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Sprinkles looks like she’s re-evaluating her decision to go broody.

With my Easter hatch coming soon, I've been hoping for a broody. A very unlikely candidate started hanging out in the nest box for a few days and is now grumbling at me. It's my golden Spitzhauben, Sprinkles. They are not considered a broody breed. I wonder what kind of mother she will be. A...

Oh I completely agree. As the weather turned cold, one hen decided to go broody. Perhaps she saw the snow and decided to sit in the coop all day. "Broody fever" is contagious. Soon I had my bantams stacking themselves like flattened pancakes in the nests. My poor serama rooster had to stand...

:gig:gig:gig

The Broody Bunch continues!!!! The little pink nest tub is by far the fav. Today 4 of the hens smooshed themselves in there. The bigger tub contains the grumpy little white hen. She's appropriately named "Solo" :lau * The name was because of a sad "lonely only" chick situation, but it rings...

About 10-12 days before hatch, I had no broody volunteer, so I set a broody trap. (Nice comfy, darkened nest with a pile of eggs. I also brought my serama mama and her adopted silkie chicks next to the bantam coop so the hens could hear the peeping.) My "broody trap" worked too well!!!!! On...

So, what can I do for a broody hen who has chicks that won't leave? Her "babies" hatched Sept 15th. I thought it was cute when they sat with her as she started laying a couple weeks ago. Now the silkie mama's going broody AGAIN, but this time her pullet and cockerel seramas are sitting in the...

:jumpy Big Congrats!

Trust in the hen. At the very end, the hen stops taking bio breaks. Not sure how they know, but most of mine sit tight and hardly budge. The eggs are against her skin and the humidity increases as needed for the hatching process. If she's a good mom, she'll stay that way until she leaves the...

I guess I forgot to ask if she's sitting on chicken eggs. Turkeys/Ducks take 28 days

That's not too bad. If the outdoor temps are cold or she took some breaks, there could be a delay. 21 days is an estimate. Is Ginny "pecky"? If you're really concerned, you could reach under and feel an egg for pips or briefly pull one out at night to candle. (But if she likes to peck at...

Congrats on the fluffies!

You may have a hard time candling those dark eggs. I was happy to see an air cell on a few. Doesn't mean they're hard to hatch, just hard to predict. The good news is your hen does all the work. I hope you have a great hatch!

I meant he wants to mate. He really, really wants to mate. He's young and has no clue how to impress the hens. Many cockerels will tidbit (then eat all the treats themselves). They also chase the hens and mate if they catch them. (Easier to ask forgiveness than permission) A good hen will...

I'm guessing the boy misses her. If you're out with the chickens when she takes her bio break, just run a little interference if the male is getting obnoxious. Cockerels have a lot to learn about hens and in the meantime, you may get some hens with bald heads or backs. Normally roos figure it...

She may be drinking when you're not around. If you're concerned just continue adding some water to the food. You could also give some irresistible treats like watermelon, grapes, apple, etc. to get extra water in her that way. Hens don't eat & drink normally when broody. They often lose a...

Depends on the hen. I take one hen off her nest 1x per day. (She's an unusual one that gets very thin.) All my others will go off nest by themselves every day or 2. In extreme heat of summer, sometimes I give them breakfast in bed (bit of chilled watermelon or other froz veggie treat).

x2 Me too! I blame them for much of the problems here. :p 1. up to 10 days in cool storage is fine. I store mine in carton wide end/ air cell up and turn them a few times per day. (One side of carton elevated, then rotate which side is elevated) 2. You can always crack one of the eggs...

Looking forward to hearing your good news. I have a silkie with eggs due next weekend, so we can swap pics and stories. I notice that the surge in broody hormones helps give that lower status hen a boost. I have 2 hens that actually crow when broody to show the others not to mess with them...

Help. My coop is getting taken over by broody hens. My serama still has one (6 week old) baby. My Spitzhauben has 7 (2 week old) orpington and 3 (10 wk. old) serama chicks...short story= I needed a place to put them and hen was willing. My silkie is on 4 orpington eggs due to hatch tomorrow. My...