Broody Hen Thread!

[lpyrbby]

Yes. One of my serama was similar. With time she stopped rushing from the nest but still acted skittish and afraid. Her eggs are hatching today. I have given them to another, more stable, hen to finish hatching and raise.

Good to know. She's sitting on fakes at this point and I suppose I could give her a couple of real ones and see what happens. I really think I'd rather her give up though LOL

 

[PearlaMae123]

Hello! We are new to BYC.

So we have a Buff Orpington that has gone broody.(Buttermilk) We don't have any roosters so there are no eggs to hatch. I was wondering if you can give her a chick so she will calm down a bit. We might separate them from the other chickens because we have a smaller coop. (only 3 chickens) One of the other Orpingtons is a bit mean to Buttermilk so that's why I worry.

We also just lost one of our ladies to a dog, so it would be nice to have another lil chick.

Since it is winter, we probably couldn't have a chick in 32 degree weather.
Any tips on what we should do??
Would a chick be okay with it mother in the winter??
Should we just let it run its course??

Please reply ASAP!!

 

[WVduckchick]

Hello! We are new to BYC. 
So we have a Buff Orpington that has gone broody.(Buttermilk) We don't have any roosters so there are no eggs to hatch. I was wondering if you can give her a chick so she will calm down a bit. We might separate them from the other chickens because we have a smaller coop. (only 3 chickens) One of the other Orpingtons is a bit mean to Buttermilk so that's why I worry. :/
We also just lost one of our ladies to a dog, so it would be nice to have another lil chick. 
Since it is winter, we probably couldn't have a chick in 32 degree weather.
Any tips on what we should do??
Would a chick be okay with it mother in the winter??
Should we just let it run its course??
:cd  
Please reply ASAP!!

A couple options come to my mind. First, I have a small Serama raising 6 serama chicks outside in winter with no heat (sub-freezing nights), and they are doing fine, so I have no doubt an Orpington "could" do it.

If you have access to a chick to give her, personally, I would let her sit on some eggs for a few days, even couple of weeks first, then give her a chick. Let some of the broodiness run its course first, and make sure she is ready. I did give a broody a chick from her sister hen once, when she had only been broody for a few days and she did fine, but you need to be sure she is committed to it. What would you do if she rejects the chick and changes her mind?

And you would very likely want to separate them if the others are mean to her.

Other will chime in with other stuff, but those are my initial thoughts.

Oops, forgot to say Welcome!! And good luck!!

 

[redsix]

Hello! We are new to BYC.

So we have a Buff Orpington that has gone broody.(Buttermilk) We don't have any roosters so there are no eggs to hatch. I was wondering if you can give her a chick so she will calm down a bit. We might separate them from the other chickens because we have a smaller coop. (only 3 chickens) One of the other Orpingtons is a bit mean to Buttermilk so that's why I worry.

We also just lost one of our ladies to a dog, so it would be nice to have another lil chick.

Since it is winter, we probably couldn't have a chick in 32 degree weather.
Any tips on what we should do??
Would a chick be okay with it mother in the winter??
Should we just let it run its course??

I wouldn't try to add a chick in the winter. One of our hens hatched some chicks in late October and they were feathered out by the time cold weather arrived. Sometimes when I want the broodiness to stop, I put the hen in a wire dog cage. I spread a few of the bars far enough apart so she could stick her head out to reach the food and water.
Please reply ASAP!!

 

[PearlaMae123]

A couple options come to my mind. First, I have a small Serama raising 6 serama chicks outside in winter with no heat (sub-freezing nights), and they are doing fine, so I have no doubt an Orpington "could" do it.

If you have access to a chick to give her, personally, I would let her sit on some eggs for a few days, even couple of weeks first, then give her a chick. Let some of the broodiness run its course first, and make sure she is ready. I did give a broody a chick from her sister hen once, when she had only been broody for a few days and she did fine, but you need to be sure she is committed to it. What would you do if she rejects the chick and changes her mind?

And you would very likely want to separate them if the others are mean to her.

Other will chime in with other stuff, but those are my initial thoughts.

Oops, forgot to say Welcome!! And good luck!!

Thank you so much!!

