Let broody hens brood?

[goats-n-oats]

Hi, strangely, five of my 100+ hens just went broody, even though there is still frost and snow. They are taking up 5 of the 15+ nesting boxes. I sell eggs at the local grocery store and had to toss a few dozen last week because a few eggs with embryos got mixed in. I really don't think there's room in the coop for more chickens right now. I would like to buy or hatch some more ISAs for the winter at some point but there are already 50+ mixed breed eggs in these broody nests. Is it ok to remove and toss all the brooding eggs, let the broody hens continue to sit on nothing, and keep removing new eggs as they are laid? There may be profit in selling chicks but I won't be able to fulfill the grocery store order for eggs; it's too confusing for me to determine which eggs are new and which are being incubated. Ideas?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Why not break the broodies so you don't have any developing eggs and the hens return to laying sooner?

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Hi, strangely, five of my 100+ hens just went broody, even though there is still frost and snow. They are taking up 5 of the 15+ nesting boxes. I sell eggs at the local grocery store and had to toss a few dozen last week because a few eggs with embryos got mixed in. I really don't think there's room in the coop for more chickens right now. I would like to buy or hatch some more ISAs for the winter at some point but there are already 50+ mixed breed eggs in these broody nests. Is it ok to remove and toss all the brooding eggs, let the broody hens continue to sit on nothing, and keep removing new eggs as they are laid? There may be profit in selling chicks but I won't be able to fulfill the grocery store order for eggs; it's too confusing for me to determine which eggs are new and which are being incubated. Ideas?

You could give them a chance, but one of my girls was “broody”, or something like that, I think she only sat for two days at most, but now I’ve got to figure out a stagger hatch, twelve in the incubator on day seventeen right now, plus three I set yesterday, because……….. reasons? I’m also getting quail eggs in two weeks…….
This one is going to be interesting, but my plan is to set the humidity between 50 and 60 percent, and that will be a little low for hatching and a little higher for stage one, and it should work out ok.

I already have seventeen chicks, so this should be fun.

 

[BDutch]

If you collect all the eggs (except maybe the fake ones) twice a day you don’t get developing embryos inside the eggs. If you leave no eggs at all, you discourage the hens to become broody.

Make sure all hens roost at night. Take the broodies off the nest and put them on the roost in the evening.
If this is inconvenient you can also close the nest-boxes around sunset and open them again in the night.

The hens who to want to sleep in the nestboxes are broodies and you should get them off the nests during the day as often as possible.

If your broodies are hard to break there are methods like caging some people use. I never did though. They put these chickens in a wire cage with water and feed on an airy spot for a few days.

 

[BDutch]

I would like to buy or hatch some more ISAs for the winter at some point

If you want a broody to hatch a clutch of ISA’s you need to find an address where you can buy such hatchery eggs. Read about hatching with a broody and prepare yourself.

Besides a broody you need the right space and conditions to do so. With so many hens, I suppose its not easy for a broody to sit and raise chicks within the coop/ flock. A nest box in a ‘street’ of nestboxes where other chickens lay their eggs too is far ideal imho.

I would probably buy a suitable prefab or build a coop with run for the broody where she can raise her babies. If a chicken becomes broody put her with ca. 6 fake eggs in the new coop/run and lock her up. If she continues to breed on the fake eggs, you can swap the fakes with the ISA hatchery eggs. If you mark the eggs and check on her (+ the eggs) you can leave the door open during the day as long as she is not bothered too much.

 

[goats-n-oats]

If you collect all the eggs (except maybe the fake ones) twice a day you don’t get developing embryos inside the eggs. If you leave no eggs at all, you discourage the hens to become broody.

Make sure all hens roost at night. Take the broodies off the nest and put them on the roost in the evening.
If this is inconvenient you can also close the nest-boxes around sunset and open them again in the night.

The hens who to want to sleep in the nestboxes are broodies and you should get them off the nests during the day as often as possible.

If your broodies are hard to break there are methods like caging some people use. I never did though. They put these chickens in a wire cage with water and feed on an airy spot for a few days.

Thanks for the how-to tips.

 

[goats-n-oats]

Hey! Is it a known behavior that hens start to lay more if the eggs are taken out of the nest, or is it just the weather? They were laying 5-6 dozen a day, this morning I removed all the brooding eggs, came back at 2pm to find 9 dozen new eggs!!?!

 

[BDutch]

Hey! Is it a known behavior that hens start to lay more if the eggs are taken out of the nest, or is it just the weather? They were laying 5-6 dozen a day, this morning I removed all the brooding eggs, came back at 2pm to find 9 dozen new eggs!!?!

A broody stops laying eggs. After her broodiness stops she starts to lay again. But not immediately.