Broody Austy come off her nest...

[Candi Chicks]

I have had my Austrolorp hen for 3 years and my Zulu rooster for about 2 years now. Henny Penny lays an egg almost every day but has never been broody till this last week. I acquired 2 Zulu hens Marge and Goldie and they won Sid the roosters heart and straight away Henny P went broody on us.
we were very excited but she chose a nesting box that had 4 of her own eggs and about 4 Zulu hen eggs. she has been sitting for a week now but 3 eggs have broken during the week and today was the third... im not sure what happened but there was a lot of noise from her box and by the time I went to look she was off her nest and hasn't gone back since, about 2 hours now. Before today she has been moving her eggs around quite a bit and seems to be sitting on 2 at one time and then the others at other times... is this normal???
im not sure what to do, do I leave her and chuck the eggs if she doesn't get back on them? the Zulu hens have been laying in another nesting box now and have filled a nest with about 9 eggs... do I put Henny P on them????
please help!!!! im new at this broody story but would love her to be a mom.

 

[forgetful]

Something may have startled her off the nest. Maybe a predator or other chicken. If she isn't back on her next by tomorrow I'd call it a lost cause and say she was broke of being broody. I wouldn't put her on the other nine eggs. As for the eggs she broke, she may just be a clumsy mother, or another chicken may be antagonizing her.

 

[Candi Chicks]

well it looks like she is back on her eggs already but we will see in the morning. thanx for the advise. about the other 9 eggs that belong to the others, do I just leave them there to see if either Zulu hen will sit?

 

[forgetful]

It's good she's back on them! You could collect the other eggs or leave them out. I think it's a completely random draw whether the others will go broody. If you really want chicks you could incubate them, but I wouldn't stick them under Henny. They would hatch a week later then her chicks and she would either abandon the old chicks, the new chicks, or both.

You could number all the eggs already in the nest, so that you know which ones are which, and number new eggs as they get added. Then you could simply take the older eggs out as the days go by but still have a fresh nest if they decide to go broody

 

[Candi Chicks]

well... I've given up on my Austy... she sat on her eggs for about 4 days after I put her and her nesting box in a coop as our Zulu rooster kept chasing her off and she seemed really happy with her new home. but she slowly started sitting on them less and less and is now back with her rooster and the eggs discarded. she isn't really laying either though. about one egg a week... but she isn't showing any more broody signs so im not sure what I should do...

all the while this is all going on, my Zulu hens have both gone broody on me... this was after my staff took most of the eggs out the nests as between the both of them the had about 20 eggs... they are both in the nesting box together... one sitting on the 8 eggs left and the other sitting on nothing. whats' going to happen when these chicks hatch... they have been fantastic moms only getting off their nests for about 15 min a day to dust bath and eat. much better than the Austy. how long will the Zulu's take care of their chicks for before they start laying again? sorry for all the questions but im new at this chicken story!

 

[Den in Penn]

What happens when the chicks hatch depends on the personalities of the hens. They could co-parent or one just ignores them, or something between. You'll just have to wait and see. How long before they lay depends on how long the hormones drive them to mother the chicks. It can vary. Count on them not laying for at least eight weeks, in some cases it can be till the chicks are nearly grown themselves.

 

[Mrs. K]

A trick that I have had high success in keeping a broody mama interested in her chicks in a flock situation, is when the chicks are about two weeks old, lay a wide board, up off the ground, at least a couple of feet. The urge to roost is very strong, she will get those chicks to get up on that board, and then they can still huddle under her for warmth, and she is back to roosting. Other wise, the urge to roost, will often cause her to loose interest in her chicks, sometimes as early as 3 weeks.

I like to leave my broody hen with the flock. A danger point is about day 19-21 days, as when the eggs start to hatch, but once they are hatched and dried off, it works well.

Mrs K

 

[roostersandhens]

I had a broody hatch chicks once, and she had a late hatching egg. She didn't really sit on it, she payed attention mostly to her 10 chicks. So I was sure that if it would have hatched it would be dead. Then 3 days after the others hatched a little beak is pipping out. Sadly, she/he pipped wrong and died over night. The same thing could have happened to any other chick. Trooper (my hen) had done the same thing but she survived. So, it is amazing what eggs can handle. She may come back. They could be dead not fore sure.