is this broody behavior?

[Jenbirdee]

She’s been sitting in the house in the nesting box a lot I mean a lot almost all day for two or three days and there was four eggs under her, but I took them away, and I took her out, but she went back in. I took her out again. She went back in again, her tummy is little red and she pulled out some tummy feathers, and the lower portion of her crop feels partially squishy like liquid filled only maybe halfway in the morning today I smelled her breath is fine. I’m going to add apple cider vinegar to all the waters again today, but the nest is empty and not letting other girls in. Here’s a video.

 

[wrathsfarm]

You got a broody...

 

[theoldchick]

Yep!

 

[wrathsfarm]

She's complaining because you took her eggs. Give them back.


10 should do the trick...

 

[fluffycrow]

You've got yourself a very pretty broody

 

[Ridgerunner]

She sure looks broody. The way I tell if a hen is a committed broody and deserves eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of where she normally sleeps. I've had hens look and act broody for as long as two weeks without ever committing to being broody enough for eggs. If she won't stay on the nest at night she will not hatch eggs.

What do you want to happen? If you want to break her from being broody we can help. If you want her to hatch eggs we can help. If you want to buy some chicks to give her we can help. If you already know what you need to know I'll go back to sleep.

Good luck!

 

[Jenbirdee]

She sure looks broody. The way I tell if a hen is a committed broody and deserves eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of where she normally sleeps. I've had hens look and act broody for as long as two weeks without ever committing to being broody enough for eggs. If she won't stay on the nest at night she will not hatch eggs.

What do you want to happen? If you want to break her from being broody we can help. If you want her to hatch eggs we can help. If you want to buy some chicks to give her we can help. If you already know what you need to know I'll go back to sleep.

Good luck!

thanks. i want to break her from it, we have no fertile eggs

 

[aart]

i want to break her from it

This is how I handle that:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/broody-breaking-ala-aart.77915/

 

[Jenbirdee]

This is how I handle that:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/broody-breaking-ala-aart.77915/

i could do that. I was wondering what would happen if I don’t do anything like would she get over it herself if I kept taking away the eggs… but then I realized … i have 2 new duck hens who were Living in a flock with a drake up until Wednesday, so their eggs are possibly fertilized, and I can put them under my chicken.l!! now I need to talk to people who hatched out ducklings with a broody chicken hen. I also have some possibly fertilized chicken eggs, but the chicken laid them were last with a rooster on April 5, so it’s been six weeks. The chances are slim with those. If I do put both chicken and duck eggs under my hen she might hatch a couple of each? Would that be a bad thing?

 

[Ridgerunner]

If I do put both chicken and duck eggs under my hen she might hatch a couple of each? Would that be a bad thing?

Some duck eggs (like Muscovy) hatch after 5 weeks. Other duck eggs hatch at 4 weeks. Chicken eggs hatch at 3 weeks. If they don't all hatch together she will abandon any eggs that have not hatched to take care of the ones that have. That is the big problem with staggered hatches. If you schedule when you put the eggs under the hen so they all hatch at the same time you avoid that problem.

Can a broody hen raise chicks and ducklings together? I'm sure some people have gotten it to work but I'm also sure there have been failures. I have no idea what your chances of success would be. I've raised turkey poults and chicken chicks together in a brooder and it worked fine, but ducklings have different water requirements than chicks. I'd be really nervous mixing the eggs. I have seen threads on here where some people have let a broody chicken hatch ducklings. The hens were really confused when the ducklings went swimming.