Broody Hen Thread!

[fisherlady]

Went out to count heads tonight and was missing a chick! After much searching and pulling hens out of nests, disrupting the whole group I found her under "momma's" twin in the next nest! Much chaos ensued but finally got everyone settled then twin hen climbed in on top of momma and babies. Pulled her out and put her in her own next and stuck the baby she had swiped back under her. They both settled quite contentedly. Have you ever heard of such a thing? These are 3 week old chicks even.

That is cool that the chick found a good adoptive mama...

Last winter we had a hen go broody, it was sub zero temps so we put her in a smaller area of the coop where there was only one rooster and one other hen which allowed her to be bothered much less. The non-broody hen was a 3 year old (named Brownie) who had never brooded and had basically always ignored other broody hens and chicks.
Within a couple of days of the broody hatching her chicks we noticed Brownie hanging around them, a lot...then we saw Brownie feeding the chicks, then actively chook, chooking them for food. We knew she was hooked when we caught her with one chick on her back and one under her chest! Brownie ended up fully mothering the chicks and actively protecting them and she kept mothering them for 3 or 4 weeks after their real broody quit and went back to roost with the flock.
This year, at 4 years old, Brownie went broody herself and sat and hatched 12 chicks, which she is happily mothering. So never be surprised at odd flock dynamics, weird things can always happen.

 

[nchls school]

Went out to count heads tonight and was missing a chick! After much searching and pulling hens out of nests, disrupting the whole group I found her under "momma's" twin in the next nest! Much chaos ensued but finally got everyone settled then twin hen climbed in on top of momma and babies. Pulled her out and put her in her own next and stuck the baby she had swiped back under her. They both settled quite contentedly. Have you ever heard of such a thing? These are 3 week old chicks even.

Yes. But not often. The last time was during our last real cold spell. The chicks had been weaned at 4-5 weeks and the mother had gone back to laying. When night came the five chicks went under a silkie that was brooding dummy eggs. The next morning the hen left the nest with the chicks and treated them as newly hatched. She continued to care for them for weeks; a good thing as the weather stayed cold.

 

[nchls school]

Lol. This hen is messing with my mind...my hens will never go broody. :/

I have had excellent luck with my hens going broody. If you haven't, consider trying this. If your hen has a nest to herself, leave the eggs or replace them with a dummy egg, one at a time, as fresh eggs are laid. With a communal nest, put one dummy egg in the nest each day as you collect the fresh eggs. I have silkies and serama. This method has never failed to produce a broody hen. At the moment I have four hens brooding eggs and one with chicks.[

 

[sharol]

Ok - this question might have already been asked, but there are over 1300 posts (whoa). I have a broody hen and I do not think she is eating or drinking. If so, I haven't witnessed this. I'm just wondering if I should try and force her to eat or just let her do her thing? She has 5 fertilized eggs under her (and a couple unfertilized).

I have a pair of hens that go broody together. Early last summer one of them wasn't leaving the nest about halfway through the hatch cycle. After watching her for 4 days I decided that enough was enough. I picked her up and put her on the floor of the coop. Her legs wouldn't support her -- she had simply sat (set?) too long. I worked with her for 20 minutes or so suspending her so her legs could extend and stretch and finally she got moving. I put her at the door of the coop and she went out doing her squawking thing and exercised some and came back to the nest.

After that I physically removed her from her eggs during the hottest part of the day every day until about day 19. She just didn't want to get off of those eggs. She and her sister (actual sisters that I hatched a year or so before they started going broody 2ce a year) raised 9 chicks in the broody coop.

The next time she went broody, she went out normally once every day or two. I have no idea what was going on with her the first time. Frankly I'm not looking forward to her being broody again this year. She is half BO and half blue copper Marans (literally -- her front half is gold and the back half is blue). Her sister is pure BCM.

Oh, and I would pull the unfertilized eggs. No good can come from them being there. Just candle when she is off the nest if you aren't sure which ones are developing.

 

[katatonic123]

Well original momma came out will all 4 chicks this morning. Not sure what happened over night. Crazy birds!

 

[Mezzer]

Yes

I have had excellent luck with my hens going broody. If you haven't, consider trying this. If your hen has a nest to herself, leave the eggs or replace them with a dummy egg, one at a time, as fresh eggs are laid. With a communal nest, put one dummy egg in the nest each day as you collect the fresh eggs. I have silkies and serama. This method has never failed to produce a broody hen. At the moment I have four hens brooding eggs and one with chicks.[

I've tried something close to that and they either avoid the nest or sit for a while and then get up. :/

 

[4hBrahmas]

Anyone have experience with hens hatching duck eggs? I was gifted some and may let my broody w/o eggs have a few.

 

[whitne17]

Thanks for the advice! I think she has been getting up and moving around because her food is going down and there are fresh droppings. She is in her own isolated coop so I am positive it is her.

 

[fisherlady]

Anyone have experience with hens hatching duck eggs? I was gifted some and may let my broody w/o eggs have a few.

Not personal experience, but I know it isn't uncommon. ..just be prepared for mama hen to freak when her babies want to jump into the mud puddle instead of just drinking from it!

 

[4hBrahmas]

Not personal experience, but I know it isn't uncommon. ..just be prepared for mama hen to freak when her babies want to jump into the mud puddle instead of just drinking from it!

Sounds good lol