Broody Hen Thread!

[mymilliefleur]

Hi everyone! I have a quick semi broody relates question. I have read a couple of stories on here about hens disappearing for three weeks only to return with chicks. I was just wondering what these runaway broody hens are eating during this time? Do they come back to their normal feeding place and you just don't know it or is there enough food elsewhere for them to survive on?

I ask because one of my favorite hens has disappeared without a trace. We have very few predators in this area and I have seen no signs that she has met a bad end.

A number of my hens have caught the broody bug recently and so I am hoping that this hen is just off on a chicken hatching adventure somewhere!

I have had this happen a few times. Usually they are free ranging when it happens, (which is how they are able to hide their nest in the first place) and can eat out of the community feed bowl. It's always so nerve wracking when they disappear like that, you don't know whether they are hiding on a nest or have been eaten by something! Hopefully your hen will come out with a large group of chicks in a few weeks!

 

[mymilliefleur]

The two black ones are silver laced polish and one of 3 roos (ee/silkie, japanese bantam/silkie, or buff silkie). Judging on behavior I'd say the EE/silkie mix is the dad.
The others come from my 2 EE/white silkie hens and one of the above roos.

I bet those crosses will look pretty cool when they are fully grown!

 

[sophiaw00]

Next spring I want to let my faverolle raise some babies. She's already going broody, but because it's gonna be winter I'm not letting her hatch this year. I have 6 nest boxes in the coop, and all 9 hens use the same one every single day. Currently, she is brooding in the favorite box. They get in with her, one at a time, and lay in the morning. My question is, next year after she goes broody, can I just move her and her eggs into the nesting box directly next to the favorite one? I have no room for a broody cage so the only way to let her raise babies is in the coop.

 

[JessLonn]

Currently I have two brooding hens and all the other hens roost and lay eggs in the same nest. The brooding hens have also successfully incubated and hatch 3 eggs and there are 8 more that will hatch in the next few days to a week. So I haven't had any problems with the nesting situation and brooding, matter of fact the brooding hens keep the other hen at bay.

 

[sophiaw00]

Currently I have two brooding hens and all the other hens roost and lay eggs in the same nest. The brooding hens have also successfully incubated and hatch 3 eggs and there are 8 more that will hatch in the next few days to a week. So I haven't had any problems with the nesting situation and brooding, matter of fact the brooding hens keep the other hen at bay.

My broody is at the bottom of the pecking order. Will she still keep them away?

 

[JessLonn]

It depends on how protective she is and the rooster. My rooster also helps to keep the peace. Time will tell, I don't think you'll know till she's got the eggs.

 

[fisherlady]

My broody is at the bottom of the pecking order. Will she still keep them away?

Every situation is different, some hens reliably defend their nest and others don't. Lower in the pecking order may make it harder for the hen.

For 9 hens you could use 3 boxes, then remove dividers from the other 3 to create a broody hut. Use chicken wire to block it off from the other hens. The wire can be arched outward to provide a little more space.
re-evaluate your coop set up with an eye toward repurposing some of the area and see if you can change the set up to work for your new needs.

 

[Cory W]

Have 4 newbies unfortunately 2 didn't make it had to put them in the graveyard

 

[Cory W]

Don't know if mom squished them or what happened one was still wet

 

[fisherlady]

Have 4 newbies unfortunately 2 didn't make it had to put them in the graveyard

Congrats on the new ones.... sorry you lost 2 but it does happen once in a while, sometimes through a hens inexperience or inattentiveness, sometimes I think they just don't recover from the effort of hatching.