broody hen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alexia]

It's colder in Canada than Alaska?! WTH?!

It's -21 today. I'm so cold

I have no idea of what that feels like. It was freezing here last Monday and it was 63 degrees!!!!

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

It's colder in Canada than Alaska?! WTH?!

It's -21 today. I'm so cold

well it WAS -50 here for like a couple weeks

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

I have no idea of what that feels like. It was freezing here last Monday and it was 63 degrees!!!!

63 DEGREES??? We pray for that up here

up here 63 is HOT!! (until you adjust to summer weather)

 

[applegal]

I have a broody girl myself right now.
I agree about leaving the peeps in the house. Too cold for little babies. I would wait until they are bigger to introduce them to your flock. Maybe do it gradually for short periods of time. Do you have an isolation area so they could see the flock, but be separate and with their Mum when the temperature is decent?

Wow.. you are having a February heat wave now! I'm a former resident of Delta Junction, Anchorage, and Chugiak.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

I have a broody girl myself right now.
I agree about leaving the peeps in the house. Too cold for little babies. I would wait until they are bigger to introduce them to your flock. Maybe do it gradually for short periods of time. Do you have an isolation area so they could see the flock, but be separate and with their Mum when the temperature is decent?

Wow.. you are having a February heat wave now! I'm a former resident of Delta Junction, Anchorage, and Chugiak.

well janurary was -50 so this is pretty nice

turns out she wasnt broody i guess? just acting weird cause the other day she was roosting
If she was broody they didnt have a spot for her to see the other chickens, unless she wanted to nest in snow LOL The chicks NOW would be old enough as long as she would keep them warm be good, since its like 20 above

 

[6694deb]

Thanks for answering my question! I have a broody hen and living in MN I figured it was too cold so I've been taking the eggs. I was wondering how long she would continue to sit on the empty nest. Now I know! She's been there over a week now. I've been feeling guilty for taking them tho' so I'm thinking of letting her keep 2 or 3 eggs. I figure by the time they hatch it should be warm enough for them. I just gave 1/2 my flock away to make room for the new babies I hope to get this summer so I'll have an early start. Hope it works.

 

[Tenneesse]

I have had 2 hens that sat on an empty nest for over 100 days. I would carry them out to the yard about 5 times a day, they would eat and drink scratch around a short while (20mins) then back to the coop and into the nest. I finally gave up and put an egg under each and in 21 days they hatched a little one. Some breeds are extremely broody like Cochins like mine.

I have read if you take the hen from her nest and confine her in an open bottomed cage (hardware weave) set up for her to roost so she can reach her food and water in 3 -5 days they will return to a non-broody mood. It didnt work on either of mine. I had to let them hatch an egg. Those two eggs are now laying at 4 months old so it was a win win situation to let her have her way.

Neither girl had any intentions of not hatching an egg. They become very docile easy to handle and get very lovable but its sad to see them that way. So if you are set up to handle a young one put a fertile egg under her and I find its the easiest way to get them back into the flock.

I did have another broody episode and the result was a rooster and that adds to another kind of problem, the Alpha rooster! Its working out but I range my 6 and the little guy can stay a safe distance though he sure would like a girl of his own. That's not going to happen.

Good luck

I did read of another method to break the spell and that involves dunking them in cold water but I would not do that to my birds.