Brooding???

[bobbi-j]

I could try to separate her from the rest and put her in solitary confinement but in my opinion it is crueler to punish and stress her out (torture) for multiple days than to just end it. But that’s just me. I am fine with killing quickly but I am not okay seeing an animal suffer. She has gotten much louder too and is risking me losing the entire flock due to angry neighbors. It’s definitely not my first choice to kill her but it is just a chicken and it seems to me she is preventing the others from doing their “natural behavior” and stressing everyone out. I am a total newbie to raising chickens so I admit I don’t know anything compared to you all but I have been hunting all my life and have killed and eaten many pheasants (same thing as chickens) and have no problem eating a nice organic hen. I don’t know… I’m struggling with it. I would love to keep her but…. I also don’t want to lose the flock and I need my eggs! Lol. For the sake of not upsetting the backyardchicken.com community I will investigate selling her (but that sounds like way more trouble than it’s worth). Thank you all again for your comments and suggestions and I hope that I have not offended anyone with my inexperience and uneducated opinions. jotebo, let me know how the time-out goes and if successful (and not too stressful on her) I will try that. Can you post a picture of the wire cage so I can get an idea of what I would need to do? Thanks!!!

You have to do what's best for you. You don't need to compromise what your gut is telling you to do "for the sake of not upsetting the backyardchicken.com community". There are plenty of other people in the "community" that would also eat a non-productive bird, and that's what you have. If you have hens for eggs and she's not giving you any, you're wasting feed, therefore, money on a non-productive bird and you have to do what's best for your own situation. Some people live in an area where a good broody could bring good money. You may not. You won't know unless you try, but again - that's your choice. I will not judge you if you decide to kill her, and others won't either. We just may not be as vocal as the ones who will.

 

[Bethel3330]

I intend to let my broodys be, because I live in a place where I can. People eat their roosters when they're mean or if they have too many, their hens when they quit laying, their less quality stock if they're breeding. You do what you want to do. It's a little sad, as she can't control her hormones but, for sure, only you know your situation and purpose for keeping chickens. Maybe she'll get through it soon and not do it so often or maybe you cull her and get a less broody breed. You're fine either way.

 

[Johnn]

Only thing that really annoys me is when people go on about hating having broodies and killing them but they bought broody breeds.

 

[bobbi-j]

Only thing that really annoys me is when people go on about hating having broodies and killing them but they bought broody breeds.

It's a personal choice for flock management. We all keep chickens and choose the breeds we do for different reasons. It's really not our place to judge someone else for the way they manage their flock. I'm talking, of course, about people who treat their animals decently, giving them all they need - food, water and shelter. I believe OP is that kind of person. We don't know their circumstances, do we? Maybe OP can only have a certain number of birds and needs them all to be productive. Maybe they need a certain number of eggs per week to sell, or to feed the family. A broody does not lay eggs, therefore is unproductive and it's a waste of money to feed that bird that's not earning its keep.They may live in an area where chickens are hard to sell. Around here, you don't get much for a non-productive bird. It also sounds like this broody could be disrupting the rest of the flock by being in the favorite nest, keeping the others from being as productive as they could be, also. Not all backyard chicken keepers keep them as pets. Also, it's so hard to know anymore what a "broody breed" is, when buying from a hatchery. The broodiness doesn't seem to be as strong in a hatchery bird. I had a BO for about 3 years and she went broody all of once. And that lasted about a week. She was in a place that was vulnerable to predators, so I moved her one night. Checked in the morning to find her off the nest, flipping out and she never went broody again.

 

[Johnn]

It's a personal choice for flock management. We all keep chickens and choose the breeds we do for different reasons. It's really not our place to judge someone else for the way they manage their flock. I'm talking, of course, about people who treat their animals decently, giving them all they need - food, water and shelter. I believe OP is that kind of person. We don't know their circumstances, do we? Maybe OP can only have a certain number of birds and needs them all to be productive. Maybe they need a certain number of eggs per week to sell, or to feed the family. A broody does not lay eggs, therefore is unproductive and it's a waste of money to feed that bird that's not earning its keep.They may live in an area where chickens are hard to sell. Around here, you don't get much for a non-productive bird. It also sounds like this broody could be disrupting the rest of the flock by being in the favorite nest, keeping the others from being as productive as they could be, also. Not all backyard chicken keepers keep them as pets. Also, it's so hard to know anymore what a "broody breed" is, when buying from a hatchery. The broodiness doesn't seem to be as strong in a hatchery bird. I had a BO for about 3 years and she went broody all of once. And that lasted about a week. She was in a place that was vulnerable to predators, so I moved her one night. Checked in the morning to find her off the nest, flipping out and she never went broody again.

