Broody Hen Questions

[OzarkChooks]

I have a 25 week old pullet, is it possible for her to be broody this young? I have noticed she spends all her time in the coop, in the nesting box. The box is filled with her feathers. I have to physically move her to get eggs. If she leaves the coop, which is when I collect eggs and shoosh her out, she just runs around making very strange loud noises. She has also become very mean to the other pullets, she never was before. I just thought she was too young to be broody.

My second question is, if she is broody...would she accept the 3 day old chicks we have in the brooder?

 

[Featherss]

im not sure if they can become broody at that age, but it sounds like she is. is she puffing up her feathers or clucking?

 

[OzarkChooks]

im not sure if they can become broody at that age, but it sounds like she is. is she puffing up her feathers or clucking?

I can't tell if she is puffing up her feathers or not. She is a very fluffy green queen. She is incredibly loud and noisy though.

 

[aart]

Yes, it's possible.
How long has she been laying?

These are my go-to signs of a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

My second question is, if she is broody...would she accept the 3 day old chicks we have in the brooder?

Probably not.
When grafting chicks to a broody, it's best if she been sitting tight for at least 2 weeks, and the chicks are a day old.

 

[DobieLover]

I have a 25 week old pullet, is it possible for her to be broody this young? I have noticed she spends all her time in the coop, in the nesting box. The box is filled with her feathers. I have to physically move her to get eggs. If she leaves the coop, which is when I collect eggs and shoosh her out, she just runs around making very strange loud noises. She has also become very mean to the other pullets, she never was before. I just thought she was too young to be broody.

My second question is, if she is broody...would she accept the 3 day old chicks we have in the brooder?

She's broody.
What I would do is set the chicks up in a wire dog crate wrapped in chicken wire with a brooder plate and food and water in front of her. If she starts clucking to them or tid-bitting them she'll likely adopt them.
If she's only been broody a short time, she may not.

 

[DobieLover]

When grafting chicks to a broody, it's best if she been sitting tight for at least 2 weeks, and the chicks are a day old.

Unless it's Astrid and she's been staring at the 12 day old chicks for days and can't wait to get at them.

 

[OzarkChooks]

Yes, it's possible.
How long has she been laying?

These are my go-to signs of a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.



Probably not.
When grafting chicks to a broody, it's best if she been sitting tight for at least 2 weeks, and the chicks are a day old.

She has only been laying for about a month. I'm not sure if she sleeps in her box but she is already there was I close the coop up for the night. She does make a lot of noise going back to the nest. So far she hasn't refused to leave when I shoosh her away, but she does make a very loud fuss about it. She has only recently started doing this the past week.

 

[aart]

Unless it's Astrid and she's been staring at the 12 day old chicks for days and can't wait to get at them.

Well, she's pretty 'special'.