Broody Hen Thread!

[lwente]

Ok so I wanted to share the story of Mrs. Broody McCluckster the Buff Orpington, who wanted to be a mama.

So she faithfully sat on her 12 eggs, donated to her by the rest of her flock.

She made herself comfortable in her own private brooder coop and was set for the long haul.
She sat and she sat, occasionally getting up to eat and drink and relieve herself out in the private run. She kept her nest clean and snuck out to take one dirt bath. A little self indulgence but, hey, she was putting in some long hours! She deserved it.
The days went by one by one... Big papa paced the yard...

Day 16 came and with it a day of terror...

To be continued.....

 

[kimmerjo]

I am a first time chicken lady one of my Silkies is broody . I don't know how many eggs are under her or what I have to do so joining this thread. Thanks

 

[lwente]

Day 16 was a day we would all like to forget... The bandit snuck in and robbed her nest, she managed to escape but three of her previous eggs were now lost.

She was down to 9.... New locks and security were put into place. The next few days passed with ease. The bandit did not come back... Day 22 came with a few chirps heard from inside one egg, but sadly it did not mount to much. Her eggs never hatched. Yet she sat dutifully on... Day 24, Day 25, Day 26.

It was time for an adoption plan...

 

[lwente]

The local feed store had a lot to choose from, and lucky for us it was their first week of chicks of the season. It was meant to be... She would be a mama yet!
14 little chicks were brought home in a small cardboard box. They were a little multicolored chorus of chirps and peeps. Welsummers, Hamburgs, Brahmas, Marans and Wyandottes babies ready for a new home.
I didn't wait until night like I knew I probably should. But I knew Mrs. Broody was ready to be a mama hen NOW.
I took the babies out to the coop and slowly slid two chicks under her and grabbed the remaining eggs. And then two more.... She looked up at me and clucked expectantly. I laughed...

I put the rest under her and she started clucking and making all those great mama hen noises.

She took right to them almost instantly.

 

[korlia]

Our silkie goes broody quite often, and she weighs less than 2 pounds but has covered 8 eggs and hatched all 8...  6 should be fine for your girl.  Just make sure she has plenty of bedding to create a cushy nest to keep them warm in.  If they have good bedding amount it helps insulate the eggs to make it easier for the broody to maintain the temps.

I usually candle around day 7-10, any eggs that look clear I give 3 more days and recheck. If I am sure they are clear I then pull them.
I hope you put the other 6 in the incubator, if you did, then you can give her eggs from the Bator to replace ones you take from her if they don't develop, or if you have incubator eggs which hatch at the same time as hers do then you may be able to sneak them under her for her to raise.... though if she ends up with a total of 10 chicks she may need a bit of supplemental heat in her broody area to help if any chicks end up not covered if it is cold in your area. If it is warm then she will probably be fine and you can let her do the work of raising them.

Thanks for all the super advice!! Luckily she is sitting on avery thick layer of shavings. So I will then leave her for now and candle later! Hold thumbs!!

 

[tankgirl88]

Hello!! I have never had a hen go broody so far! But I'm wondering if RIR might be. For the last 2 or 3 day I have noticed that she hasn't left the coop much and when I go to check on her she is either in the nesting boxes or she is on the floor in the corner. She seems kinda tired too. I'm guessing that she is either broody or sick...but I'm not sure how to tell the difference in this particular instance. She doesn't seem to want to join the other hens at feeding time very often. I have been picking her up and putting her next to the feeder at feeding time to make sure that she get some. Really the only time I have seen her leave the coop for the last coupe days has been to get some water. Then she goes right back. Usually she is the first one up and out in the morning and digging holes all over my yard. Any ideas or suggestions?

 

[foreverlearning]

Hello!! I have never had a hen go broody so far! But I'm wondering if RIR might be. For the last 2 or 3 day I have noticed that she hasn't left the coop much and when I go to check on her she is either in the nesting boxes or she is on the floor in the corner. She seems kinda tired too. I'm guessing that she is either broody or sick...but I'm not sure how to tell the difference in this particular instance. She doesn't seem to want to join the other hens at feeding time very often. I have been picking her up and putting her next to the feeder at feeding time to make sure that she get some. Really the only time I have seen her leave the coop for the last coupe days has been to get some water. Then she goes right back. Usually she is the first one up and out in the morning and digging holes all over my yard. Any ideas or suggestions?