That is really helpful!!!
We dont have a chick on hand, and we weren't exactly seriously thinking about giving Buttermilk a chick, but you are so helpful and kind. (We may need to discuss it more)
It is great advice to give her a couple of eggs to sit on. We have a little wooden egg that is always in the nest box, and Buttermilk hoards it!

Its really funny when she can't find it.

She has been broody for a couple of weeks, so if we started to really consider giving her a baby, do you think she would be ready??

 

[rebrascora]

With a first time broody it is risky giving her a chick and if she rejects it you then have the very trying and rather sad job of hand raising a lone chick. At this time of year I would imagine sourcing a single chick might be difficult anyway and ideally it would need to be a day old because otherwise you might find that, having been reared with a heat lamp, it doesn't understand staying under a broody hen to keep warm and may even be frightened of her. If it climbs out of the nest when you aren't there and can't get back it will die of the cold. I would be inclined to get her a few hatching eggs if she is properly broody and let her go through the whole process. Of course, there are draw backs with that, in that you will almost certainly get some cockerels amongst whatever hatches but you could get an accidental male even when buying a sexed pullet chick, if you are unlucky.

Personally I would get her half a dozen hatching eggs and give them to her with the intention of selling on whatever hatches that you don't want. It might be that only one hatches anyway or even none, but at least she gets to give the whole process a proper go.

If you intend to separate her, I would move her to her new coop with fake eggs before you buy hatching eggs and see how she settles. Some broodies don't take well to being moved and it can break them of it if they are not fully committed. No point in spending money on eggs only to find she abandons them straight off. Once she is set for a couple of days and nights in her new nest and coop, then swap the hatching eggs for the fakes and start the countdown!

All that said, I am a broody hen and chicken maths addict and totally overrun with chickens as a result, so perhaps best to ignore my advice!

 

[WVduckchick]

Thank you so much!!e That is really helpful!!!
We dont have a chick on hand, and we weren't exactly seriously thinking about giving Buttermilk a chick, but you are so helpful and kind. (We may need to discuss it more)
It is great advice to give her a couple of eggs to sit on. We have a little wooden egg that is always in the nest box, and Buttermilk hoards it! :yiipchick  Its really funny when she can't find it. 

She has been broody for a couple of weeks, so if we started to really consider giving her a baby, do you think she would be ready?? 

That's hilarious that she hoards the fake egg. she wants to be a momma....

Honestly, it's always a crap shoot and depends alot on the hen. But I would recommend at least 2 chicks, or hatching eggs, if they are easy enough for you to get. Chicks, the younger the better. Day olds preferably. It can be scary, but all you can do is try to predict what might happen. Go with your gut! If you want more chicks, give her a shot. If not, she can be broken, or let her sit it out.

(ok, I'm an enabler too. My apologies lol)

Seriously though, consider the bad outcomes also, and how you would feel. Some broodies have been known to kill chicks. It's hard reality. So I'm just saying try to think ahead, but hope for the best.

I vote more chicks, more chicks!

 

[microchick]

All that said, I am a broody hen and chicken maths addict and totally overrun with chickens as a result, so perhaps best to ignore my advice!

I vote more chicks, more chicks!

Me too! It's January 10th and already I'm getting that old 'crank up the incubator' or start 'seeding fake eggs so one of my hens goes broody' itch under my skin. I promised my husband I would at least wait til the first of March to put eggs in the bator so I can brood them in our shop but man this is starting to be the hardest promise I ever made. Of course if one of the Buff O girls goes broody, all bets are off! I had one go broody in February of last year so I guess anything is possible!

 

[PearlaMae123]

Thank you SO much for all the input!

I think what we've decided is to just wait her out and keep a eye on how she does. Maybe keep her out of the way of the others. (another nest box?)
If and when we get more chickens (it's going to happen, and we all know it

) I will DEFINITELY come to you for help.
Thank you!!!!


..... one more question sorry......
Is it normal for the broody hen to have an odd naked spot on her chest area? It's right under where she sits.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi, yes it is normal. They actually pluck it themselves so that they can better transfer their body heat to the eggs. Not all broody hens do it and I think it may be that it's something they do more when the weather is cooler rather than the hot summer months.