. They are trying to protect their eggs. If a broody hen stayed with a flock, she will have every other laying hen in the flock trying to remove her from the nest when they need to lay as hens in a flock have a natural instinct to all lay their eggs in one location. That can lead to mayhem:
- Injuries as the broody hen enthusiastically defends her position
- Broken eggs as the fights result in damage
- Newly laid eggs pushing eggs close to hatching out of the nest resulting in them cooling an ultimately dying whilst the newly laid eggs won’t have enough incubation time to hatch.
Our solution is to give every broody hen her own coop with a run. We give each coop a thorough deep clean prior to a broody hen taking up residence, so biosecurity as well as peace and quiet can be achieved for our broody hens.
You might ask how big these should be and the honest answer is the bigger the better but if you are like us i.e., “space challenged” it might be best to think about the minimum size of each.
The size of the run is the easiest. In a free-range environment, the run is only relevant for the period of the brood plus one or 2 days after the hatch until the chicks are able to keep up with the broody hen. At that point the run can be removed. Until then, the broody hen rarely leaves the nest. She will incubate her eggs for approximately 23 hours per day and only come off the nest to eat as much as she can, drink as much as she can and empty her bowels.
As long as the run has enough room for a feeder, drinker and there is still space for poop it’s enough
The coop is another matter. The main trap to fall in is the belief that the coop only needs to be large enough just for the broody hen and the eggs BUT the hen will stay in the coop with her chicks until they are roughly 6-8 weeks old. As a result, the brood coop should be big enough to house the number of youngsters you want to hatch as adolescents. We chose to use large Nestera coops as they house 7 large hens or 15 bantams and the adolescents would be roughly the size of an adult bantam. Our average clutch size is 10 chicks per broody hen which gives us a good margin to work with if the hatch rate is higher.
You should place a feeder and drinker in the run but we also recommend a small feeder and drinker inside the coop too in easy reach of the nest.
Fertilised Eggs
There are two ways to obtain fertilised eggs; you can either generate them from your own flock by keeping a cockerel with your hens or you could buy in fertilised eggs.
As a smallholder we try to reduce our bills so we have chosen to use eggs from our own flock of Orpingtons. As well as saving us money it gives us the added advantage of being in control of the genetics; we choose the breeding hens and cockerels. We can select calm, friendly chickens that will appeal to our buyers as well as those that display characteristics closest to the breed standard.
Once we reach the window where we would expect our hens to brood, we’ll start to collect eggs each day and store them pointed end down in a cool room so that we have enough for a clutch ready. Egg viability is strong for up to 7 days without incubation and then will decline to near zero by the end of a third week so we’ll mark our eggs with the date they were laid and after 7 days we’ll replace them with newly laid eggs until we get a broody hen to incubate them.
Unfortunately, the downside is that we need mature cockerels and for many people there may be restrictions at the property (local guidelines, covenant or rental restrictions) that prevent a cockerel from joining the flock. You may also have close neighbours that may look on a noisy cockerel as a problem. If this applies to you, buying fertilised eggs in is the right choice. Clearly, it’s more expensive and researching the breeder is key to success.
Unfortunately, even if you do find a great breeder with fabulous reviews you need to consider the speed of transportation as egg viability starts to drop 7 days after being laid. There is also a risk that the eggs could be damaged in transit. It’s very common for hatch rates to be lower simply because “Fragile” notices on boxes don’t stop eggs from being shaken in transit, damaging the potential viability of the egg. That can be expensive especially as fertilised eggs cost anything from a pound to many pounds each depending on the breeder and breed rarity.
Additional Optional Equipment
There are other tools that we use to help us maximise clutch sizes but they are optional:
- Incubator – an incubator can be used to incubate additional eggs alongside your broody hen. Generally broody hens can cover the same amount of eggs as chicks that they can support. As hatch rates are highly unlikely to be 100%, 2 or 3 extra eggs in an incubator will ensure the broody hen has a full brood. The incubator can also support eggs that are late to hatch if the broody hen has left the nest with her chicks.
- Brooder Plate– If any chick struggles after hatching having a brooder plate provides warm to the chicks and allows them time to gather strength and recover before being returned to the hen.
- Coop Camera – Fiona is addicted to our Coop Cams. They let us watch for any problems in the hatch process without disturbing the hens.
In part 3 of our series, we’ll look at the brood process including:
- Recognising and confirming your hen is broody
- Giving eggs to your hen
- What to expect during the brood
- Keeping your hen healthy during the brood