Not a normal breed for broodiness but it does happen. Is she plucking feathers out of her chest yet? Is she sitting on a clutch of eggs and stealing others eggs? Are you finding one really large and really stinky poop a day? Did she stop laying? These are all broody behaviors. Just in case take a good look at her vent and under her wings to see if she has signs of lice or mites. Also look at her poop for any signs of worm or worm eggs. Feel her weight and make sure she hasn't lost a lot and her breast bone isn't sticking out too far. Let us know how the check went and we can tell you more. Any time a chicken is acting unusual you want to check for these things and a broody is more prone to lice and mites because they sit still so long.

she is broody and not ill.

 

[tankgirl88]

I would be really surprised if she had lice or mite because I have always used DE on them religiously and all over their coop and bedding. I checked under her wings and such and found no signs of infestation. Her vent and surrounding feathers are really dirty right now, its all messy with green and white poo. I was considering giving her a bath, but I wasn't sure if that was a good idea if she is in fact broody. I didn't know if would mess up her mojo since she doesn't even want to leave the box. As far a egg sitting goes, I just moved them to a new coop and I placed golf balls in there to establish that as the "laying area", which worked really well by the way. But she has been sitting on the golf balls. It's a community box so it's a little hard to tell if she has stopped laying. But the eggs I have been getting look like Buff eggs, and all of the eggs I have been getting are really clean so I would think if she was laying they would be dirty since her bum is so dirty. She always feels really skinny to me compared to the buffs but I don't know that she is any lighter than she usually is...maybe a little? I don't think she has been plucking out her chest feathers. She still is in the same place as she has been all day, aside from nipping at me once or twice earlier today she seems pretty calm.

 

[foreverlearning]

I would be really surprised if she had lice or mite because I have always used DE on them religiously and all over their coop and bedding. I checked under her wings and such and found no signs of infestation. Her vent and surrounding feathers are really dirty right now, its all messy with green and white poo. I was considering giving her a bath, but I wasn't sure if that was a good idea if she is in fact broody. I didn't know if would mess up her mojo since she doesn't even want to leave the box. As far a egg sitting goes, I just moved them to a new coop and I placed golf balls in there to establish that as the "laying area", which worked really well by the way. But she has been sitting on the golf balls. It's a community box so it's a little hard to tell if she has stopped laying. But the eggs I have been getting look like Buff eggs, and all of the eggs I have been getting are really clean so I would think if she was laying they would be dirty since her bum is so dirty. She always feels really skinny to me compared to the buffs but I don't know that she is any lighter than she usually is...maybe a little? I don't think she has been plucking out her chest feathers. She still is in the same place as she has been all day, aside from nipping at me once or twice earlier today she seems pretty calm.

Giving her a bath will stop her if she is broody. Nipping at you is normal and the further along she gets being broody the more she will nip and even growl. Keep an eye on her to make sure she is sure then put some cheap hatching eggs under her for her first brood. Good Luck!

 

[chicksurreal]

The local feed store had a lot to choose from, and lucky for us it was their first week of chicks of the season. It was meant to be... She would be a mama yet!
14 little chicks were brought home in a small cardboard box. They were a little multicolored chorus of chirps and peeps. Welsummers, Hamburgs, Brahmas, Marans and Wyandottes babies ready for a new home.
I didn't wait until night like I knew I probably should. But I knew Mrs. Broody was ready to be a mama hen NOW.
I took the babies out to the coop and slowly slid two chicks under her and grabbed the remaining eggs. And then two more.... She looked up at me and clucked expectantly. I laughed...

I put the rest under her and she started clucking and making all those great mama hen noises.


She took right to them almost instantly.

Wow! Poor mama, but it ended well! She looks very content.