Broody Hen Thread!

[irish hens]

I have seen a lot of people who have loss chicks due to an attack bye other flock members .is it safe to have two sets of chicks (mother and chicks ) together In one pen ?ir would one mother hen attack the other mother hens chicks ?? if that makes sense to you guys??

 

[fisherlady]

I have seen a lot of people who have loss chicks due to an attack bye other flock members .is it safe to have two sets of chicks (mother and chicks ) together In one pen ?ir would one mother hen attack the other mother hens chicks ?? if that makes sense to you guys??

Brooding in a joint area can absolutely be done, there are often squabbles initially but usually the settle quickly and agree to a mutually acceptable distance, if you are lucky they end up cobrooding the chicks to some extent.
They should have a roomy area with a couple of food and water sources until you know they are agreeing.
There are some hens who just won't tolerate a co-habitation situation, so great care and monitoring is needed when doing it.

 

[jtdevries]

So my black astralorpe has gone broody. I had to move her from where she was as it wasn't such a great spot. We have her safe and isolated. We are unsure when exactly she started sitting. But we discovered she's sitting on 33 eggs. Only a few are poking out from under her. Not sure what to do if anything. Is there some magic number she can handle??

 

[Greg88]

So my black astralorpe has gone broody. I had to move her from where she was as it wasn't such a great spot. We have her safe and isolated. We are unsure when exactly she started sitting. But we discovered she's sitting on 33 eggs. Only a few are poking out from under her. Not sure what to do if anything. Is there some magic number she can handle??

From what I can tell, 12-15 is a good number, especially if she has hatched a brood before. It if is her first, I would go closer to 8ish

 

[fisherlady]

So my black astralorpe has gone broody. I had to move her from where she was as it wasn't such a great spot. We have her safe and isolated. We are unsure when exactly she started sitting. But we discovered she's sitting on 33 eggs. Only a few are poking out from under her. Not sure what to do if anything. Is there some magic number she can handle??

There is no way for her to effectively cover so many...a large hen can cover 12-16 average but I prefer to keep it 10-12, especially for a new broody. I suggest candling, pick a dozen which appear to be at the same stage and put the rest in an incubator if you want to hatch them.

 

[jtdevries]

From what I can tell, 12-15 is a good number, especially if she has hatched a brood before.  It if is her first, I would go closer to 8ish

Should I candle them to decide which to keep or give her 8 new eggs. She's laying on eggs from other hens obviously. Lol

 

[Greg88]

Should I candle them to decide which to keep or give her 8 new eggs. She's laying on eggs from other hens obviously. Lol

I would start with new eggs, not knowing how long each egg she has been sitting on has actually been under her.

 

[fisherlady]

Should I candle them to decide which to keep or give her 8 new eggs. She's laying on eggs from other hens obviously. Lol

I would start with new eggs, not knowing how long each egg she has been sitting on has actually been under her.

If you are really sure on your candling you can pick some from her current clutch, otherwise I would do like Greg88 suggested and start her with fresh ones.

 

[snlconner]

From what I've been reading on here, would it be risky giving her new eggs if she is say a week or more in on some of the eggs? Would she give up if the eggs don't hatch within a certain timeframe? Not my hen just a thought.

 

[owenfrye]

Being new to raising chickens as pets, I acquired 2 white silkies a couple of months ago. I recently observed on of them staying in the nest box. She was laying eggs pretty good, but there are no eggs under her, plus she is not laying eggs. I did some research and found out she is Brooding, not what I wanted her to do yet. BTW I have a small rooster, not sure of the type, it does have feathers on its legs though. I am presently to break the brooding thing by using a dog cage as a deterrent so she will stop. If my picture goes threw showing her in cage, Am I doing the right thing