Broody Golden Comet with no Rooster

[mraymond]

I have a Broody Golden Comet. At first I thought she was just cold or ill, but nope she is Broody. We got the eggs from under her and today I went out and she's sitting on more today. When I tried to get them she went mad! Mind you we have NOOO Rooster so it's not like they can hatch. Should I continue to collect eggs as they won't form chicks. Also, could I get some fertilized eggs from someone and put them under her? I'd love to have her raise some littles...

 

[SueT]

I have a Broody Golden Comet. At first I thought she was just cold or ill, but nope she is Broody. We got the eggs from under her and today I went out and she's sitting on more today. When I tried to get them she went mad! Mind you we have NOOO Rooster so it's not like they can hatch. Should I continue to collect eggs as they won't form chicks. Also, could I get some fertilized eggs from someone and put them under her? I'd love to have her raise some littles...

Yes you can get some fertile eggs and put them under her. Or break the broodiness by putting her in isolation in a wire bottom cage for 3 days and nights…..sometimes it takes more, sometimes less. It’s not a good idea to allow her to go on and on broody, most won’t give up

 

[NatJ]

Should I continue to collect eggs as they won't form chicks.

Yes, continue to collect the eggs, unles you want a big clutch of rotten eggs.

Also, could I get some fertilized eggs from someone and put them under her? I'd love to have her raise some littles...

Yes, you could do that.
Just remember to plan what you will do when half of the chicks are males.
And maybe have a backup plan in case she quits partway through (it happens on occasion, and usually causes some frantic searching for an incubator!)

As a practical matter, I think you should separate the hen from the others before you give her any fertile eggs. That will stop the other hens from adding eggs to her nest, and you will not have to sort the eggs every day.

If you move the hen to a different spot, she may stay broody, or she may quit being broody. Personally, I would move her to a suitable place, give her a few fake eggs and watch to see if she remains broody, and THEN get fertile eggs. (You can be looking for a source of fertile eggs while you are giving her a day or two to test whether she stays broody.)

 

[Ridgerunner]

Should I continue to collect eggs as they won't form chicks.

Yes. Even if they were fertile you can still use them as long as you collect them every day. Since yours are not fertile you could go longer but I'd stick to the every day collection.

Also, could I get some fertilized eggs from someone and put them under her?

Yes, people do that all the time. A committed broody hen will hatch turkey, pheasant, or duck eggs and will try to hatch door knobs or golf balls. It doesn't need to be her own eggs.

If you want her to hatch eggs I'd mark a couple of real eggs or get a couple of fake eggs and leave them under her while you get the fertile eggs. You have two basic approaches on how to go about hatching.

Some people isolate the broody from the rest of the flock. You can either prepare a pen with a nest, food, and water and lock her in there until the eggs hatch. As NatJ said the biggest risk is that she may break from being broody when you move her. Or maybe you can build a pen around her nest with food and water but totally lock her in and the other hens out for the duration. You will need to feed and water her and clean out poop.

If you let her hatch with the flock you need to mark the eggs you want her to hatch and every day after the others have laid remove any eggs that don't belong.

There are some variations of those but those are the two basic ways. If you decide on one let us know what your facilities look like and we can work on details with you.

 

[mraymond]

Yes. Even if they were fertile you can still use them as long as you collect them every day. Since yours are not fertile you could go longer but I'd stick to the every day collection.


Yes, people do that all the time. A committed broody hen will hatch turkey, pheasant, or duck eggs and will try to hatch door knobs or golf balls. It doesn't need to be her own eggs.

If you want her to hatch eggs I'd mark a couple of real eggs or get a couple of fake eggs and leave them under her while you get the fertile eggs. You have two basic approaches on how to go about hatching.

Some people isolate the broody from the rest of the flock. You can either prepare a pen with a nest, food, and water and lock her in there until the eggs hatch. As NatJ said the biggest risk is that she may break from being broody when you move her. Or maybe you can build a pen around her nest with food and water but totally lock her in and the other hens out for the duration. You will need to feed and water her and clean out poop.

If you let her hatch with the flock you need to mark the eggs you want her to hatch and every day after the others have laid remove any eggs that don't belong.

There are some variations of those but those are the two basic ways. If you decide on one let us know what your facilities look like and we can work on details with you.

Thanks so much, I can make her a pen where she is now that'll keep the others out. Luckily cold spell is breaking this week so will be easier to get to her area and clean once ice is gone too. I found a local source for hatching eggs, grabbed an incubator and going to put 3 or so with her to hatch and put the other 9 in the incubator since I wanted chicks anyhow. I can only get a dozen at a time from this source so I am hoping I will get a few chicks if I try both ways.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That's what I usually do. Give some to a broody and put some in the incubator. When they hatch give them all to the hen to raise.

One time I put some eggs under a broody hen so the hatch would coincide with when my granddaughter would be visiting. I did not put any in the incubator. A thin-shelled egg broke and contaminated the rest of the eggs, none hatched. Luckily I had not told anyone my plan, it was to be a surprise. After that I always put some under the broody and some in the incubator so the hen would have some to raise.

The only other time a broody hatch was a total failure was when a snake ate the eggs out from under the broody. But I had eggs in the incubator so she got to raise several chicks.

 

[JedJackson]

Personally, I would break her of broodiness. A Golden Comet hen is likely to be an unreliable sitter and mother. You could put fertile eggs under her only for her to abandon the nest.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Personally I never worry about breed, age, or if she is a first time broody. If one goes broody when I want a hen to hatch some eggs I give her eggs. I have had some better than others but I've never seen a correlation to any of those factors. I've never had one abandon a nest.

By putting three under the broody and 9 in the incubator you are spreading the risk.

Let us know what happens whichever way you decide and regardless of what happens.