Broody hen... Now what???

[cackydoodledoo]

I have a hen who has went broody. Normally I would have enough fertile eggs to put under her but my chickens are on strike. I have three that I have collected so far. Should have a fourth and fifth tomorrow. I have the others at room temp which I think is correct. I have a big dog kennel I was planning on keeping her in. Questions???

Do I just need to make her a little box for her nest?

Do I just take her out of coop and set her on eggs in nest and let her take it from there? I currently have some easter eggs under her to keep her broody.

Do I need let her out like once a day to walk around or should I just leave the kennel door open and let her do as she pleases? The kennel will be in a separate area away from all the other chickens.

One of the eggs I have already had some poo on it so I just wiped off as much as I could with a damp rag but didn't rub too hard. Is that okay?

Am I missing anything?

I welcome all suggestions and help. I have never done this before and am a little freaked out about it. Thanks in advance.

 

[gryeyes]

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[rebel-rousing-at-night]

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I am a beginner too. My chickens are on strike too.I was trying to save eggs for hatching but the first eggs would have really been old by the time I had enough so I bought some fertile EE eggs from a farmer.When I set these under her I removed the other ones I had under her.

BTW the other day that I got her out I did not know that she had an egg tucked under her wing until I went to her to put her back it the crate.It was on the basement floor but I just put it back in with her other eggs. I'm leaning as I go and the ppl on here are very helpful.

I put my girl in a dog crate too.My plan was to use a cat litter box for the nest but they can flip those over when getting back in because they are not very heavy. The farmer told me to get some dirt and put in the bottom of the pan which I did and put shavings over that. Now whether the dirt in the bottom is a good ideal-that I can't tell you but this guy grew up on a farm and I thought the dirt would give some insulation as it is very cool in my basement.

I put food and water in with my broody but she wouldn't leave the nest to go about 12" to the food and water. I take her out once a day and put her in a small quite area with food and water.Oh,I put some grit in the food.For the food it is scratch and some BOSS.

Now what I'm telling you is for sure not from an experienced person but it may help give you ideals.

She is not a happy camper when I get her out.The other day when I got her to put her back in with the eggs she EXPLODED in my arms and my glasses barely hung on.

Crazy girl. I now have food hanging on the crate door and noticed yesterday she had eaten some. Wait...I had it hanging on the door to start with but I pulled her nest box close enough so she can reach it from the nest. Maybe not the best way as I agree she needs to stretch her legs but I want her to eat too and I can't afford more glasses now as these aren't even a year old.

Good luck with your hatch.

 

[galanie]

What I did was block off a small section in the coop for her. Even though she had food and water in there with her, she wouldn't touch it so I took her off the nest and put her out once a day to eat, drink, and poo. She would wait till I was far away before moving, but she'd eat and do her stuff and I'd put her back in about 10 minutes. So far as what nest, she would go back to her original nest rather than her broody nest if I let her.

I've read where some only get up every other day so maybe I didn't need to get her up every day but I know I did no harm for sure. I think isolating the broody is good but have food and water available and don't worry about them not getting up. They won't starve themselves to death though you'd think they are.

PS - yesterday when the first hatched, she had breakfast in bed and loved it. I put a small bowl of yogurt with layer crumbles in the nest next to her head and she gobbled it down. Then I gave her water and she slurped some up. She seemed happy to be pampered hahaha

 

[Judy]

My first broody was the most affectionate chicken I've ever had, and she would leave the nest when I went to the coop in the morning. She would stay off the nest maybe 10 to 20 minutes. She would manage to squeeze in a dust bath, some outdoor foraging, some feather preening and bill cleaning, in addition to the basics. The hatch went well even though it was cold. Since then, they have all done their time off the nest when I was not there. I've never found poop in a broody nest and they did not lose a huge amount of weight, so I know they were getting up.

