A Broody Hen . . . I'm rather sure of it

[Jabbok]

We have a hen (named Eisenhower, lol) that is currently sitting on 6 eggs. I put 1 under her yesterday and 5 more today. She was trying to hatch a golf ball for a few days before I figured she is really broody. She hasn't budged from the nest box. We are fairly new to chicken raising (got our first batch of chicks last July - hatched by someone else). So I have a few questions:

1. Should I move her to a private cage or something? We have 12 other hens and a rooster in the coop and they are a crazy bunch.
2. Does she need a light as she is sitting on the eggs? We don't know if she needs the extra heat.
3. If I do move her, will she be ok? Will the eggs be ok?
4. If I move her from the nestbox should I keep the cage she'd be in in the coop? I am not sure if we should put her in a cage or just section off part of the coop for her and the babies.
5. Can I take an egg from the refrigerator (like from yesterday) and put it under her or should I let it get to room temp before doing that? I have a hen that I am sure is fertile and would love to see what her egg and our rooster will look like!

Ok, I think that's enough questions for tonight.
THanks in advance!!
Emily
4 Dark Cornish Hens (the broody one is a DC), one Dark Cornish Rooster, one Buff Orpinton/Barred Rock, 8 other hens that are leghorn and something else.

 

[Suechick]

There's a great broody thread on the message board that will answer many of your questions.
I'll see if I can answer some, but I don't know a whole lot.

1) From what I understand, it is best to move her to a quiet private nest before giving her fertile eggs just in case she rejects the new location. If you decide to mover her you should do it after dark so she won't want to run right back to her old nest. Hopefully in the morning she'll stay with the new nest.
2) She shouldn't need any extra light/heat. The process that switches them into broody mode is probably sensitive to light and temp, so that more hens become broody in the spring when days are getting longer and temps are going up.
3) When you move a broody there's always a chance that will break her of broodiness or that she'll abandon the clutch and go back to her old spot.
4) I've read many opinions about this and I would want to keep chicks separate from rowdy hens and especially a rooster.
5) If you have eggs that have been under her for 1 day you might get away with slipping another under her now, but if the other eggs have too much of a head start they will hatch before the late starter, the late starter may be abandoned before it can hatch. I think mama stays on the nest for a day or two after the chicks hatch, so if you're within that window it may work.

Well, these are my guesses, hope you get some other opinions.

 

[emjay]

last spring, I had 5 rounds of broods, very busy.

this is based on my experience and what I did.

1) I moved mine, still in same coop, but in a seperate broody pen, first two times, I used a dog kennel, left her in the kennel inside the coop with her friends, so she wasn't lonely but was seperate. For the last 3, we built a bit bigger brooding pens, so that the food was at one end, thus, she could get up, stretch, have a dust bath, release the smelliest of smelly poo's, they are nasty !!!!! and messy. It's good if they can get away from the eggs to use teh washroom, not always the easiest in a dog kennel. With the kennel, I would lock other chickens in run and let her out when she needed to stretch, dust bath etc. they will let you know when a stretch and bath is needed, well, mine did !!

2) I added no light , no extra heat, but I did make her a nice plump nest area.

3) I left mine on golf balls or dud eggs for about 5 days first, when they are committed to being broody's , they are committed !!! and a move won't break them, move them at dusk/dark, not as stressful. As well, if she's nippy, you can place the eggs close to her chest, she'll roll them under her herself. I had to do that with one of my hens, she was a bit of an alligator. She will be okay, true story, I accidentally dropped the one hen from my hands, I had a towel on her, she was an alligator, and I wanted to make it less stressful, so I end up dropping her, oops. She hatched out her babies, she was that committed to it, so they are quite resiliant.

4) I never tried the fridge trick, but, when I sensed a broody, whatever I collected in the 5 or so days she was on golf balls is what I placed under her, I did do a staggered hatch on one, to experiment, I wouldn't recommend more then a days difference though. I did two, and while most hatched, some did not. but, sneaking a favorite hens egg under a day late is okay, but, no more then that, IMHO.

a good broody is great to have around, alot less maintenance for the human, unless you have to stick your hand in to tend to the chick for some reason, I did lose a piece of flesh with teh one hen, man,, she was quick, very protective that girl.

good luck

 

[Raven81]

i have done the fridge thing & yes they can hatch i just took it out & let it warm up to room temp then gave them to her, but make sure the air sac is at the top when warming it up

 

[ldrwnorman47]

I have a broody on day 18. Here is a site I used at first for referance and such. Very good site, also there is a thread on here Old Fashined Broody Hens etc....Very informative thread!


http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html

 

[Jabbok]

Thanks so much for ALL the helpful advice and I will look up that thread, too! The hen is cranky, but I can pet her and put eggs under her with no problem - feed her and give her water from a dropper (she won't even drink from a bowl). The husband and I will have to figure out what to do as far as a private nest goes. I really appreciate the helpful answers!!

Thanks!
Emily

 

[Judy]

You don't have to feed and water her. She will get up and eat and drink, usually once a day. You will probably know she has done so when you find a broody poop.

You can leave her in the coop to hatch the eggs, too. Not as safe, perhaps, but the chicks are integrated immediately that way. Best to mark the eggs to be hatched and checking under her daily. I've done this a few times, never had another hen kill chicks, mama has protected them. I've lost a few eggs to jostling. I like it because it gets the chicks outside almost right away; they seem to grow faster. My 7 week olds are getting close to the size of my adults in height -- I did confine her during the setting this time, but let everyone out a day or two later. I just feed everyone a starter/grower formula and have oyster shell in another dish.

 

[mmaddie's mom]

All good advice above! The only thing that I can add is when you move her and set her on the new nest and eggs, if she is aggitated at all, gently hold on the eggs for just a minute... gently, just so she can calm & feel the eggs on her tummy. Good Luck!

 

[Jabbok]

I haven't seen a broody poop yet. Will she poop in the nest box? I should hope not! lol

I think for now I'm going to let her stay where she is. She squawks at anyone that comes near her nest and she can be mean if she has to be. I'm not sure how many of the 8 eggs are fertile and I forgot to see if she laid an egg yesterday. She did the day before, so I took it. Do they continue laying as they sit on the nest? I don't know if that stops during this time . . . anybody?

 

[mmaddie's mom]

She will stop laying when she is good and broody... but sometimes a friend will sneak in and leave a deposit.