Barnevelder is broody again!

[emyancey]

Hi! I have an 11-month-old Barnevelder named Nutmeg. She has gone broody for the third time. We live in Northern New York. The first time was in the fall and I broke her. The second time was in JANUARY and it was below zero and I broke her. This time, I decided I'd like to let her sit and I'd slip some day-old chicks under her at the 21-day mark.

She has been broody for over nine days now. She's plucked her little chest naked again, is a poofy blob, growls, and trills at everyone, and refuses to leave the nesting box. The problem is that she absolutely refuses to be broody anywhere other than a nesting box, which I have two Best Nest Box roll-out nesting boxes. She's not even on eggs. I bought her the ultimate maternity pen that is large enough for her and chicks and the end is enclosed on three sides so it's private and dark. After a few days, I popped her in there with food and water and the plastic mat from the nesting box along with the little bit of nesting material I'd given her and she refused to sit. She spent all of her time trying to escape. I gave her fertilized, fresh eggs laid that very day and when I went to say good night, she was laying NEXT TO THEM!!!

I have been trying to break her again since she ignored the eggs, but she is extra determined this time around. She's never lasted a week before. So now I think I'm back to seeing if I can let her raise babies. I don't feel like I can leave her in the box overnight since it's too cold and the box is metal. I do have a heating pad that arrived today that I am going to try to put in there to fix that issue I think? Do I try to block off the back of the nesting box so the eggs can't roll away and see if she actually sits on them? The second box isn't installed yet, it's just sitting on the floor below the other one. I could move it off to a corner and see if she'll stay in that one instead of the higher-up one? It's a few feet off of the floor, is that too high for babies?? Also, when it's close to the time of "hatch" (in this case, when I take away the eggs and give her chicks), I have to move her. By then, will she want to stay put in the maternity wing (what I have named the pen, pun intended)?? I wanted chicks raised by a hen momma! SHE'S DRIVING ME NUTTY! She gets bullied so bad when she comes off of her nest too. She's a sweet little thing and I'm torn on what to do. I'm okay with breaking her if logistically sitting doesn't seem feasible. I don't want to let her go for too much longer if she can't have babies because I know it's not healthy for her.

Any advice either way is appreciated! Thanks! Photos of Nutmegin for tax and because she's so gorgeous! Also a photo of her with my rooster, Saffron.

 

[Karlkurla Chooks]

Nutmeg looks so cute!


I also have a chook, Clover (in avatar, and she is broody in that picture too), who is broody after only being broken out of broodiness over a month and a half ago... However she is sitting on eggs, of which she pinches from her sisters who lay the eggs next to her. My plan is to get some fertilised eggs to put underneath her, or alternatively buy some day-old chicks to give to her to raise.


I tried giving Clover a dedicated nest to be broody in - but NOPE she didn't like it and went straight back to the current main nest! It is inside an old cupboard that sits on my front porch. The other chooks aren't keen on the other nest either, despite all the golf balls inside it.



EDIT: I do have some advice! If it has been over three weeks of broodiness and there are no chicks hatching or around for Nutmeg to raise, then lock her inside a tent (say a three-person sized tent). Erect the tent under a covered area of your home, but don't put the flysheet over it, so there's plenty of ventilation.

Make sure there is plenty of grain for her to eat, plenty of water to drink, and a small log to perch on. Don't put any straw in there as you want her to be a bit uncomfortable. She will resist at first, trying to escape. But stick with it and keep her in there at least for three full days. After that let her out for an hour so she can have a dust-bath, and observe her closely. Listen if she still makes that tuk-tuk-tuk broody noise, and/or puffs out her chest. If she is still broody she might need a few more days inside the tent.

The idea of the isolation tent is to:

• Allow her to cool down so her prolactin hormone level goes down, which ceases the incubation behaviour (broodiness)
• Fatten her up! She needs to eat and eat and eat to re-nourish her, build up her fat stores again. And also to drink a lot of water.
• Encourage her to roost, so she goes back to the routine of sleeping on a perch (part of modifying her behaviour).

 

[emyancey]

Nutmeg looks so cute!


I also have a chook, Clover (in avatar, and she is broody in that picture too), who is broody after only being broken out of broodiness over a month and a half ago... However she is sitting on eggs, of which she pinches from her sisters who lay the eggs next to her. My plan is to get some fertilised eggs to put underneath her, or alternatively buy some day-old chicks to give to her to raise.


I tried giving Clover a dedicated nest to be broody in - but NOPE she didn't like it and went straight back to the current main nest! It is inside an old cupboard that sits on my front porch. The other chooks aren't keen on the other nest either, despite all the golf balls inside it.



EDIT: I do have some advice! If it has been over three weeks of broodiness and there are no chicks hatching or around for Nutmeg to raise, then lock her inside a tent (say a three-person sized tent). Erect the tent under a covered area of your home, but don't put the flysheet over it, so there's plenty of ventilation.

Make sure there is plenty of grain for her to eat, plenty of water to drink, and a small log to perch on. Don't put any straw in there as you want her to be a bit uncomfortable. She will resist at first, trying to escape. But stick with it and keep her in there at least for three full days. After that let her out for an hour so she can have a dust-bath, and observe her closely. Listen if she still makes that tuk-tuk-tuk broody noise, and/or puffs out her chest. If she is still broody she might need a few more days inside the tent.

