1st time broody hen...need advice

[ErnieBerley]

Hi
I have a Mille Fleur d'uccle hen that's a year old, laying fine, now she went broody and i've never experienced this before. Questions:
- is moving a broody hen and taking her eggs going to really disrupt her behavior? like lots of stress?
- how do they sit for 21 days with no eating drinking? i know people say take them food/water, but in nature does their metabolism decrease like maybe a bears does?

What are your experiences with letting a broody hen do her thing and hatch the eggs? (yes i think mine are fertilized I have a splash silkie rooster that mates them, so i am excited to see what a d'Uccle crossed w/ silkie would look like) vs. taking the eggs and trying to stop her from nature's course?

thanks for the chat!

 

[Chickenman1994]

Leave food and water close to the nest she will go out and get her a bite to eat and a drink of water when needed. Usually once a day.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Broodies will leave the nest at least once a day to eat/drink/dust off/make huge poops. If you don't want them to lose weight, you can positiin the food and especially water closer, but I wouldn't do it right on the nest.

One thing to know is they usually don't poop on the nest, which means they hold it in, and when they go, it's big and it's stinky. You'll know it's theirs when you see it.

I don't move my broodies until they hatch, but others move them right away so other birds dont eat their eggs. It's up to you what you want to try.

 

[aart]

You'll need to decide if you want her to hatch out some chicks, and how you will 'manage' it.
-Do you have, or can you get, some fertile eggs?
-Do you have the space needed? Both for more chickens and she may need to be separated by wire from the rest of the flock.
-Do you have a plan on what to do with the inevitable males? Rehome, butcher, keep in separate 'bachelor pad'?
If you decide to let her hatch out some fertile eggs, this is a great thread for reference and to ask questions.
It's a long one but just start reading the first few pages, then browse thru some more at random. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/broody-hen-thread.496101/


When I have a broody I wait until she's been in the nest most the day and all night for 2-3 days...along with those other signs I posted.

Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.
Then I give her fresh fertile eggs and mark the calendar.

I like them separated by wire from the flock, it's just easier all around.
No having to mark eggs and remove any additions daily, no taking up a laying nest, no going back to the wrong nest after the daily constitutional.

I remove barrier about one week after hatch. The chicks are usually safe it's the broody who has to 'fight' her way back into the pecking order...which can be quick or take a few days.
Lots of space helps for re-integration.

 

[Perris]

is moving a broody hen and taking her eggs going to really disrupt her behavior?

some it does, some it doesn't. If you move her you risk breaking her i.e. turning off the broodiness so she abandons the eggs.

What are your experiences with letting a broody hen do her thing and hatch the eggs?

Very good. I leave them be in the coop with the flock. I mark the eggs and remove any added by other hens when the broody is off for her daily meal/poo/dust bath session. And the chicks are integrated from day 1; if you separate, you'll have to integrate again later.

taking the eggs and trying to stop her from nature's course?

if you want to break her, you will need to put her in a dog crate or something similar for a few days until her hormones switch off and she stops trying to return to the nest. Aart (replied above) has a good thread on it. She will then start laying again in a couple of weeks - but might go broody again in a month or so too.