Brooder near my adult coop caused chickens to go broody??!!!!

[chkncrazy]

I know this is gonna sound weird but it happened to the MOST UNLIKELY ONES. so I sold my adult flock EXCEPT a Peal white Leghorn and a True Blue (whiting) i have a 10 mixed chciks...aracyanas, rhode island blues, welsummers, etc... They are about 10 weeks... The past 3 weeks they have been sharing a fence with the other girls.... They look at each other but no attcking.... Well about a week about my hens were making and odd clucking sound I havent heard in 20 years..ans i was thinking..."it cant be" well... The white leghorn hasnt left her nesting box in 3 days.... And the true blue is still laying but makes that noise... So maybe she'll be next ....Im looking all over CL for hatching eggs but people want 30 a dozen for mxed mutts.. For that price i could buy day olds and slip em under but i wantnher to have the whole experience... Im asking even ppl whomare selling eggs if theyre hens are with roosters(get my drift).... So weird maybe seeing the chicks did something??!!!! Im from connecticut....

 

[ILoveBabySilkies]

I don’t think hens will go broody just by seeing chicks. Even if they did those chicks are much too old for her to want to want to brood. She’s probably just having a broody moment quite unusual for leghorns but not impossible.

 

[chkncrazy]

I don’t think hens will go broody just by seeing chicks. Even if they did those chicks are much too old for her to want to want to brood. She’s probably just having a broody moment quite unusual for leghorns but not impossible.

Some are 10 weeks some just turned 5 weeks somits a mixed batch... Just seems too coincidental lol

 

[chkncrazy]

I think it's a very interesting theory LOL

 

[ILoveBabySilkies]

Some are 10 weeks some just turned 5 weeks somits a mixed batch... Just seems too coincidental lol

Yes it is surprising that once the chicks came she went broody although I still believe she’s just having a genuine moment of broodiness.

 

[chkncrazy]

Yes it is surprising that once the chicks came she went broody although I still believe she’s just having a genuine moment of broodiness.

Right!!!!! I've had chickens for 28 years and haven't had a broody in probably 15 years so I'm really excited LOL to have a leghorn go broody the week after the chicks were around kind of was weird and she's holding strong it's been a week and she hasn't eaten or drank I have her in her own little separate 3 by 4 rabbit cage with water and food to her left and right hanging and I put 12 eggs under her today that I found from somebody who is selling dozen eggs for $5 and I asked if they had a rooster she said we have three and I said great I'll be right over and we collected them fresh not bad for fertile bags that were meant to be eating eggs LOL better than $30 a dozen

 

[ILoveBabySilkies]

Right!!!!! I've had chickens for 28 years and haven't had a broody in probably 15 years so I'm really excited LOL to have a leghorn go broody the week after the chicks were around kind of was weird and she's holding strong it's been a week and she hasn't eaten or drank I have her in her own little separate 3 by 4 rabbit cage with water and food to her left and right hanging and I put 12 eggs under her today that I found from somebody who is selling dozen eggs for $5 and I asked if they had a rooster she said we have three and I said great I'll be right over and we collected them fresh not bad for fertile bags that were meant to be eating eggs LOL better than $30 a dozen

Sounds like a good deal! Good luck hope they hatch and she’s a good mom!

 

[rosemarythyme]

My FBCM went broody for the first time after seeing my last batch of chicks for a few weeks, so it can happen. The previous time I got chicks, my Buckeye suddenly grew spurs. So apparently adding chicks can do weird things to hens.

Obviously as there was no way she was going to raise the chicks (they were probably 7 weeks at that point) we broke her immediately.

 

[Ruthster55]

My observation is that the sight, and especially the sound, of chicks can induce broodiness in hens other than the mother.

Since March, we’ve had 10 broodies, 7 of which raised chicks. The pattern was 1-7-2-4-3-0-20-0-0-7 with the unsuccessful hens included (mostly possum problems).

Generally, it’s been one hen at a time with chicks and one broody on eggs.

We put Mama + chicks in raised cages for cleanliness and line the bottom of the cage with a piece of cardboard so that I can scatter food for the babies and so it’s not too cold in there. Other than giving feed and water, the hens do the rest of the work better than I could if I used a brooder.

When I’ve had losses, it’s been related to rain storms after I let Mama + babies out of their cage. (Too early....).

 

[chkncrazy]

My observation is that the sight, and especially the sound, of chicks can induce broodiness in hens other than the mother.

Since March, we’ve had 10 broodies, 7 of which raised chicks. The pattern was 1-7-2-4-3-0-20-0-0-7 with the unsuccessful hens included (mostly possum problems).

Generally, it’s been one hen at a time with chicks and one broody on eggs.

We put Mama + chicks in raised cages for cleanliness and line the bottom of the cage with a piece of cardboard so that I can scatter food for the babies and so it’s not too cold in there. Other than giving feed and water, the hens do the rest of the work better than I could if I used a brooder.

When I’ve had losses, it’s been related to rain storms after I let Mama + babies out of their cage. (Too early....).

I'm glad it's not just me ..... my Whiting true blue is showing signs of broodiness but she's not sitting all those she has grown Spurs which is probably something to do to the breed but as for the Leghorn going Broody that has never happened with me oh, and I've never have any chicks I've gotten with a common fence with the adults..... who knows anyhow I put 12 eggs under her hope that's not too many for a Leghorn