broodiness ALARM in almost entire flock !

strangeanimal

Songster
Mar 21, 2017
295
106
116
Belgium
2 broodies , I was glad they were broody and were set apart in a for broody hens built coop , I just make ' broodycoops ' so they have some area to walk in and can be set in all peace and quite , few days ago one in the flock became broody and I tried to break her using the broodycage , that was already on my mind yet wasn't sure untill a member here with lots of experience in that also recommanded the cage to use for a breaker . She did break but today it was just same old , back to the cage , no comfort at all , and have done it exactly how that member does : the cage up , so not on the ground I used 4 wooden palls for each corner of the cage to put it high and from the ground , she lays an egg , yippie , she is sitting on it with that glare , remove the egg she just goes back to sitting flat on the metal cagewire as if she is on a nest ! now this is not the only broody ( unwanted broody ) , I see today this morning no eggs ! and what else do I see ? 2 hens sitting against eachother like two lovedoves with that same glare , not moving if you come near them unless ... you want to take the eggs they have been stealing and had layed themselves , one is already that broody she hisses and growls and once your hand gets too close she already attacks , the other one too but her pecking is less painfull because she does it as a small warning , not a big , now I assumed the rest was free ranging , and they did , how nice to meet a broodyclub under a bush ! same story , all broody hens , so I have now 9 broody hens on ONE day ! only 3 are just acting like usual , the leghorns ... now my question : what to do now ? the weather has apperantly changed into official summer/spring and I have only one cage that is not even breaking them , they really seemed to have made up their minds like ' nope , you will not have me laying your eggs for consumption , I will lay my eggs untill I have a clutch and i sit on it or simply ' I did steal enough , I am going to raise them !!! ' .
One broody did seemed to be less broody so I think this one is still easy to break but the rest of them is doing what the birds in the trees do . What can I do ??? they don't even sit on fertile eggs and I did plan a hatch this summer but not now already ( still looking for the right eggs ) , they can't all be broody because I'm only going to have two hatching , but not the eggs from our own roo and hens , I'm looking for eggs on ebay and forums to hatch the breeds I like for the new flock . The flock is also going to disappear as I have putted a lot on sale and few for free plus a few as meatbirds for our family since they have decided my coop had to be sloped because the area is expanding in houses ... so I end up by that time with only my small backyard where I have my fruits and vegetables and a small run , also it has become an issue they free range so therefor their broodiness is NOT wanted at all since the most of them will leave and I have been limited in my chickens and run , the run can only take up 5-7 chickens , however 7 is already given the guidelines too much for their area ... really need some help in this because if they are sold being broody I'm gonna have clients buying chickens that won't lay yet ... All input welcome !!!
 
When a hen goes broody in our coop my mom and I wait about a week to ensure full broodiness then we go out and buy a few chicks of the breed we want (Maran usually) and slip them under the hen at night. She wakes up thinking they hatched and hopefully will accept them.
 
When a hen goes broody in our coop my mom and I wait about a week to ensure full broodiness then we go out and buy a few chicks of the breed we want (Maran usually) and slip them under the hen at night. She wakes up thinking they hatched and hopefully will accept them.
haha never tought of that but I think that is a great idea !!! Here I'm dealing with a lot of marans too but that is exactly what I right now NOT want to hatch because of the fact most of them are leaving and especially I need some variety and I'll have to be carefull in my selection , got a few orpingtons and some other mixed hens but they all leave or be meatbirds ( lot of them aged really and that s actually not a bad timing to have a smaller flock then but not only marans , barred rock and leghorns and orpingtons , I am going for the breeds on the wishlist and marans is one of the breeds i want to keep yet in two different colours , the ones I own are the BCopper , actually there is not that much of color and since it is the backyard without flowers but lots of vegetable it is a quite ' sombre ' sight , like some colour right now , this is more a boring look , the only real colour here is the tomato LOL . Once they see chicks , does the broodiness go away or are they still ?? and on what time you set them under ?? because I believe a chicken also knows those chicks couldn't have hatched if she didn't hear the eggs right ? plus on top of that marans I'm quite sure will accept but some chickens do not accept anything that is to their opinion a ' weird ' one , for example if they have 5 white chicks and there is one black ? some hens will abandon that one , read it here on this forum as well , plus not all chicks are available but hatchingeggs are , so bit a risk for some of them , perhaps i need to select the ones that will adopt quite anything ?? orpington ??? marans ??
 
If you give a broody chicks she is now as mama and needs to raise the kids. It takes time for her hormones to get back to normal.

When your clients pick up the birds let them know she will not be laying for a while as a move is stressful.
You could also call the clients and see if they want a couple chicks with the hen. Maybe they could choose the breed too.
 
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haha never tought of that but I think that is a great idea !!! Here I'm dealing with a lot of marans too but that is exactly what I right now NOT want to hatch because of the fact most of them are leaving and especially I need some variety and I'll have to be carefull in my selection , got a few orpingtons and some other mixed hens but they all leave or be meatbirds ( lot of them aged really and that s actually not a bad timing to have a smaller flock then but not only marans , barred rock and leghorns and orpingtons , I am going for the breeds on the wishlist and marans is one of the breeds i want to keep yet in two different colours , the ones I own are the BCopper , actually there is not that much of color and since it is the backyard without flowers but lots of vegetable it is a quite ' sombre ' sight , like some colour right now , this is more a boring look , the only real colour here is the tomato LOL . Once they see chicks , does the broodiness go away or are they still ?? and on what time you set them under ?? because I believe a chicken also knows those chicks couldn't have hatched if she didn't hear the eggs right ? plus on top of that marans I'm quite sure will accept but some chickens do not accept anything that is to their opinion a ' weird ' one , for example if they have 5 white chicks and there is one black ? some hens will abandon that one , read it here on this forum as well , plus not all chicks are available but hatchingeggs are , so bit a risk for some of them , perhaps i need to select the ones that will adopt quite anything ?? orpington ??? marans ??
We never had a problem with coloring. We bought these two Marans last year to put under this bantam hen. I ran out to check on them throughout the night and she was fine. The next morning she had accepted them. Sometimes a hen won't accept them but you never know.
 

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