Broody day 11 can we start again? HELP!!!

[barnyard critters]

We've never had a broody before. Need advice. Cochin is in the nesting box that is a too small for her to effectively turn her eggs. She ends up in the common alley behind the nest and gets disturbed by traffic. We've lost a few eggs all ready. Could we start again with a fresh batch of eggs and put her in her own pen in our doghouse?

 

[MissPrissy]

No. Going over 30 days will cause her to loose too much weight and she could never recover from it.

Set up the pen or dog box where you want her to nest.

Wait until night when the chickens have gone to roost.

Go out and move her after dark.

Break up the old nest.

Hopefully she will not be broken from her brood and will sit the eggs where you put her.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I've had them set for 21 days on air and want to set longer so I set eggs under them and they set another 21 days...no ill affects...just make sure she has food and water close by..mine have always let me feed them by hand at times if I think they are not getting up enough or move the food closer to where she can just peck from the nest.... I would move her tho to an enclosed cage or enclosure of the henhouse that she has all to herself.......my thoughts and I'm on my 10th Broody since Spring!!....

 

[Barnyard]

Although MissPrissy is smart as a whip,

and I have taken advice from her many time's and would do it again. I would have to agree with Tuffoldhen on this one. I have had to start over a couple of time with my broody hens, either because another hen has stepped on her eggs and broke them or because they were dud's and she was still determined to set. I have had nothing go wrong with any of mine so far. I too will hand feed my girls or just put the food in front of them in the nest box. Alote of time's when I go to do my morning chores I will take the hen off of the nest while I am there that waY I can watch her and make sure she eat's and drinks...... GOODLUCK!!

 

[seminolewind]

Although Miss Prissy has suffered from too many bee stings, and I never take her advice, I have to agree with her . After seeing the stress (IMO) that my two hens went thru ; hot, not eating , not drinking cept for once a day, and my one hen only left the nest every other day. I can't stress my little mamas like that. Sure, sometimes they do it to themselves, but even then, I would step in and change their mind.

 

[MissPrissy]

It was just this week a broody died after her hatch for no apparaent reason. Not everyone is able to hand feed or feed through the day and tend to the hens. Some hens won't let you tend to them. I have seen some very pitiful looking hens have a brood (not my own but other people's hens). Brooding is a huge stress on their body. What works some people does not always work for others. I would not let a hen sit for 42 days straight.

Although Miss Prissy has suffered from too many bee stings, and I never take her advice, I have to agree with her .

I have never been stung by a bee in my life.

 

[speckledhen]

I guess it might depend on the hen. If she is one that will let you feed her and handle her and keep her weight up, that might be okay, but my own personal opinion is that I wouldn't let one sit twice back to back if I could help it. I had one very close to death the first time she went broody, to the point of twitching her head and not being able to walk. This is with us removing her from the nest forcibly to eat, drink and poop. At the end she quit the first two entirely and we had to take emergency measures. I'm sure a second round would have killed her if we hadn't noticed what was happening. I know some hens are very determined, but I'd be too afraid I'd lose her.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I must have special hens that do Broodiness well.....

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi!
I would say *yes* give her fresh eggs.
Be prepared to artificially finish incubating the eggs if she doesn't stay with them the extra time --- but she can't count and as long as hormones dictate she should be broody, she will.

"No. Going over 30 days will cause her to loose too much weight and she could never recover from it."

Where did you read that? It is certainly not from experience.
My hens all seem to have a bit more 'self preservation' and walk off when they are tired of being broody.

I don't let hens raise chicks, just brood and hatch eggs.
At the peak of 'broody season', I had 25 broody girls

There are only 14 broody hens right now and just 8 are on eggs.
I guess if you run across a hen that will set and not take care of herself, then that is a problem. That wouldn't be something I'd want here.

Lisa​

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
I have never been stung by a bee in my life.

My first hen, Clarisse, can't tolerate heat well, and she sat in the coop panting so I had to put her in front of a window and put a fan on her. And I made sure she had food and water within reach, and she got people leftovers every evening.
My other hen I did the same with. They both didn't even go to the bathroom every day.
I don't want my little mommies to be stressed too much