I have a broody pen maybe 5'x6'. I keep food and water as far from the nest as I can. They need the little bit of exercise they get this way. I also open the pen at least once a day and hang around while they go outside for some foraging and treats and such. (Lots fewer broody poops indoors this way, too.) It took me two coops and several broodies, but I think I have the setup the way I want it now.

My broody nest is an open top plastic bin with a cutout on the front, but a pile of hay would do as well, I did this for winter hatch to keep them a little warmer, and because it was laying around anyway. I only kept them penned up during the setting and for a couple of days, til the chicks started running all over the pen. Then I propped the pen door open and let them be with the flock. Mama and chicks slept in the same nest for the month or so that she mothered them, and the chicks kept going back there for a few weeks after mama had returned to the adult roost.

Broodies lose some weight, their joints get stiff, and their legs get a bit weak. I know many people keep them in something small like a dog carrier, but I would not do this unless I got them out twice a day myself, and made sure they moved around a bit and ate/drank from their regular feeder and waterer. I am a lot more comfortable with knowing they can get up when they feel the need, but maybe that's just me, and totally unnecessary.

You've gotten several good answers, but I'll also give you a link to an article about them:

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html

Oh, you can save eggs for at least 7 days to put under her all at once. The hatch rate starts declining at 7 days but if needed I would wait 10 or 11 days if eggs were scarce. Best way to save them is in your kitchen counter, turning them once or twice a day, but people have hatched them out of the refrigerator, abandoned eggs found outdoors, even grocery store eggs, especially ones sold as fertile eggs. It's best to do the collecting yourself so they will all hatch more or less at once. The mama will stay on the nest for about 24 hours after the first one hatches, then abandon the rest to raise her chicks. Many people put a few golf balls under her while they are collecting eggs, to encourage her to remain broody.

 

[cackydoodledoo]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have a separate coop that is almost done that I could put the kennel in and just leave the door open. I wasn't sure whether to leave it open or not but it sounds like if I can then do it. I will gather up some more eggs over the next couple days. I have been keeping them in a crate on top of the frig. Few more questions though....

You said to turn them once a day I think. I have them stored pointy side up right now but which way do I turn them? Just upside down or do I need to store them on their sides?

I currently have plastic easter eggs under her but when is the best time to switch the eggs out for real ones? Would I be best to do it when I put her in the kennel?

If the eggs have poo on them am I ok to wash them lightly or just leave it on there?


On a funnier note when I went in the coop to put the plastic eggs under her I dropped one on the ground and had what seemed like a tornado of feathers come down on me. Nothing like 20 hens all flying off the roost at once to get that purple egg!!!! Very comical!!

 

[kaitlyn_rae2003]

Hi there, I thought this was a perfect thread to join, I have a broody hen, she is on day 3, she seems serious, I think she has about 6 or 7 eggs. She is not a real big girl, not as small as a bantam but def not a standard size. I have been removing the other hens eggs 2x a day, but I have not separated meredith (my broody) She gets terribly mad if i even act like im going to touch her or her babies so I have given her her space, I want to do everything I can to help her be successful but I dont have a proper place for her set up while she nests. there is a good size lip on the nest box, so the chicks wouldnt fall out, she seems ok there, but its still so early...What should I do? move her? If so, has anyone created a little area in the existing coop, which was a garage at one time, (1 bay garage)...Thanks for any advice at all!

 

[Mrs. Mucket]

The week I set my first incubator batch, a hen went broody. So it's a first for both for me. I decided to just wait till incubator Day 18 to give the broody some fertile eggs. That was yesterday. I moved her from the community nest box to a large dog kennel on the floor with food, water, and room for her to do her business. I closed the door because I tried to move her once before and she returned to the nest box. I've been told she should be fine closed in the kennel until after hatch when she wants to take the chicks out.

If I have a broody when the weather is warmer I will use a poultry wire brooder crate out in the chicken pen with a small dog kennel (open door) for a covered nest. In that crate I can put the food and water outside the nest box and mama can get out and stretch her legs more. The other hens and older chicks can walk all around the crate but not get inside it. It seems like it would work well "on paper" but we shall see.

