Broody Hen - New To This!

[bobbi-j]

I wouldn’t toss her off. She’ll get off the nest to eat and drink on her own as she needs. I am very hands off with my broodies. My current one is sectioned off in the coop. I just put food and water in for her and let her be, other when I candle the eggs after the first week or so.

 

[aart]

I wouldn’t toss her off. She’ll get off the nest to eat and drink on her own as she needs. I am very hands off with my broodies. My current one is sectioned off in the coop. I just put food and water in for her and let her be, other when I candle the eggs after the first week or so.

A definite advantage when sectioning them off, you can see if they've eaten/drunk and pooped.

 

[akf93]

I wouldn’t toss her off. She’ll get off the nest to eat and drink on her own as she needs. I am very hands off with my broodies. My current one is sectioned off in the coop. I just put food and water in for her and let her be, other when I candle the eggs after the first week or so.

Okay! I don’t have a way to section her off though and I’m probably just worrying too much but I never saw her off the nest the first two days. And I’m home all day and out there often. She’s fine? The food is in the run and the water is just outside the run.

 

[bobbi-j]

Okay! I don’t have a way to section her off though and I’m probably just worrying too much but I never saw her off the nest the first two days. And I’m home all day and out there often. She’s fine? The food is in the run and the water is just outside the run.

Perfect! It’s good for her to get off the nest to eat, drink and poop. They don’t get off the nest often, and if left to their own devices would never be seen on or off the nest. They want to be sneaky about it. (Perhaps instinctively, so predators don’t find them?) Chickens have been reproducing and taking care of themselves for centuries without human “help”. They’re way better at being chickens than we sometimes give them credit for.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've seen a broody hen come off of her nest twice a day and stay off for over an hour each time. I had a broody that came off every morning for about 15 minutes and spent the rest of her time on the nest. I've had several hens that I never saw off of the nest but I knew they were coming off because when I checked for new eggs there was no poop in the nest.
I don't think it hurts to take an established broody off of the nest once a day as you are doing. I've never found it necessary to take one off. But a logical time to do that would be when you are checking under her for fresh eggs after the others have finished laying for the day. I don't think it hurts anything and it will probably make you feel better.

 

[Vicker]

Well that’s good! I had read that sometimes more girls will go broody once the first does so it’s more reason to break them fast. again, I’m new to all this!

One broody hen can most definitely trigger others to become broody. It's all hormonal.

 

[Vicker]

Black Australorps have been the most hardcore broody birds I've had over the past 17 years. Sometimes I have 3 going at one time. They don't lay eggs in this state, and they prevent the others from having access to the nest boxes. The only thing that breaks the spell with them is putting them in broody jail until they stop puffing up like a turkey and making their mama hen sounds. What can be achieved in one day with other breeds usually takes 3 days with this bunch. I suspect one of my "pullets" is a rooster. If so, I might keep him and let them hatch some eggs.

 

[Potatofluffycheeksforever]

Broodiness fortunately is not contagious

I’d say it’s unfortunate that’s is not contagious

 

[Munsonchicks]

I had 2 hens that were broody a couple times over the summer. They both happened to be buff Orpingtons. I just keep going out there a few times a day and removing them from the box and putting them in the run with the others. Eventually they got over it. I ended up giving one of them to my friend who had incubated chicks. Apparently mine hen took over caring for them and was the best mother

 

[Chicken mob]

I’ve got my first broody hen. Just started today. I keep taking her out of the box and putting her with her flock and trying to distract with snacks but she keeps ending up back on the nest - sometimes different nests. After closing them up tonight, I took her out and put her on a roost.

Should I keep doing what I’m doing? Should I give her fake eggs? I do have a rooster. Is there a way to tell which eggs are fertile so I can give her some? Or should I get chicks at the feed store? What should I do? I don’t want it to “spread”. My laying girls don’t lay enough as it is. But I’m okay with a few more chicks if that’s the better route. However, it’s getting cold now and *I* don’t want to be caring for chicks.

Thoughts???

I have a small pen with an enclosed cage in it in the corner of my run . When a girl goes broody I put her in the "jail" until she stops clucking, this has worked very well for me.