How to Break a Broody Hen

[eggocentric]

Sunny Side Up,
Thank you. My brother (source of my previous chicken information) has offered to give me fertile eggs for my girls. I may give it a try. I'm going to take baby steps on this process so I avoid messing anything up or ending up with chickens I am not equipped to take care of. I started with 4 pullets and I didn't realize how determined raccoons are when it comes to getting their dinner. I lost two of the girls before I was able to completely raccoon proof the coop.

If you were starting a small flock and you wanted a couple of "easy keeping" layers to provide eggs, what breed would you be looking for? I don't think I will start over but I'm curious about what would have been the better approach.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[SonflowerChick]

What about giving her a chick? Has anyone ever tried that?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote: Most of the large production breeds fit that description, everyone has their favorites, and individual birds of every breed have their unique disposition. Personally, I like Barred Rocks best of all.

 

[Cantonmentchickenmama]

Okay so here is my situation....I have 27 hens and 3 roosters. Out of the 27 hens, currently 6 are brooding. I have done everything from taking up the eggs quickly, to removing the hen off the nest. Unfortunately, the hens continue to brood. They are fighting of golf balls, eggs, and nesting boxes. I orginally thought I didn't have enough boxes, but I doubled what I had in the coop; the fighting continues.

Second issue, I have a hen that hatched two biddies about 3 weeks ago. She is still mothering the two biddies, but she is laying eggs. Is this normal and okay? I don't want her egg laying to cause problems for the biddies. She is a bantam frizzle and is a wonderful mother hen. I want to keep her with the biddies as long as I can.

Third issue, I have a buff orphington that is brooding, has hatched three biddies, and killed all three before they were fully hatched. I continue to chase her off the nest and in the future will not allow her to hatch any biddies. What makes a hen broody, then cause her to kill the biddies? I understand that the a hen being broody is nature, but I don't understand her killing the chicks she sat on for almost a month.


Thanks,
Cantonment Chicken Momma

 

[Sunny Side Up]

This is my $.02 worth on the matter, from what I've observed in my flock: every hen seems to have been dealt her own personal component of broody/mothering instincts & skills. Some will be more devoted to the job and do it better than others, some will not want to do it at all. Chickens have been kept domestically for a few thousand years, with a lot of selective breeding done in that time, especially in recent centuries. They just don't always act as natural as other species of birds.

I don't think the number of nest boxes will change a hen's behavior who is bent on brooding, they will continue to compete for the available eggs whether they're real or imaginary. You'll need to put them up in broody busters or give them eggs to incubate in their own private quarters.

A hen who both lays eggs & mothers chicks is a very useful bird to have, I don't see how there could be a problem there. I bet she gathers her chicks around her as she lays her daily egg, then leaves the nest to go scratch in the yard with her babies. Make sure there's some oyster shell grit available to her free-choice, so she doesn't get depleted while eating chick starter with her kids.

The Buff Orp probably shouldn't be given eggs to incubate, she may have been given broodiness but no good mothering instincts, it happens. Put her up in a broody buster the next time she wants to set. Or get her a guest spot on Jerry Springer...

 

[galanie]

Jerry Springer!

I have one black Orpington that I did put in the broody buster cage for a little over a week and it didn't break her. Never saw anything like it. Finally I gave her some chicks. She's not the best of moms for sure. But so far they're doing fine. Now I have three more that are broody. Oh Spring, how it leaves me eggless.

 

[Cantonmentchickenmama]

Thank you Sunny Side Up,

I feel better knowing that this isn't some weird thing that I am only dealing with. As for the the hen that is laying a taking care of biddies; I will put some oyster shells in for her. I have a smaller coop that I am using as my 'nursery' right now; so my two mama hens and their biddies are not getting out right now. I make sure that they get plenty of treats and they have access to dirt to scratch. Unfortunately, in the past when I have attempted to let them out; the older hens think it is free for all and rush into the nursery. I have found that at least for right now anyway keeps down the stress on my mama hens.


Jerry Springer will have to wait for now.....lol........

 

[DOnSoCalOC]

(I had originally posted this as a new thread and then found this one so I transferred to here)
Okay, after nearly 2 weeks of keeping our PR out of the nesting boxes so that everyone else can lay and not be freaking out, we finally made a broody cage (that will double as a hospital cage if needed). She has lost many of her feathers on her underside, is this common when going broody??? We can tell that she has lost weight, but she does eat a little every time that we had kicked her out of the coop.

We had been caging her off on her own in part of the run until everyone was finished laying, and then we would let her out and she would go right back in the coop unless the door was closed; then she would run around a little, eat a little, dust, and lay in the grass "under" the coop!

Going to try the broody cage for a few days, do I leave her in there overnight??? If so, I guess she will need a blanket over the cage at night??? Or do I let her go in the coop at night???

 

[Serama Newbee]

Don't let her go in the coop at night! She will just manage to sneak herself into a nesting box soon as you close the door. Putting a blanket over her for the night is optional, long as temps stay reasonably moderate around 40 deg. Other than that, it's really just personal preference.

By the way, the set up you have there looks really nice; good luck!

 

[DOnSoCalOC]

Don't let her go in the coop at night! She will just manage to sneak herself into a nesting box soon as you close the door. Putting a blanket over her for the night is optional, long as temps stay reasonably moderate around 40 deg. Other than that, it's really just personal preference.

By the way, the set up you have there looks really nice; good luck!

Thank you. I am concerned about her weight loss. I just let her out for a few, she drank, nibbled a little bit, and then tried to go under the coop; so I blocked off under the coop and she tried to fly on top of the coop, walking around and around trying to figure out how to get "in". I put her back in the cage and will let her out before dark to get water and nibble again (she isn't eating or drinking what I put in the cage)then back in the cage for the night. I will put a cover over it so that she doesn't awaken at the crack of dawn (I have black-out curtains hanging over the air vents so that I can let them out a little later than dawn...for the sake of all our neighbors and to prevent any complaints).