The series so far has described how to create the ideal conditions to ensure your maximum clutch size is achieved. In this fourth instalment we’ll share our tips for supporting the hatch and common problems that could arise so that you can be ready.
The days leading up to hatch
In part 3 of this series we recommended putting some extra eggs in an incubator on the same day that the broody hen starts sitting on her eggs so that your clutch sizes are maximised.
Here’s the boring maths part! We aim for 12 chicks per broody hen. Although each of our Orpington hens is capable of supporting up to 15 chicks, they can only safely cover 12 eggs during the incubation period. Given that we have an average hatch rate of approximately 80% we allocate 15 eggs per hen.
We give 12 eggs to our broody hens and put 3 eggs in an incubator. This should give us 12 hatched chicks per hen. These numbers relate to our Orpington large fowl birds and may need to be altered for other breeds.
At days 7 and 14 we will candle the eggs, discard any that are not fertile replacing any non-viable eggs under the broody hen with viable eggs from the incubator.
Monitoring the hatch
The wonderful thing about working with broody hens to incubate, hatch and raise your chicks is that they take all of the effort out of raising the chicks. They make sure they’re fed, watered and kept warm and dry. Having said that, I would recommend that hatching is monitored closely as broody hens have a mind of their own and it’s at this point that things can go wrong.
You could let nature take its course, but we recommend it’s best to have a stand-by incubator and brooder on hand to ensure your clutch sizes are maximised, but let us explain why. Chicken eggs hatch 21 days following the start of incubation. For safety we start monitoring the hatch from day 20 as sometimes, an enthusiastic chick can appear a little early.
How do we monitor a hatch? In three of our coops, we have the benefit of coop cameras so we can monitor the action from an app on our phone, both recorded (triggered by motion) or live if we choose. Where we don’t have a coop camera, we utilise old phones with cameras set on mini tripods. There’s no live feed with these but we can replay and fast forward to identify any issues.
If we have more broody hens hatching than our monitoring equipment allows, we will walk past the coop every hour listening for unusual sounds. If we hear anything like a chick sounding to be in distress or a broody hen calling and moving around, we’ll look into the coop to try and work out what is going on.
Supporting chicks that have difficulty hatching
So, what can go wrong? There are three main issues that could arise.
First, broody hens are enormous in relation to the size of a fragile chick and a large clutch of hard and heavy eggs in comparison to a chick can pose dangers. The risk is that chicks are crushed.
The good news is that accidental crushes from the feet of the broody hens are rare. They are very careful how they place their feet around the eggs although if an accident does happen, there is little you can about it. We did have one hen called Frankie who survived a catastrophic, accidental skull crush as a chick and went on to become one of our most successful broody hens albeit with a mis-shaped head, as can be seen in the photograph.
The greater threat is from crushing from other eggs. The simple solution is to ensure that the broody hen does not have excessive amounts of eggs. We know our broody hens can safely handle 12 eggs on hatch day. Any additional viable eggs that have the potential to hatch are kept in one of our Brinsea incubators.
Secondly, chicks can have difficulty getting out of the egg. If they take too long after pipping (creating small hole when they initially break through the shell), they may dry out and stick to the egg membrane. This prevents them from turning which stops them from nibbling around the shell to remove a circular cap to allow them to hatch. If we see this, we will remove the egg from the nest and help the chick but here is the caveat. Chicks are extremely fragile with paper-thin skin so it’s important to take a lot of time, employ extreme care and use a delicate hand.
It’s vital that moisture is added to the membrane slowly to allow the chick to free itself. Paper towels soaked in warm water is how we do this. Once moisture is added we will put the egg in one of our incubators with the humidity set to 75%. We feel that if the chick is viable, it should be capable of pushing its way out at this stage.
The third risk is associated with a broody hens’ instincts. She instinctually knows that the chicks don’t need food and water until 24-48 hours after hatch as they are nourished by the remaining yolk that they absorb into their body. Sometime between 24-48 hours after the first chick hatches the broody hen will instinctually lead her chicks out of the nest for food and water. Even if you leave food and water in the coop, our experience is that the hen will take the chicks outside.
Any chicks that are not strong enough to follow will be left in the nest and will quickly succumb to hypothermia. As a result, on day 22 we check the coops every 30 minutes either by using the coop camera app or by walking past the coop and run. As soon as we see the hen in the run, we check the nest for any chicks that have been left behind.
If chicks are still trying to hatch, we’ll put them in one of our incubators, or if they are out of the egg but not yet strong enough to follow the hen, we’ll pop them under our brooder until they have gained some strength.
Re-introducing chicks to the broody hen
If you have had to help chicks to hatch or have removed them to a brooder there is a need to reintroduce them to the broody hen.
With our Orpingtons we have not yet encountered a problem with this process but as we’ve mentioned before, every breed is different, every hen is different. We’ve been selectively breeding our Orpingtons for years to select calm and placid birds which make this process simple BUT your hens may be different and if necessary, you should be prepared to raise the chicks in an artificial brooder.
How do we reintroduce the chicks? Simply wait for nightfall when the broody hen is asleep. We then slip the chicks one by one under the wing of the hen. They will naturally burrow under the broody hen into her down feathers to be warmed by her body. Once the chicks are all added to the coop, we’ll close up the coop and listen for any sounds from outside. If there are no noises, all is well. If the broody hen becomes agitated or a chick sounds in distress, we’ll remove any chicks to a brooder and try again a little later. As yet, with our broody hens, we’ve never had to raise any chicks in a brooder.
Introducing the broody hen and chicks to the flock
We are asked a lot, “How many weeks should I wait before it’s safe to let the chicks and broody hen out with the flock?”. This is a perfectly natural question as chicks are very vulnerable and small compared to adult chickens, but a broody hen will actively defend her chicks.
With this knowledge and with a LOT of space in our orchard for the chickens, we remove the isolation runs from the broody hen’s coops as early as 24 hours after hatch, but normally 48-72 hours after hatch. What dictates the exact time are two factors:
- All of the chicks must have been returned to the broody hen if they were hatched in an incubator or needed time under the brooder, and
- The chicks must be mobile enough to keep up with the broody hen. Chicks become shockingly fast, very quickly, but they do need time to regain their energy after fighting hteir way out of their egg!
- The broody hen must have demonstrated that she can get the chicks out of and back into the coop without us intervening.
The need for space in such an arrangement cannot be overstated. We have observed that our broody hens with chicks generally navigate around the perimeter of the flock. When other hens come close out of curiosity, they warn them off. We have never seen our chicks in danger from other members of the flock, but we have seen other members of the flock (rarely) at risk of a peck from the broody hen. To be fair, with our flock it’s never more than a bit of wing flapping and possibly the loss of a feather if they fail to heed warnings. We’ve not experienced any injuries or prolonged encounters with this approach.
If you do not have the benefit of a space that is large enough to allow broody hens to navigate a wide circle around the flock, then it is best to create a temporary fence between the flock and the broody hen and chicks. This way the chicks can then have the benefit of more space and have a chance to explore a little as they grow.
In the final part of the series
In the last part of our series we’ll explore:
- The way a broody hens teach the chicks about the pecking order
- How the broody hen goes about making her chicks independent from her
- The possibility of multiple broods
