Broody Hen Thread!

[the poppster]

We brought this silkied serama hen into the house when it became obvious her feathering did not hold in heat as the weather became colder. She continued to lay eggs and last week became broody-in a 25 gallon plastic tub with a salad bowl for a nest. The hen is brooding four eggs; her first brooding attempt. Tennessee-temps as low as 14 degrees F. Several of my hens have chicks ranging in age between two months and two weeks. Five more hens are brooding. The next clutch is due to hatch 1/1; New Year's Day. Winter has not slowed broodiness in my flock at all.

How cute is that!!! I have 8 Serama chickens living in cages in my front porch...it's way to cold here in the winter(Michigan's U.P) I love the little guys and girls...they seem to be thriving...I've incubated and successfully had two hatch...they are about a week old now...and about the size of a cotton ball...I hatched out one of my standard size Silkie mutts...just to be sure that the incubator is operating properly...it's ok except for the humidity...I heat with wood so it's dry in here to beginning with...I've taken to boiling water and soaking some wool scraps in it...then letting it cool a bit and laying it inside the incubator to maintain the humidity. Anyway I sure hope my Seramas will go broody this spring.

 

[nchls school]

Quote: My serama are broody crazy. 8-10 eggs are laid in a nest, brooding begins, eggs hatch in 19-20 days, chicks are reared for 3 weeks and egg laying starts again. Winter clutches do just as well as spring clutches. We moved here to TN from WI four months ago. While in WI I had many winter clutches hatch and do well. As long as temp is above freezing (and even below) my serama hatched and raised chicks successfully. While in WI I strived to keep the coop temperature around 40-50 degrees F. If your porch is in this temp range or above-no reason to wait for spring. Damp clothes are what I used on the outside of the nest boxes where eggs were being brooded to keep winter humidity up as you do-no incubators for me though.

 

[melliston]

Giving a broody hen a few eggs to finish hatching will allow you to give her more chicks as they hatch in the incubator without having to wait for night or worry about the chicks being rejected. However, you need to be sure she is broody. A hen that does not brood her eggs at night is not suitable for motherhood; check to ensure she is brooding her nest at night before giving her any eggs or chicks. A broody should have been setting for at least a week before being given chicks to foster. Hens that have been brooding less than a week often kill the chicks because their biological clock is not set for chicks yet. Good luck!

We did an evening farm run today, and she was off the ceramics :-( guess we will keep watching her

 

[speak1074]

I'm wondering if I have a broody hen. She hasn't started laying yet, but she isn't leaving the coop. She just sits on her roost all day. Large green poop, but she's may have been eating the beets I put out for them all. She seems fine otherwise. What do you all suppose is up?

 

[microchick]

I'm wondering if I have a broody hen. She hasn't started laying yet, but she isn't leaving the coop. She just sits on her roost all day. Large green poop, but she's may have been eating the beets I put out for them all. She seems fine otherwise. What do you all suppose is up?

Hi and Happy New Year speak1074. Welcome to the thread. To my knowledge hens usually do not go broody until they start to lay. There are instances here on the Broody Thread of hens going broody after laying two or three eggs. How old is your hen? Also, she would not be sitting on a roost. She would have her fluffy butt parked in a nest or in a nest that she has
made for herself in a corner. Sometimes they will sit upon an empty nest if they are really determined.

You said she had a large green poop. Was it solid? Has she been wormed lately? I think there is something else to consider besides broodiness here. Hopefully others will pipe in with some thoughts.

 

[speak1074]

Poop is watery green with a whitish center. Hasn't been dewormed. She's only 5 months old...

 

[the poppster]

Poop is watery green with a whitish center. Hasn't been dewormed. She's only 5 months old...

I feed my flock a nice wet mash once a month or so with about a half a container of crushed red pepper...yes the hot stuff! They love it and chow the mash down hot pepper and all...so far no worms...another old fashioned treatment is squash seeds...pumpkin is what I've fed them...they are supposed to contain some sort of compound that gets rid of the worms...I can't remember what it was...but they love those as well. So I figure if it doesn't hurt them and it might help them....what the heck?

 

[speak1074]

I'm quite certain she doesn't have worms... But I'm going to employ that anyway.

 

[rebrascora]

@speak1074

I would be concerned about her. Green watery poop is usually a sign of the digestive system shutting down. Have you seen her eating recently? Not just pecking at stuff but actually eating. They will pretend to eat to fool other hens into thinking they are healthy. Isolating herself on the roost is another indication that she is not well. Bring her into the warm and check her over thoroughly. I think you may find that she has lost weight and is wasting away. If so, you need to keep her warm and ensure that she eats and drinks.....unless she has an impacted or sour crop....which should be apparent from examining her. You may be best starting a new thread in the emergencies and diseases section but please don't expect her to snap out of it without help....

Good luck and I hope it's nothing too serious.

Regards

Barbara

 

[the poppster]

@speak1074


I would be concerned about her. Green watery poop is usually a sign of the digestive system shutting down. Have you seen her eating recently? Not just pecking at stuff but actually eating. They will pretend to eat to fool other hens into thinking they are healthy. Isolating herself on the roost is another indication that she is not well. Bring her into the warm and check her over thoroughly. I think you may find that she has lost weight and is wasting away. If so, you need to keep her warm and ensure that she eats and drinks.....unless she has an impacted or sour crop....which should be apparent from examining her. You may be best starting a new thread in the emergencies and diseases section but please don't expect her to snap out of it without help....

Good luck and I hope it's nothing too serious.

Regards 

Barbara

Barbara is absolutely right!! If a bird isolates herself like that, they usually have something wrong with them. I keep an eye on who stays in the coop when everyone is going out...especially if they just sit on the roost. I usually watch out for the low ranking birds and be sure that they get their chance at the feed. Even if I have to put some choice goodies down out of the reach of the top dogs so they can feed undisturbed. Barbara is right, I'd do just what she suggested. Good luck.