Dog kennels are great--I use them for nests, brooders, isolation, and transporting chickens. We had three dog kennels (for 100-pound, 50-pound, and 20-pound dogs) and they have been used a lot. Inside the barn where no roof is needed, I have used the top and the bottom kennel parts separately for brooders inside a larger pen.

 

[MadHatcher]

Hello everyone!

I've been reading many different opinions on how to handle a broody hen. It seems that there are as many opinions about what to do with a broody hen as there are about what a pregnant woman should or shouldn't do!! lol



So keeping that in mind here is what I have done:

My three Araucana hens (and two roosters) hatched out on September 13th of 2010 and they just started laying eggs on February 18th.

One of my hens - Fedora started being broody on March 21st which is about three and a half weeks after laying her first egg.

I let her sit on those two eggs for four days in one of my two nest boxes. (Still with me?! lol) Each day I would reach under her and feel how many eggs she was sitting on because I read that the other hens would try laying eggs in her nesting box. On the fourth night I candled the eggs to make sure I didn't see any heartbeats. I chose this day because I did see heartbeats on the fourth night when I hatched out Fedora and her other coop-mates so I thought they would probably develop along the same time-line. I didn't see any development.

During these four days I gathered the eggs the other two hens were laying and kept them at Florida room temperature which is probably around 75 to 78 degrees.

On the "5th Day" which was March 25th I took the eggs out from under her -- at this point there were 4 eggs. The other two girls must have laid their eggs in the same box she had been sitting in all week! Silly birds lol

I also moved her to a "broody box" I had setup for her.

I took a large pet taxi and set it inside the attached run I have for the flock so that she would be near them but not with them.

Inside the pet taxi I placed a layer of rolled oats about 4 inches deep. I've used rolled oats with my flock since they were days old. I find it to be the perfect bedding for them since it is 100% easily digestible, super absorbent, leaves a pleasant oaty smell to the coop (covers the poo smell very well) and is super cheap!

Then in the oats I made a little concave depression and placed 7 of the eggs I had been collecting over the few days.

I gave her a little water container and popped her right into the taxi and closed the door. Again - I did this at about 6pm on Friday the 25th.

At first she seemed a little distressed - she wanted to run back to her old nest. After about one full minute she turned around and examined the rest of her enclosure and found the eggs I left for her. She immediately fluffed up and settled down on them.

I took those four eggs that she had been sitting on and candled them again - they presented clear. So (don't punish me for this!!) I cracked them open one at a time and I was right they were all clear SO not wanting to waste the nutrients I scrambled them and fed them back to her for a protein boost - she ate them all up without leaving her spot on the nest.

I left her in the pet taxi for two days with a water source and a silo of chick starter - since it has higher protein content and she isn't laying so I don't think she'll need the additional calcium.

On Sunday the 27th I opened the door of the pet taxi for the entire day - but I don't think she left the carrier.

Today I plan on pulling her off the nest when I get home (at 5pm) this afternoon and I will probably continue to leave the door open as long as there doesn't appear to be a problem with the other hens or roosters bothering her.

The interesting point to all of this is I now suspect my two other hens of going broody as well. They both laid eggs yesterday but one hen was in the nest box for a very long time and the other hen I finally had to physically remove when I was gathering their eggs...

I really don't want to 'break them' of their broodiness but it would be strange to have them all broody at once.

 

[cackydoodledoo]

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So would you recommend I feed her chick starter? I have some but it is medicated. Got it for the 15 chicks that are supposed to be delivered this week. I am crazy I know for doing this with babies already coming but have been waiting for a broody hen for so long that I feel I can't pass it up. I think it's safe to say that I can leave her locked in kennel and just let her out once a day to walk around. I don't think she has left the nesting box other than a couple of times in the last three days.