Broody hen! Help!

[(chicken pun)]

My hen Peggy is sitting on 6 eggs and rolling them under her! However I have no roosters so the eggs are not fertile. I would like to buy some fertile eggs to put under her, but I have no idea on how to do it. Please help!

 

[featherhead007]

My hen Peggy is sitting on 6 eggs and rolling them under her! However I have no roosters so the eggs are not fertile. I would like to buy some fertile eggs to put under her, but I have no idea on how to do it. Please help!

So she's brooding 6 eggs? you need to sneak fertile eggs under her to replace the ones she has. be careful not to cause stress on her or any tramma, she just wants to be a mom! My Ameraucana hen was the same way, raised 7 from her first try at moyherhood..
All beautiful birds too!

 

[(chicken pun)]

@featherhead007 Thanks for the feedback! Is there a safe way I can do it without causing any stress/trauma?

 

[55fingers]

I don't know about chickens, but when we have broody ducks, they will sometimes go off during the day to eat or drink or swim (to get humidity for the eggs as far as I know), so maybe if you watch for your hen to go off and eat you can sneak them into the nest?

I could be wrong, though. But I wish you good luck!

 

[(chicken pun)]

@55fingers Thank you for the advice! I will be sure to keep that in mind.

 

[featherhead007]

@featherhead007 Thanks for the feedback! Is there a safe way I can do it without causing any stress/trauma?

Do the switch under the hen slowly after dark or as soon as possible, and mark the fertile eggs with a crayon so you know which ones to watch.. Good luck

 

[aart]

You'll need to decide if you want her to hatch out some chicks, and how you will 'manage' it.
Do you have, or can you get, some fertile eggs?
Do you have the space needed? She may need to be separated by wire from the rest of the flock.
Do you have a plan on what to do with the inevitable males? Rehome, butcher, keep in separate 'bachelor pad'?
If you decide to let her hatch out some fertile eggs, this is a great thread for reference and to ask questions.
It a long one but just start reading the first few pages, then browse thru some more at random.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/496101/broody-hen-thread


If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.
My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop with fed and water

I let her out a couple times a day(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Feed and water added after pic was taken.

 

[jolenep]

We just found that one of our little pullets was brooding and we found 12 eggs hidden
in the coop. We are going to candle them and put the ones that are fertile back under
her cause we want her to have chicks. We have one cockerel. We are going to separate
her from the rest of the flock.

 

[featherhead007]

my ameraucana hen one day dissapeared, and after a month returned with 7 chicks in tow under her...now that's broody!!!
I thought she was gone forever, but nope.. just under the house!!!!