That's not my point. If you want a productive hen, you buy a breed that lays well and is unlikely to go broody. You don't go "oh I want a productive hen but I don't want a broody, but still I'm going to by a silkie" (yes I know they aren't goo layers anyways but its just an example).

 

[bobbi-j]

And you missed what I said about people getting different breeds for different reasons. People new to chickens may not be aware of all the different traits of different breeds. I know when I first started raising chickens, my thinking was not, "Oh, is this a broody breed, or is this a laying breed?" I figured chickens were chickens. Chickens lay eggs, what else did I need to know? It didn't occur to me to research every type and breed out there. Maybe if I had wanted to start a business or hatchery, I would have. It's an ongoing learning experience for most of us - I'm sure there are a few who have it all figured out by now, but after 25+ years, I'm still learning. And as I said before, when we don't know others' ciurcumstances, it's really not our place to judge others on their practices of flock management as long as animals are not being abused or neglected. I don't believe a swift, painless death is abuse or neglect.

 

[Bethel3330]

That's not my point. If you want a productive hen, you buy a breed that lays well and is unlikely to go broody. You don't go "oh I want a productive hen but I don't want a broody, but still I'm going to by a silkie" (yes I know they aren't goo layers anyways but its just an example).

Well, in this example, OP didn't buy a Silkie, which are known as good mothers, they have an Australorp, which are known for their egg-laying. Yes, they go broody too, as can almost any hen. And they were very clear that they can only keep two hens. I think an Australorp was a good choice, given their friendliness, productivity and other qualities...especially for a family that doesn't mind processing what is touted a dual-purpose breed, eggs AND meat. Jmo

 

[Johnn]

Well, in this example, OP didn't buy a Silkie, which are known as good mothers, they have an Australorp, which are known for their egg-laying. Yes, they go broody too, as can almost any hen. And they were very clear that they can only keep a small flock.

Note that I did say "I think" when talking about the BA as I wasn't sure about the breed. I know that Buff Orpingtons are more known for mothers then layers, but if it's the US standard they might get lucky and it wont go broody as they have leghorn in to make them better layers. And yes, any hen can go broody but getting breeds which don't tend to go broody will make it a lot less likely.

 

[Johnn]

And you missed what I said about people getting different breeds for different reasons. People new to chickens may not be aware of all the different traits of different breeds. I know when I first started raising chickens, my thinking was not, "Oh, is this a broody breed, or is this a laying breed?" I figured chickens were chickens. Chickens lay eggs, what else did I need to know? It didn't occur to me to research every type and breed out there. Maybe if I had wanted to start a business or hatchery, I would have. It's an ongoing learning experience for most of us - I'm sure there are a few who have it all figured out by now, but after 25+ years, I'm still learning. And as I said before, when we don't know others' ciurcumstances, it's really not our place to judge others on their practices of flock management as long as animals are not being abused or neglected. I don't believe a swift, painless death is abuse or neglect.

I started chicken keeping when I was 9. I wanted egg layers at first but also wanted to save some, so I got ex battery hens. I then decided I would like to have chicks so I reaserched what breed would be best suited for my enviroment and how likely they are to go broody and I decided to get Orpingtons. I'm not judging at all. I just don't like it when people get broody breeds on purpose and then complain when they go broody all the time. My comments were not actually directed to the original poster as my friend uses the cage method and I don't go complaining to them so it would be a bit hypocritical. It was more directed to the the person who was considering culling theres because she was broody. If they had searched for another home who would want a broody and they couldn't find one then I would have no problem with them culling her if she was getting in the way.

 

[Bethel3330]

Of course that's true but since one BA was known to have laid 364 eggs in 365 days and they're advertised as being so productive you can hardly fault a family for choosing them when they can only have 2 hens.