Broody hen advice

[SilverBirds]

She is a LF Cochin. I still have fake eggs in the nest boxes but not letting her collect eggs. I have been collecting hers to put in the incubator on Friday.

I will see what she does the rest of the week and decide if I try her incubating them or put them in the incubator. But will have the incubator and brooder as a back up if I try her.

If she is a Cochin, she will go broody at some point in her life. They are the most dedicated mothers ever.

(My cochin is the crazy bird that sits on nothing and I tried ALL the methods to break her and she STILL would return to the nest after four days of chicken jail, being dipped in water, closing off the boxes, etc.)

 

[junior67]

If she is a Cochin, she will go broody at some point in her life. They are the most dedicated mothers ever.

(My cochin is the crazy bird that sits on nothing and I tried ALL the methods to break her and she STILL would return to the nest after four days of chicken jail, being dipped in water, closing off the boxes, etc.)

Lol. I have 3 Cochin hens.... Hoping they aren't too bad!!!! I only have 3 eggs though. Debating on ordering some from eBay. I am trying to get some splash cochins.... I had thought she would lay Wed-Fri so I would have 3 more eggs at least but if she is going broody then thinking I will only have the 3.... But the one listing I found for BBS eggs they won't be here till Fri-mon and if she doesn't fully commit I was hoping to get them in the incubator on Friday ..

 

[junior67]

Here's how to tell she is broody:

She will be sitting on a nest
She will turn into a pancake if you pick her up and set her on the ground
She may or may not bite, growl, hiss when you come near
She will walk around puffed up and growl when the other chickens come near
She will sleep on the nest night

I just really read through this (was at work when I read it before. LOL).

ok so she is sitting but getting off for longer stretches than I thought a broody does (at least right now)

I haven't tried to take her off so no pancake.

She did let me Pet her and seemed ok with it

When she was out this morning and I was watching her when I was at work I was getting a bit nervous since she seemed a bit more "puffed" then normal so was starting to question if something was wrong with her since she was off the nest for a while and seemed extra puffy... ...

she slept on the nest last night.

 

[junior67]

I figure the earliest I would give her eggs would be Thurs or Fri anyways.... but if I order some it may not be till Sat-Tue....... hmmmmm

But so far yesterday she was on from 12-2 off for 1 hr 45 min. then back on from 3:45-6ish. then of for 15 min. and back on from about 6:15 pm till 6am this morning.

Today she was off from 6am till 9:30am it is now almost 3 and she is still on.....

are those normal times to be off or a bit long still? I thought I heard they are off for maybe 30 min. a day.

 

[NatJ]

But so far yesterday she was on from 12-2 off for 1 hr 45 min. then back on from 3:45-6ish. then of for 15 min. and back on from about 6:15 pm till 6am this morning.

Today she was off from 6am till 9:30am it is now almost 3 and she is still on.....

are those normal times to be off or a bit long still? I thought I heard they are off for maybe 30 min. a day.

Hens sometimes spend a few days sort-of broody before they really commit to it. I think it's just the changing hormones-- it's not quite as sudden as flipping a switch from normal to broody all at once.

I've seen some hens stay off the nest for different amounts of time depending on the temperature that day, as if they think "Today is cold, I'd better eat fast and get back to the eggs" or "It's warm today, the eggs should be fine while I have a dust bath too."

I would say it's normal to have a bit of variation from one hen to another, but you want a broody hen to spend "most" of her time on the eggs, including all night, before you give her eggs. There's no point in wasting eggs if she isn't serious about sitting.

 

[junior67]

Hens sometimes spend a few days sort-of broody before they really commit to it. I think it's just the changing hormones-- it's not quite as sudden as flipping a switch from normal to broody all at once.

I've seen some hens stay off the nest for different amounts of time depending on the temperature that day, as if they think "Today is cold, I'd better eat fast and get back to the eggs" or "It's warm today, the eggs should be fine while I have a dust bath too."

I would say it's normal to have a bit of variation from one hen to another, but you want a broody hen to spend "most" of her time on the eggs, including all night, before you give her eggs. There's no point in wasting eggs if she isn't serious about sitting.

oh I am definitely not wasting any eggs! LOL As it is I already set 2 batches of eggs in the incubator that did NOTHING. so feel like I "wasted" those as it is. LOL trimmed some feathers around the vent so praying they are fertile now and do something!

Thanks for all that advice. good to know and keep in mind.

Any way with out confining her to one area to keep her in the same nest box? I have 3. yesterday she was in the middle one (the one she always lays in), got out went back to the middle one. got out at 6 went in to an end one..... stayed in that one all night. got out this am and went to the middle one when she went back this morning. I went out to collect eggs and got the ones beside her and let her know I was going to have to get the one(s) under her (someone had laid there earlier when she was in the run). Well she got out. wasn't out for long again and went back in but again went to one of the end ones...........


I am a tad annoyed. So I made an offer on the BBS cochin eggs so I can add those to hers (will have questions on what to do with those when they come)....... Well when I made the offer shipping was $13.70, eggs were $15.50. I offered $10 for the eggs (figured why not try). Well they accepted then sent me an invoice for $10 for the eggs and $20 shipping....... HUH??????? So they can just change shipping from my offer????? so now instead of paying $29.20 they are billing me $30 for an offer that SHOULD have saved me $5.50..............

 

[SilverBirds]

I wouldn't lock her in box or move her yet as this may deter her from being broody. I'd say block off the other boxes but if you have other hens then they'd just kick her her nest. Try to let one nest with eggs and keep the other ones clean of eggs. I've had this problem to and it is very annoying.


Well that sucks.

 

[junior67]

I wouldn't lock her in box or move her yet as this may deter her from being broody. I'd say block off the other boxes but if you have other hens then they'd just kick her her nest. Try to let one nest with eggs and keep the other ones clean of eggs. I've had this problem to and it is very annoying.


Well that sucks.

ok. ya I don't want to stop her from being broody and since I am not putting eggs under her yet I will let her be. I will just move all the fake eggs to the middle box and see if that helps. I can't collect the other eggs until a few hours after they are laid at least tomorrow. (Thurs-Sun I should be able to as I am off of work). the 2 end ones each had 2 fake eggs and the middle one had 1. so when she went out I did move one from the end one she had gone to last night to the middle one so that had 2..... But for whatever reason she still went back to the end one (that now has 1). But maybe if middle one has a few and end ones have nothing she will go to the middle one. Hopefully once she figures out this broody business she will stay in the same box. haahaa.

ya I am attempting to cancel it, I did send a message to the seller but I had sent one asking about 6 eggs instead of 12 that they never answered so figured they wouldn't answer my question on why the shipping went up $6.30 after I made an offer........ So now attempting to cancel it because of "wrong billing information" (closest I could get to real reason) so lets see what happens.

 

[junior67]

Ok got the eggs for the correct price.

So now what do I do with them when they come in? I need to wait before I give them to her right?

 

[SilverBirds]

Ok got the eggs for the correct price.

So now what do I do with them when they come in? I need to wait before I give them to her right?

Yes, it's best to let shipped eggs set for a few hours. You can place them in an egg carton pointy side down so the airsacs can settle. I normally let mine set for around 12ish hours before incubating.