I got my very first chicks ever just last summer. I have 15 hens and 1 rooster who all hatched early last July (5 Buff Orpingtons, 5 Black Austrolorps, 5 Columbian Wyandotts and the roo's a Partridge Cochin). We got our first egg on Christmas Eve and they've all started producing since then. We've been getting 12-14 eggs a day now for over a month. (YAY!!)
Now, one of my Buff Orpingtons (Sadie) seems to be going broody. She's sitting in the nest box most of the time, puffs up and grumbles when we gather the eggs (often 2 or 3 under her in the late morning) and pecked my hubby's hand when he got them the other day. This morning when I "rolled" her for her eggs, I noticed she's pulled her feathers on her chest/belly.
I'm not sure what to do at this point. I've read threads on how to break her broodiness, but I'm worried about her naked belly! Our temps right now are not getting above 15F and usually below zero at night. Our windchill today is -33!! I assume she'll just spend most of her time in the hen house (we have a heat lamp in there when it's this cold) until she grows her feathers back, but I'm not sure how long that'll be. Also, if she's this far into a broody period, will it be harder to break her?
I actually had THOUGHT of letting one of the girls go broody at some point(even though they'll be mixed breed), but figured I'd wait until closer to warm weather, and actually had thought I'd wait until these girls were getting a bit closer to slowing down on production, so I'd have "replacement" hens. I'm also concerned about babies hatching in early March, when it will still be fairly cold in our neck of the woods. I'd welcome others' opinions...any advice?
Now, one of my Buff Orpingtons (Sadie) seems to be going broody. She's sitting in the nest box most of the time, puffs up and grumbles when we gather the eggs (often 2 or 3 under her in the late morning) and pecked my hubby's hand when he got them the other day. This morning when I "rolled" her for her eggs, I noticed she's pulled her feathers on her chest/belly.
I'm not sure what to do at this point. I've read threads on how to break her broodiness, but I'm worried about her naked belly! Our temps right now are not getting above 15F and usually below zero at night. Our windchill today is -33!! I assume she'll just spend most of her time in the hen house (we have a heat lamp in there when it's this cold) until she grows her feathers back, but I'm not sure how long that'll be. Also, if she's this far into a broody period, will it be harder to break her?
I actually had THOUGHT of letting one of the girls go broody at some point(even though they'll be mixed breed), but figured I'd wait until closer to warm weather, and actually had thought I'd wait until these girls were getting a bit closer to slowing down on production, so I'd have "replacement" hens. I'm also concerned about babies hatching in early March, when it will still be fairly cold in our neck of the woods. I'd welcome others' opinions...any advice?