Broody hen question

[Chickiechickieboomboom]

I have a small flock of 4 buff orpingtons. I just ordered 3 chicks, to arrive on April 29..

One of my 6 month old Buff Orpingtons may be going broody. I'm not sure yet, as it's only the 2nd day of long nesting sessions for her. If she IS in fact going broody, and my chicks don't arrive for 28 more days, is it likely she'll stop being broody by then? I was hoping she might raise the new chicks herself. I read that hens are usually only broody for 21 days.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[centrarchid]

I would not count on it. A hen to early in broody cycle will not take chicks. Waiting to long will have her coming out of broodiness before chicks presented for both parties to imprint on each other. Better prepare to brood chicks yourself.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hens can stay broody longer than 21 days, mine always do. When one goes broody I start collecting eggs for her to hatch. That can sometimes take several days. I know others have but I've never had one quit before they hatched. Broody hens cannot count and cannot read a calendar. My broody hens always go longer than 21 days once they truly commit to being broody.

I don't now what makes you think she might be going broody. Could you please explain? There are several signs that a hen may be broody, but I've had plenty that displayed some or even most of those signs and never kick over to full broody mode. My test to see if a hen is broody enough to deserve eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her normal spot.

If she truly does go broody I'd suggest you collect maybe three sacrificial eggs and mark them. Put them under her and check under her daily to remove any that don't belong. I assume they are not fertile. If she is still broody when those chicks arrive, and at 28 days I would expect her to be, try giving her the chicks. Of course you need to be prepared to brood them yourself.

One of my general suggestions on here is to go by what you see, not what some stranger over the internet like me tells you will happen. We are all different with different experiences and you are dealing with living animals. None of us can tell you what will happen, just what we would expect.

 

[centrarchid]

I have broody hens come out before 28 days if no hatch. They can go longer than 21 days for sure but 28 days is pushing it when relying on one hen to take incoming chicks 28 days out. There is a risk management component.

The broody hens typically loose weight while during the broody cycle, despite greatly reduced physical activity. I am following feed intake of 3 hens closely where feed intake prior to lay, during lay, and during incubation. Feed intake during incubation is less than during lay. Feed intake for maintenance roughly intermediate, yet highly variable and corresponds to how much heat they must generate to stay warm if in cooler climate.

Most hens will loose only so much weigh before broodiness breaks. Good food access can extend duration. I just had a game hen go 6 weeks of continuous broody under porch where she had easy access to the most nutrient dense eats I have. That said, it is not something I would count on.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The risk management component is to try it and have a plan if it doesn't work.

Before they start to lay a pullet or hen packs on a lot of excess fat. If you butcher pullets, hens, cockerels, and roosters it is tremendously noticeable. You like to experiment and study things first hand. When one of your hens dies cut her open to look for this. That fat is usually concentrated in her pelvic area but more is usually spread around. I'd really be surprised if you of all people haven't noticed that before.

That fat is what they mostly live on while they are brooding. That way she can stay on the nest instead of having to spend her time looking for food. Yes, she loses weight, weight put there for her to use when she is broody. That does not mean that it is unhealthy. It is a way for nature to maintain her health and help her hatch eggs.

At some point she will use up that fat. If they haven't broken from being broody before they reach that point (and many do) they should break then. Before she starts to lay again she will need to rebuild that fat reserve. That does not mean she is regaining her health, she is just establishing her reserves to start her next laying cycle, just in case she goes broody.

 

[centrarchid]

The fat only meets part of their needs. I do not know what part /portion of that need it is. They also use up muscle mass. The energy storage system I think is designed to operate where the hen gets all nutrition via foraging. She has to get foraging done in a relatively short window before she gets back on nest to resume incubation. The fat and muscle mass that is lost helps cover some of the shortfall resulting from conflicts between needing to incubate and foraging in a short window. When chicks hatch demands become more intense on hen as she becomes more active and gives chicks first dibs on eats for first couple of weeks. My hens are at lowest weight about 2 weeks after brood hatches.

If hen is provided, lots of feed, then the fat storage is much less likely to be depleted. Game hen I mentioned above was exceptional in being able to keep weight on owing to quality of feed.

 

[Chickiechickieboomboom]

Thanks for all the feedback! She ended up getting off the nest early today and hasn't been back since. I had thought she was possibly going broody because she spent the whole day on nest yesterday and I had to put her up on the roost at night, then she went right to nest this morning. But she seems back to normal now.

I do have all the necessary supplies to raise the chicks myself (heat plate, chick feeder/waterer, brooder box, grow-out coop, etc) so it'll be ok if I don't have a broody hen. I was just hoping for one, since it'd be much easier!

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Thanks for all the feedback! She ended up getting off the nest early today and hasn't been back since. I had thought she was possibly going broody because she spent the whole day on nest yesterday and I had to put her up on the roost at night, then she went right to nest this morning. But she seems back to normal now.

I do have all the necessary supplies to raise the chicks myself (heat plate, chick feeder/waterer, brooder box, grow-out coop, etc) so it'll be ok if I don't have a broody hen. I was just hoping for one, since it'd be much easier!

I also feel like the chicks turn out healthier too.