i'll show you how to improve the success of a natural chicken brood,
there's much you can do, to support your mother hen and to make sure that your chicks hatch safely and grow up to strong hens and roosters!
Of course there are many ways for hatching chicks, and this is only a guide to Improve your hatching result and help the chicks grow up, healthy and strong!
good luck!
there's much you can do, to support your mother hen and to make sure that your chicks hatch safely and grow up to strong hens and roosters!
Of course there are many ways for hatching chicks, and this is only a guide to Improve your hatching result and help the chicks grow up, healthy and strong!
good luck!
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: What breeds are born mothers?
not all breed are good for hatching,
most breeds have lost the instinct and will not sit on eggs.
The hen you will follow in this instructable, is a wild mix between different breeds but did her job very good :)
good breeds are:
Brahma - brilliant mothers and a big plus is there size, place for up to 20 eggs!
Silkie - also brilliant mothers but not that much space - good for small coops
of course there are others, but i really recommend this breeds.
most breeds have lost the instinct and will not sit on eggs.
The hen you will follow in this instructable, is a wild mix between different breeds but did her job very good :)
good breeds are:
Brahma - brilliant mothers and a big plus is there size, place for up to 20 eggs!
Silkie - also brilliant mothers but not that much space - good for small coops
of course there are others, but i really recommend this breeds.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
don't do anything right now, if it's the 21th day by now, you should not interrupt her at all. The chicks should hatch any minute now.
only thing you could do, is to protect her from rain.
also a good thing to do, is to build a provisional fence or something around her, without disturbing her to much.
2 reasons: 1 to protect the chicks from magpies
and 2, it's easier to catch her and the chicks, to get them in the coop, once they hatched ( wait until the hen raises and leaves the nest).
there is one more solution - don't do anything and let the hen do the job and hope for blind magpies... but i think you'll loose some chicks that way.
Good luck to you and your becoming mother :)
The only downside of hatching chicken are the roosters you have to...
---- you know :(
i enjoyed your cat-tree house i'ble!
i've built almost the same 5 years ago - much sturdier and prettier than the stuff you can buy in stores!
keep up the good work!
but the one shown in the instructable really surprised me - never thought that she would get broody at all.
shes a wild mix between different breeds, maybe there's a silkie in it somehow - she got real nice feathers.
the chicks from this Instructable are now almost 4 weeks and all healthy :)
it's a breed called "Iceland-chicken", the next im going to hatch are "Faverolles" (very handsome and bearded) and "easter egger" (the ones with green eggs :D )
We now have 2 Buff Opingtons, a Welsummer and a Blue Belle. I think the Opingtons will make good brooders as they're lovely large birds and well feathered.
I have build an incubator, but might give the natural approach a try too when I have the opportunity.
Thanks for the clear advice on how to do this.
i Updated day 21 in the instructable - i forgot something very important
right now i have the next broody hen this year - a brahma :)
in about 3 weeks hopefully loads of fluffy chicks :D