Kflores80
Chirping
- May 11, 2024
- 22
- 65
- 69
As I have mentioned on my past posts, I’m still very new to having a flock. I currently have 4 hens (3 red sexlinks and a wild mix). All 4 lay eggs. The smallest one, Karen (wild mix), lays a small cute little egg lol. Compared to the other 3, she’s miniature… we call the 3 reds Godzilla hens lol… Anyhow… from what I’ve been reading I’m thinking what I’m seeing is a broody hen. But how to manage it is where the suggestions seem vary to a significant degree. We have no rooster so none of the eggs are ever fertilized. Last Saturday, I noticed Karen didn’t greet me at the fence every morning as she normally does so I had assumed she was busy in egg production. As the day went on, I kept checking on her and noticed she never left the nesting box. By Sunday, she had still not moved. Now here’s where my newbie is probably going to show. Please be gentle lol I’m sure I have done something wrong but….
Concerned… I opened the back hatch to the nesting spot, which is how I collect eggs. When I opened the door… as you might imagine, she was not pleased with me. She puffed out her feathers and was making strange chatter sounds (wasn’t a growl). So I shut the box and began researching online. She was definitely not eating that I could see and likely not drinking. Not drinking was a huge concern… I live in the Keys… it’s very hot here. Anyhow… I have had mixed messages on what to do. Some of what I’ve read said to leave her be. Other sites insisted on removing her if there is no chance of fertilized eggs (this seemed to be the more consistent response). So… I removed her Monday and had her run around free with her buddies. She ate a bit, scratched a bit, went back into the coop and had food and water… then right back to the nesting box. I repeated the same thing today. She is clearly annoyed with me because she fluffs her feathers at me and pecks my hand in between scratching at the ground lol… of course… Karen is real sassy anyhow but this was extra sassy even for Karen.
I’m fairly confident this is brooding behavior. What do I do? Again, we have no rooster and no intentions on ever fertilizing the eggs. Leave her be? Remove her?
Any suggestions are welcome! Please and thank you!!
Concerned… I opened the back hatch to the nesting spot, which is how I collect eggs. When I opened the door… as you might imagine, she was not pleased with me. She puffed out her feathers and was making strange chatter sounds (wasn’t a growl). So I shut the box and began researching online. She was definitely not eating that I could see and likely not drinking. Not drinking was a huge concern… I live in the Keys… it’s very hot here. Anyhow… I have had mixed messages on what to do. Some of what I’ve read said to leave her be. Other sites insisted on removing her if there is no chance of fertilized eggs (this seemed to be the more consistent response). So… I removed her Monday and had her run around free with her buddies. She ate a bit, scratched a bit, went back into the coop and had food and water… then right back to the nesting box. I repeated the same thing today. She is clearly annoyed with me because she fluffs her feathers at me and pecks my hand in between scratching at the ground lol… of course… Karen is real sassy anyhow but this was extra sassy even for Karen.
I’m fairly confident this is brooding behavior. What do I do? Again, we have no rooster and no intentions on ever fertilizing the eggs. Leave her be? Remove her?
Any suggestions are welcome! Please and thank you!!
