Broody Hen Thread!

[lpyrbby]

If she is pooping in the nest then she is just choosing it as a comfy spot for the evenings....a broody will remain committed during the majority of the day also, though she may dash out for one or two short breaks.
She could be just considering... so a bit more checking is needed before giving her a clutch of her own. Try replacing the fake eggs with a couple of eggs you know won't develop to see if she is wanting the eggs to feel warmer for some reason. See if she treats them differently.

She's NOT pooping in the box. That's the main reason I'm wondering if she's considering it. I work during the week and can't really observe them much so I'll try to tomorrow and see what she seems to do during the day. I don't know if she's spending any time in the box during the day.

Even if she does commit, I might give her one or two real eggs along with the fakes, but I'm planning on an incubator hatch, so if she does commit, she'll get some of those chicks. It's too cold right now to risk her getting off of the nest and getting back in the wrong one. I'm using the wooden fakes, not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[fisherlady]

She's NOT pooping in the box. That's the main reason I'm wondering if she's considering it. I work during the week and can't really observe them much so I'll try to tomorrow and see what she seems to do during the day. I don't know if she's spending any time in the box during the day. 

Even if she does commit, I might give her one or two real eggs along with the fakes, but I'm planning on an incubator hatch, so if she does commit, she'll get some of those chicks. It's too cold right now to risk her getting off of the nest and getting back in the wrong one. I'm using the wooden fakes, not sure if that makes a difference. 

Sounds like a good plan. Hope your hatch goes well!

 

[casey197530]

Got three more eggs going into lockdown on wed hope they all hatch

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Sooo trying something I never thought I would, see my fellow chicken lover Heather moved out to her grannies old farmstead and among the items left in her brooder pen was an incubator so we plugged it in and it heated right up so we figured what the heck and ordered a replacement thermometer and hydrates (nope can't spell so hope that's close enough) and today we are filling it with 40 eggs laid by both our ladies both Chickens and Turkeys so guess on NYE we will see what new chickens and turkeys we get to join our flocks...chicken math its SUCH a thing

 

[the poppster]

Ya better watch out for the "Chicken Math!" It'll get you every time!!! Oh, but what fun!!!

 

[micah wotring]

So, idk why I've never seen this thread before. Anyway, I've only ever had one chicken, Lady, my light brahma, go broody and that was this past spring. I've filled my flock with cochins, bantams, silkies, muscovy ducks, and I still have Lady so hopefully I can get some to go broody next spring. I have some turkeys and a few other non-broody breed from which to gather eggs. I also have a few great friends who I can probably get fertile eggs from. Anyway, if y'all want updates check out the links in my sig. I'll try to remember this thread come spring though.

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Just got a heads up from my friend Heather that we have embryos and blood vessels formed in our eggs so now to wait and see how many hatch out. Can't wait to see what my hens and roosters produced. And of course spoil their chicks.

 

[Coop de Grass]

Hmmmmm. Do you have a garage or shop you could move her into for the next few weeks? I'm not familiar with what passes for winter in the northern part of California, it's down in the low teens here tonight. I couldn't let a broody stay out in the coop for the simple reason you mentioned. If she got off of the nest for any length of time it would be disastrous for the eggs. I would have to bring her and her eggs into our shop with a heat lamp. While the shop is warmer than the outside, it isn't heated.

Maybe you have a place where you can move broody, nest and eggs somewhere temporarily where it is warmer and move her back to her coop once the eggs are hatched and the chicks are stabilized.

Peace of mind is a wonderful thing.

If your daytime temps are 50 she might be ok. Eggs can stand a bit of a cool down without harm. Hens tend to know how long they can be away from their eggs when they are brooding. Are your overnight temps falling below freezing and going any higher than 50?

I moved my injured Ameraucana who became broody while being isolated back into the coop in a separate pen. She had been on an open porch and it was too hard to control the temp. Things went well for 2 days. I let her out with the flock while I supervised the visitation and then put her back in the pen. The next day, I let her roam with the flock after she had laid her egg. She laid 8 all together, The second day after the move, she and her sister took turns keeping the eggs warm, but at 4 pm neither hen was on the nest, and when they went into the coop, the injured hen went up onto the roost. I pulled all the eggs out and added them to the incubator - I am hoping that the 2 hours without hen heat did not kill the little ones!

 

[the poppster]

I've found that it's usually a bad thing, to move a broody from her isolation pen back into the main coop before the eggs have hatched...it always seems to break the broody behavior and she abandons her eggs....I usually keep the hen and her chicks separately for a few weeks before I integrate them back into the flock...and main coop. I will free range the flock around the broody tractor. Letting the birds get reacquainted and meet the chicks through the wire. Eventually I will open the tractor door and allow the new family to mingle with the flock....Eventually I will remove the broody tractor from the equation...being sure mom is bringing the chicks into the coop...occasionally I will have to give the chicks a hand in finding the door...but that doesn't take long.

 

[nchls school]

Quote: Southern Tennessee and the temperatures are all over the place; 14 to 50 degrees F. Many days are in the 20s. I have six hens with chicks and one brooding eggs; another is showing signs of going broody. The coop is cold-basically unheated-hatch rates are high and the chicks are doing well. The hens seem to know how long they can stay off their nest when it's cold. Every one is hatching their eggs just like it were a warm spring/summer day. I do have heat lamps for the chicks to go under on the coldest days, but the heat lamps don't do much as far as heating the whole coop. Oddly, all the hens share the lamps and care for all the chicks; all 30 of them-team work in action!