December 1 - Hen Brooding

[Michael Muenks]

Inspired by Mike Gilbert's fall success with a brooding hen, I decided to let a few eggs collect and see if one of the pullets that had been laying for a bit would brood. On December 1 a black bantam pullet took to brooding. She has some white bantam Ameraucana eggs under her.

Now if I can only find a bucket size that hens will like so I can adopt the bucket method Mike uses. [/img]

[Mike Gilbert]

Inspired by Mike Gilbert's fall success with a brooding hen, I decided to let a few eggs collect and see if one of the pullets that had been laying for a bit would brood. On December 1 a black bantam pullet took to brooding. She has some white bantam Amearaucana eggs under her. [/img]

It should be a little easier to raise them in your milder climate.   My broody was a bantam Buff Chantecler hen; I will include a couple of photos here.   She hatched nine out of nine eggs, all LF Blue Wheatens except one Wheaten.  The one late-hatched chick didn't make it, but the other 8 are all feathered out and doing fine on their own now.   Ended up with 6 pullets and 2 B/W cockerels. 

[Suki]

This has never worked for me.  Good luck.