Broody hen cause others to stop laying?

[josh59]

So one of my hens finally became Broody and i have noticed that now the egg production has dropped with my other hens. Is this a result of one Brody hen? Or is something else at play? They are TSC hens, most likely calico princesses

 

[CluckNDoodle]

If she has gone broody in a regular nest box, some broody hens aren't the most pleasant neighbors when trying to lay an egg in the neighboring box. Is it possible she's being aggressive toward the other hens and they found a safe place to lay their eggs elsewhere?

Or have you checked underneath your broody? Other hens will often try laying eggs under a broody hen or the broody will steal eggs from other boxes to roll under herself.

The only other thing I can think of at the moment is that sometimes having one broody does encourage others to go broody as well.

 

[josh59]

If she has gone broody in a regular nest box, some broody hens aren't the most pleasant neighbors when trying to lay an egg in the neighboring box. Is it possible she's being aggressive toward the other hens and they found a safe place to lay their eggs elsewhere?

Or have you checked underneath your broody? Other hens will often try laying eggs under a broody hen or the broody will steal eggs from other boxes to roll under herself.

The only other thing I can think of at the moment is that sometimes having one broody does encourage others to go broody as well.

I was wondering if they might be laying somewhere else as well. Will have to keep on eye on them tom morning. I lifted her up today, she was none too happy, and there are 14 eggs under her.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I was wondering if they might be laying somewhere else as well. Will have to keep on eye on them tom morning. I lifted her up today, she was none too happy, and there are 14 eggs under her.

If I were you, I would mark the eggs under her so you will know if another hen deposits and egg. Lol

 

[Ridgerunner]

Did finding all those eggs under her answer your question? Or do we need to proceed with that?

Do you want her to hatch eggs? Are those eggs fertile? You said it was your first broody, we might be able to help you be more successful if more chicks are your goals. I'm not sure how to respond to your post.

 

[josh59]

Did finding all those eggs under her answer your question? Or do we need to proceed with that?

Do you want her to hatch eggs? Are those eggs fertile? You said it was your first broody, we might be able to help you be more successful if more chicks are your goals. I'm not sure how to respond to your post.

I was just curious as to if a broody hen could cause other hens to stop laying. These eggs are fertilized, which is why i was trying to encourage one of the hens to go broody. I think i may try and move this particular hen and the eggs to another location so she can be alone. Im somewhat nervous as to how the rooster will act with new chicks. Sorry for not being specific in what i was looking for

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Good luck!

There are lots of threads on how to manage broody hens and what happens when the chicks hatch.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A broody hen can change the dynamics of a flock some, any change to any chicken in the flock possibly can, but unless it is a small flock a broody should not that much. There are lots of other things that are more likely to cause laying issues than a broody hen. That's part of the adventure with living animals though, you never really know what will happen.

Don't worry about being specific to start with. I appreciate you coming back to answer a question, there are a lot of people on this forum that don't do that so we are just left hanging.

It's important that all the eggs that go under a broody hen start at the same time. Sounds like those eggs may not have. I'd suggest if you move her to collect all the eggs you want her to hatch fresh and start them when you move her. That can avoid a staggered hatch which can be very stressful and often not real successful. I know eggs get pretty precious when they go under a broody hen but I think you'll be better off your first hatch if you can toss those and start fresh.

This goes under the anything can happen with living animals but my roosters don't bother young chicks with a broody. It's a bit rare but occasionally they help Mama take care of the chicks, usually they just ignore them. I would not worry about the rooster, the other hens are more dangerous. And Mama can be very protective. Not many chickens want to face the wrath of a mad momma hen.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

@Ridgerunner - would you recommend separating the broody a bit from the group? Or maybe nothing is wrong with the flock except that their eggs were stolen by Madame Broody!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I let my hens hatch with the flock. That doesn't men it's best for everyone. I have a large coop, plenty of room outside, and several nests. I grew up with hens hatching with the flock so it just feels natural. And there are probably things I don't even think about that makes it OK for me. Things sometime happen that I'm laid back enough to just deal with, others would freak out. I see posts on here all the time where some people really get upset about things that I'm OK with. My personality versus someone else's comes into play.

I collect all the eggs I want a broody to hatch, mark them, put them under her, and check under her once a day, removing any eggs that don't belong. Some people really don't want to check under a broody. When the eggs hatch I put food and water on the coop floor where the chicks can get to them when the hen brings them off the nest. That's all I do. Some people can't stand to not be a lot more involved.

One thing that can happen is that a hen might go back to the wrong nest. Most of my broodies don't do that but occasionally I have one that does. I just toss her back on the right nest. It hasn't stopped eggs from hatching yet.

Some people worry about other hens laying with the hen, sounds like yours are. They might worry about a hen possibly breaking an egg by stepping in it when she enters to lay an egg. The hens might, just like they might break an egg by laying in a nest where an egg was laid earlier that day even with no broody present. It doesn't happen often but it could. A broody hen might break an egg walking on them getting on and off the nest whether she is with the flock or not.

If you move a broody hen, one risk is that she will break from being broody. She just might not accept the move. If you decide to move her build a pen of find a predator proof place where you can lock her in and never let her out. It needs to be big enough to hold a nest, food, and water. No much else. A little room for her to go poop would be nice. She should know by instinct to not poop in her nest but that instinct does not carry over to food or water. Gov yourself access to clean it out.

I'm rambling because I don't know what to recommend. I think there are risks if she hatches with the flock. I think there are risks if she hatches in isolation. I don't know that one is better than the other. it's just different ways to do it.