Broody Hen Thread!

[GAFarmGirl87]

My game hen went broody today. Only problem in - she's laying on 3 golf balls & 0 eggs!! SMH

Is there any way to get her to stop?

 

[fisherlady]

I have 5 babies under my broody, and I plan on taking one more out. She is being so good. I think she can handle one more. They are all doing well. I can't wait for her to bring them out..how soon is that anyway before mom brings them out? I can see them waiting a few days.

One of our hens bring them out within the first day, or by morning of the second, other one waited 3 days this time... so we just made sure food and drink were available close by if the babies roamed out of the nest before mama got up with them.
I don't know what makes the hens so different, but sure seems to be no 'normal' when it comes to broodies!

 

[fisherlady]

My game hen went broody today. Only problem in - she's laying on 3 golf balls & 0 eggs!! SMH

Is there any way to get her to stop?

Take away the golf balls and remove any new eggs laid by other hens promptly... it may not 'break' her, but it may help prevent more from going broody. Though from what I've heard of game hens you may find yourself fighting a loosing battle, they are widely known to be a very broody prone group.

You can put her in a wire bottom cage elevated off of the floor so her bottom stays cool, often a few days of this will help. Some can be broken just by forcing them off of the nest and blocking them out of the coop for the day... but that isn't always easy with other hens needing in the coop to lay.

 

[GAFarmGirl87]

Take away the golf balls and remove any new eggs laid by other hens promptly... it may not 'break' her, but it may help prevent more from going broody. Though from what I've heard of game hens you may find yourself fighting a loosing battle, they are widely known to be a very broody prone group.

You can put her in a wire bottom cage elevated off of the floor so her bottom stays cool, often a few days of this will help. Some can be broken just by forcing them off of the nest and blocking them out of the coop for the day... but that isn't always easy with other hens needing in the coop to lay.

She's a free range hen, by herself too, so there's no other hens to interfere. I'll try forcing her off the nest & remove the golf balls. Hoping this will work, as she's the only hen I have laying right now. My coop hens won't start laying for another 3-4 weeks.

 

[fisherlady]

She's a free range hen, by herself too, so there's no other hens to interfere. I'll try forcing her off the nest & remove the golf balls. Hoping this will work, as she's the only hen I have laying right now. My coop hens won't start laying for another 3-4 weeks.

Good luck! You may want to plan on a source for some hatching eggs in the future of a breed you want to try ... it may be easier to give her eggs (even 2 or 3 would satisfy her broody urges) to hatch out the next time she goes broody. Some go broody often, some once a year... hopefully she will be the once a year type if you don't want her hatching out eggs.

 

[GAFarmGirl87]

Good luck! You may want to plan on a source for some hatching eggs in the future of a breed you want to try ... it may be easier to give her eggs (even 2 or 3 would satisfy her broody urges) to hatch out the next time she goes broody. Some go broody often, some once a year... hopefully she will be the once a year type if you don't want her hatching out eggs.

Yup, I may try to get her some eggs, because she won't move. I do want her hatching eggs, but I was hoping the broody stage would wait a little while. sigh. Oh well.

 

[fisherlady]

Yup, I may try to get her some eggs, because she won't move. I do want her hatching eggs, but I was hoping the broody stage would wait a little while. sigh. Oh well.

They pick some pretty inconvenient times! We had a hen go broody in the middle of winter. She wouldn't give up and I ended up giving her shipped eggs right after New Years... she was happy as can be and hatched out all of them... but it was rough having the chicks in the middle of winter. So whenevery you want them to go broody, they won't, and vise versa! LOL

 

[GAFarmGirl87]

They pick some pretty inconvenient times! We had a hen go broody in the middle of winter. She wouldn't give up and I ended up giving her shipped eggs right after New Years... she was happy as can be and hatched out all of them... but it was rough having the chicks in the middle of winter. So whenevery you want them to go broody, they won't, and vise versa! LOL

Wow - that sounds rough! Yes, I'm hoping she'll be broody again in late summer/ early fall, when I'm actually going to be ready for chicks!

So I just went to go give her something to eat, and when I got about 2 inches from her she flew off the nest, nearly scared me to death! I grabbed the golf balls and ran.

She's upset with me right now, as I can tell from her high-strung cluck that sounds more like a bark. Maybe now she'll stop being broody, but we'll see.

Oh, the things we do for our feathered children...

 

[Cynthia12]

I have 7 babies under my broody.

She is doing so well with them. Is going to be a great mom. I took her out of the kennel, and put down a lot of shavings in the area she was in. She was so cute, calling her babies over to her after she made a little place in the shavings. She had gotten a drink of water while out. She has those wings spread out for them. It's so cute how they go duck under her chest and she lifts a little bit when they start to go under. I can't wait to see them peeking out. I am going to be keeping my camera on me when I go out to check on her.

 

[Runawaylobster]

i have some broodies in my coop that are making me nuts... every day i go and remove what is under them sometimes there is nothing at all. I open all the coop sides so they are no
longer in a dark hidey hole.. yet they won't stop! it's been like this for weeks now.. I lift them up daily to see if there are any eggs under there and i have noticed that they are getting thin!
will they just sit there until they die of starvation???