The idea of the isolation tent is to:

• Allow her to cool down so her prolactin hormone level goes down, which ceases the incubation behaviour (broodiness)
• Fatten her up! She needs to eat and eat and eat to re-nourish her, build up her fat stores again. And also to drink a lot of water.
• Encourage her to roost, so she goes back to the routine of sleeping on a perch (part of modifying her behaviour).

I have a Clover, too!

Little stinkers! I will let her stay for a while and see what happens. I have been taking her and putting her to bed on the roost every night except when she was in the maternity wing.

 

[Karlkurla Chooks]

I have a Clover, too!

Little stinkers! I will let her stay for a while and see what happens. I have been taking her and putting her to bed on the roost every night except when she was in the maternity wing.

Awww!



Here's my cranky Clover from earlier today. She looks so cranky but when I pass her she sounds so sweet! To her sister though she does trill at them to express her annoyance. I had put the golf balls there as dummy eggs, but because her sisters are laying their eggs near her, she pinches them to sit on! (None are fertile.)

 

[emyancey]

Awww!



Here's my cranky Clover from earlier today. She looks so cranky but when I pass her she sounds so sweet! To her sister though she does trill at them to express her annoyance. I had put the golf balls there as dummy eggs, but because her sisters are laying their eggs near her, she pinches them to sit on! (None are fertile.)

View attachment 4074786

Pretty girl!!! See, I give Nutmeg eggs and she doesn't even care!

 

[emyancey]

@DobieLover - I just read your article on broodies hatching chicks. It was great! I realize where Nutmeg and I are struggling is at the grafting phase. I have been removing her from her nesting box every night and I wonder if this is not a good idea? Maybe I haven’t let her sit where she is long enough for her to be moved? She is certainly committed to nesting where she is but I cannot let her hatch there. I am leaving her in the box tonight even though it’ll be in the 20s outside, which does make me worry about her getting frostbite in there . I’d love any additional advice you can offer me in this situation! Thank you!

 

[Karlkurla Chooks]

@DobieLover - I just read your article on broodies hatching chicks. It was great! I realize where Nutmeg and I are struggling is at the grafting phase. I have been removing her from her nesting box every night and I wonder if this is not a good idea? Maybe I haven’t let her sit where she is long enough for her to be moved? She is certainly committed to nesting where she is but I cannot let her hatch there. I am leaving her in the box tonight even though it’ll be in the 20s outside, which does make me worry about her getting frostbite in there . I’d love any additional advice you can offer me in this situation! Thank you!

Are you able to move her and the nesting box she is in, to a warmer place?

 

[Slothinc]

Is there some sort of bedding in the nestbox? Or is she sitting on bare metal? I’d put down a nice layer of shavings or something that will be warm, and she will be fine staying in the box. Put a couple of fake eggs under her or let her sit on regular eggs. Don’t move her off the nest at night.

I would only have her stay on the nest for another 3-5 days before I put chicks under. If she isn’t actually incubating eggs then they don’t need to sit the full 21 days. Just need to be there long enough for them to be “established”.

When you get the chicks, place them under her either in early evening or early morning (so you can kind of monitor and check on them soon after you place them under her) Allow her to stay in the nesting box for another day or two to bond with the babies (she will keep them warm as long as they have a bottom layer under them.) Then move them into your maternity wing.

Or if it is safe, you can let her just mother them wherever she wants to. They will stay with her and she will protect them from the rest of the flock. She’s a beautiful girl. Good luck!!

 

[emyancey]

Are you able to move her and the nesting box she is in, to a warmer place?

No, it’s mounted. She has a bunch of aspen nesting pad stuff in there. She seemed fine this morning. I put the temp stick in there with her and it got down to 25.2 in there and the humidity got up to 70.4 but that was this morning. She hasn’t gotten out yet to eat so or drink or relieve herself.

 

[emyancey]

Is there some sort of bedding in the nestbox? Or is she sitting on bare metal? I’d put down a nice layer of shavings or something that will be warm, and she will be fine staying in the box. Put a couple of fake eggs under her or let her sit on regular eggs. Don’t move her off the nest at night.

I would only have her stay on the nest for another 3-5 days before I put chicks under. If she isn’t actually incubating eggs then they don’t need to sit the full 21 days. Just need to be there long enough for them to be “established”.

When you get the chicks, place them under her either in early evening or early morning (so you can kind of monitor and check on them soon after you place them under her) Allow her to stay in the nesting box for another day or two to bond with the babies (she will keep them warm as long as they have a bottom layer under them.) Then move them into your maternity wing.

Or if it is safe, you can let her just mother them wherever she wants to. They will stay with her and she will protect them from the rest of the flock. She’s a beautiful girl. Good luck!!

There is a mat in there, they’re never on metal on the bottom, and I gave her aspen nesting pads. She ripped up all of the material and made a nest. It’s really small for chicks and if one falls out, it won’t be able to get back to her so I do have to move her to a new nest. She’s also low on the pecking order because she’s always going broody. *sigh. Thank you!!!! She is