Too many eggs and broodiness

[eveliens]

My lovely bantam hen recently started laying. She's a Japanese bantam, which is a poor laying breed. However, since she's started laying she is laying pretty much daily and is up to 16 fairly good sized eggs (for her size). I purchased some fake eggs for her, as I take the real ones away (don't want rodent issues). She hasn't gone broody yet but is making what I assume are broody noises and is spending more time on the eggs. Will letting her go broody on the fake eggs stop her laying? She hasn't stopped yet but 16 eggs in less than 3 weeks seems absurd for such a tiny bird.

Also, is broody exactly 21 days or could I possibly sneak some chicks under her a few days later (hatchery chick order would arrive 2-3 days later)?

As an aside, her flockmates have laid 2 and 0 in the same time frame. My quail aren't laying yet at all. I wasn't expecting eggs until March! No extra light, so I guess the unseasonably warm weather kicked them off.

 

[azygous]

A hen will go broody when she feels it's time to go broody. Fake eggs or real eggs or zero eggs will not alter her broodiness. You could lock her up in a pet crate with no eggs, and she would remain broody for three weeks, and maybe longer since there would be no hatching chicks to stop her broody hormones.

Whether you would be successful at giving her chicks to raise would depend on her individual temperament. But if you wait until the third week to sneak the chicks under her, it would have more chance of working.

Another way to approach it if you want her to raise chicks is to give her fertilized eggs to incubate.

And still another approach would be to get the new chicks now and brood them right next to the broody. There's a reasonable chance that she will fixate on the chicks and switch over to mama hen mode and adopt the chicks after being in proximity to them for a week or so. I've had three older hens, two that had never been broody in their lives, adopt and raise new baby chicks I was brooding in my run. Here's my thread on it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/we-know-broody-hens-how-about-a-nanny-hen.1407935/

 

[eveliens]

A hen will go broody when she feels it's time to go broody. Fake eggs or real eggs or zero eggs will not alter her broodiness. You could lock her up in a pet crate with no eggs, and she would remain broody for three weeks, and maybe longer since there would be no hatching chicks to stop her broody hormones.

Whether you would be successful at giving her chicks to raise would depend on her individual temperament. But if you wait until the third week to sneak the chicks under her, it would have more chance of working.

Another way to approach it if you want her to raise chicks is to give her fertilized eggs to incubate.

And still another approach would be to get the new chicks now and brood them right next to the broody. There's a reasonable chance that she will fixate on the chicks and switch over to mama hen mode and adopt the chicks after being in proximity to them for a week or so. I've had three older hens, two that had never been broody in their lives, adopt and raise new baby chicks I was brooding in my run. Here's my thread on it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/we-know-broody-hens-how-about-a-nanny-hen.1407935/

Mostly I'd just like her to stop laying eggs - she's a pet and is coming out of this egg jagged worse for wear even with supplementation and extra goodies. I was under the impression going broody would stop egg development and let her body rest/recover.

And the nanny hen sounds ideal. I don't have any problems with incubating/brooding myself, as my quail and chickens were raised that way. My current issue is I have a sebright hen that is a pesty jerk. Sebright loves to chase and attack pretty much everything - my dad, my dogs, the neighbor's cats, the squirrels, the doves, the sparrows, etc. She's even taken a go at me a few times when she was younger. She definitely would go after chicks or even adults until she accepted they belonged in the yard. The Japanese bantam is the lead/top hen, so her watching over the chicks would be ideal because she has no problems thrashing the sebright when the sebright annoys her. Might be worth a try whenever I add the new chickens, thanks.

 

[Perris]

Yes, if she goes broody she'll stop laying. But her body condition does not improve by sitting for 3 weeks. And being a mum is a 24/7 job too. Some people break broodies, various methods, to reduce the time in sitting state.

 

[Still-learning]

I'm married so I'm smart enough to leave broody hens alone...I just make sure they get fed and out of the nest at least once a day...Ha,Ha...
But ya right...It really knocks them around, condition wise...
Chickens have been doing this stuff for years...We're only learning... Let nature be...

 

[aart]

She hasn't stopped yet but 16 eggs in less than 3 weeks seems absurd for such a tiny bird.

It has nothing to do with size, some birds are more productive than others.
As long as she's getting good nutrition(good chicken ration and plenty of fresh plain water) she should be fine.
Hoping she'll go broody to stop her from laying is unreasonable.

 

[azygous]

Going broody will only cause her to stop laying eggs while she's broody. Do you know how pregnancy works in a human? Women ovulate as hens do. Hormones regulate ovulation. When an egg is fertilized in a woman, another hormone stops ovulation and the pregnancy progresses.

When a hen goes broody, another hormone stops her ovulating while she sits on eggs. Once the eggs hatch and the chicks needs care, the broody hormones then change again so that she has the desire to quit sitting on eggs and instead, she has the desire to care for the chicks.

None of this will stop her permanently from laying eggs. Once the chicks are weaned, she will go back to laying eggs.

 

[Happy hen lover]

Going broody will only cause her to stop laying eggs while she's broody. Do you know how pregnancy works on a human? Women ovulate as hens do. Hormones regulate ovulation. When an egg is fertilized in a woman, another hormone stops ovulation and the pregnancy progresses.

When a hen goes broody, another hormone stops her ovulating while she sits on eggs. Once the eggs hatch and the chicks needs care, the broody hormones then change again so that she has the desire to quit sitting on eggs and instead, she has the desire to care for the chicks.

None of this will stop her permanently from laying eggs. Once the chicks are weaned, she will go back to laying eggs.

Azuygous,
You're like a chicken dictionary ! I always learn from your posts.
More like a chook encyclopedia.