Broody hen, no rooster!

[JoeInPA]

I was going to clean out the coop today and change out the bedding, and I noticed the nesting boxes were occupied all day. I didn't want to disturb the girls while they were laying, so I waited. And waited. And waited. I noticed one hen was not leaving the boxes. And now the others are all up on the roost for bed and she's still laying on the day's eggs in the nest box. She screeched pretty loud when I pet her. She was okay with me petting her after a minute but she didn't like it at first.

So I take it I've got a broody hen. But I don't have a rooster. What do I do? Let her go? The eggs have no chance of hatching. Ive not encountered this situation before. what should I do?

 

[Pyxis]

Either get her some eggs or chicks to hatch/raise, or break her of her broodiness - being broody is hard on them and there's no reason to let them go through it if you aren't going to have them hatch chicks. You can start by tossing her out of the nest box and locking her out of the coop and see if that does it. If it doesn't you might have to go to other measures such as a 'broody breaker' cage.

 

[JoeInPA]

I'm not really looking for chicks, but where could I get fertile eggs? I've heard it trying to break a broody hen is very difficult. I'd rather let her do her thing if possible. I don't want them all going broody though.

 

[Pyxis]

I'm not really looking for chicks, but where could I get fertile eggs? I've heard it trying to break a broody hen is very difficult. I'd rather let her do her thing if possible. I don't want them all going broody though.

You could look around locally - post on local Facebook poultry groups, check Craigslist, etc. Also, lots of breeders sell hatching eggs online and will ship them to you. Though of course chances of hatching shipped eggs is less than local eggs.

 

[JoeInPA]

Thanks for the prompt replies! I found some fertile eggs on Craigslist locally, they are listed as being light Brahmas and Americaunas. My broody hen is a white rock. Does breed matter?

 

[Pyxis]

Thanks for the prompt replies! I found some fertile eggs on Craigslist locally, they are listed as being light Brahmas and Americaunas. My broody hen is a white rock. Does breed matter?

Awesome news! Breed does not matter, she will just be happy to have the eggs.

 

[JoeInPA]

Awesome news! Breed does not matter, she will just be happy to have the eggs.

Great! I'll get in touch with the seller and hopefully I'll be able to get them soon! Should I get a certain number of them? Just swap them out from under her I guess?

 

[Pyxis]

Great! I'll get in touch with the seller and hopefully I'll be able to get them soon! Should I get a certain number of them? Just swap them out from under her I guess?

Just however many you want her to hatch. Some might not make it, so keep that in mind, but then there's always the chance that they all hatch! Six or eight is usually a good number.

Yep, you just swap out the infertile eggs with the new ones. You can do it at night if you want, but usually they don't have a problem with taking the new eggs at any time. You might get bitten getting out the infertile eggs though, haha.

 

[JoeInPA]

Just however many you want her to hatch. Some might not make it, so keep that in mind, but then there's always the chance that they all hatch! Six or eight is usually a good number.

Yep, you just swap out the infertile eggs with the new ones. You can do it at night if you want, but usually they don't have a problem with taking the new eggs at any time. You might get bitten getting out the infertile eggs though, haha.

Good to know. I'm really not looking for more chickens, I have room to take one or two more if they are pullets but any roosters or excess hens would have to be rehomed.

The broody hen can't be sitting on more than 4 eggs currently, because I collected them all yesterday and I only have 4 hens.

 

[JoeInPA]

I still needed to clean out the coop this morning and when I looked outside after breakfast, I noticed all 4 chickens out in the run. She came out to eat and drink and poop I guess. While she was out, I took the eggs out of the nest since there is no reason for her to sit on fruitless eggs. While I was getting supplies ready, she went back inside and sat on a golf ball that I had in there to train them to lay in the boxes (The golf balls likely aren't necessary anymore but they've only been laying about 2 months). I think she pretty quickly realized some of her eggs were missing because she got up, looked at it, looked around, then went back out in the run. I then proceeded to clean the coop out which kept her out for a little while. When I was done she immediately came back in and was carefully inspecting the nest boxes, I'm sure she was wondering where her eggs went. She then went back out and acted as she normally does, she ate some scratch grains I threw in the run, pecked around, etc. She did keep going back inside and checking out the nest boxes though.

I suspect she'll try laying on today's eggs as well, but for the time being I was able to get her up and out and make sure she ate and drank without having to physically pull her from the nest.

Is there any way to "mark" the chickens so I can tell them apart? I have 3 white rocks and I can't tell them apart. I'd like to be able to identify them individually anyways, but especially now that one has gone broody. Is there a leg band or some other way to be able to tell them apart? I don't want anything that is potentially harmful to them, but it would be useful to be able to tell them apart.