Broody Hen Thread!

[Lady of McCamley]

The poster above raised a good observation....for those of us who have Silkies and other "annoyingly frequent brooders"....

What do you do to help them sustain good body health during and between those frequent broods?

I don't like to discourage my faithful Silkie from a good brood as I have more than once counted on her to bail me out with either chick or egg that needed finishing...so I count on her frequency.

But what can we do to help them stay in optimum health.

I use electrolytes and vitamins in the water, and keep her on a flock raiser or chick grower feed to give her more energy (and less calcium as she isn't laying). Probiotics periodically too. ACV in the water consistently.

What do you all use?

Curious,
Lady of McCamley

 

[Emcrowston]

My excitement is waning, I have a hen sat on, what started as 9 eggs, it seems she has eaten 2, one is empty and they are due today. Two have pipped, but no visible movement, the others seem to have very large air sacks. I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has. Thanks

 

[elliechooks]

Hope it works out for you Emcrowston.

My plans are not going well, my incubator eggs are all clear at 14 days so I can't give those to my broody, she is not impressed with my 10 day old chicks, won't let them near her I have totally failed in finding any fertile eggs locally and so I am left with 2 choices. Either I try to break her, but she seems pretty determined, or I buy eBay eggs and hope they don't get too scrambled in the post.

 

[chickydee64]

Hope it works out for you Emcrowston.

My plans are not going well, my incubator eggs are all clear at 14 days so I can't give those to my broody, she is not impressed with my 10 day old chicks, won't let them near her

I have totally failed in finding any fertile eggs locally and so I am left with 2 choices. Either I try to break her, but she seems pretty determined, or I buy eBay eggs and hope they don't get too scrambled in the post.

HI, I read that the chicks only imprint for the first 4 days.....................

 

[Lady of McCamley]

My excitement is waning, I have a hen sat on, what started as 9 eggs, it seems she has eaten 2, one is empty and they are due today. Two have pipped, but no visible movement, the others seem to have very large air sacks. I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has. Thanks

Hope it works out for you Emcrowston.

My plans are not going well, my incubator eggs are all clear at 14 days so I can't give those to my broody, she is not impressed with my 10 day old chicks, won't let them near her

I have totally failed in finding any fertile eggs locally and so I am left with 2 choices. Either I try to break her, but she seems pretty determined, or I buy eBay eggs and hope they don't get too scrambled in the post.

I'm sorry things are not going well. Don't lose heart.

My first attempt did not go as planned either...and that is very frustrating. (Pulling out 6 dead foster chicks in 2 weeks leaves a bad taste in one's mouth for fostering with hatchlings).

Watch and learn what went right and what went wrong so that next time things can go better. Chicken farming is an art not a formula.

Rejoice in what did go right (I had to remind myself that with my first batch I DID get 3 out of 5 eggs hatched with little hatchlings that thrived and grew into lovely layers, even if they were mutts and not the breeds I wanted.).

You got a broody to sit on eggs, that's a victory. If ONE hatches that is success in itself. Next time better eggs, better plan, better results.

Wishing you luck with the rest of your broods.
Lady of McCamley

 

[fisherlady]

My silkie hen has decided to go broody again. I'm fine with that, except, I worry. Is it hard on them to sit so much? She has only hatched 3 chicks so far. They hatched on the August 2nd. So it has been a litte over 6 weeks. It seem like she lost some weight and she has just (in the last couple of weeks) seemed to have recouped. She is bound and determined to sit. Should I place some eggs under her? I have about 2 dozen in the incubator. Can I relocate a few of them under her after they have been in there? Thanks

If you are going to use the incubator eggs then my only precaution would be timing.... I haven't done this, but have heard of others, if the hen has only been broody for a short time you should make sure the eggs you give her aren't due to hatch right away. Basically, if she's only been broody for a few days her hormones aren't quite ready for instant family. It has been said they are better off having about 2 wks of broodiness before being given chicks. I would time eggs hatching the same way.
So again, sorry I can't provide first hand experience about this exact thing, but you may want to do a search in the 'search this thread' block above because I know it's been discussed before, I don't remember though if it was this thread or the other old fashioned broody hen thread.

 

[fisherlady]

The poster above raised a good observation....for those of us who have Silkies and other "annoyingly frequent brooders"....

What do you do to help them sustain good body health during and between those frequent broods?

I don't like to discourage my faithful Silkie from a good brood as I have more than once counted on her to bail me out with either chick or egg that needed finishing...so I count on her frequency.

But what can we do to help them stay in optimum health.

I use electrolytes and vitamins in the water, and keep her on a flock raiser or chick grower feed to give her more energy (and less calcium as she isn't laying). Probiotics periodically too. ACV in the water consistently.

What do you all use?

Curious,
Lady of McCamley

We do the same for our chronic broody Gracie.... and frequently sneak treats such as hulled sunflower seeds, scrambled eggs, meal worms and raisins and fresh corn kernels to keep her eating frequently. Also, we keep the broodies and babies in an area with a sand mix on the floor and we use a rather high protein seed mix (actually is a finch mix, I believe) for 'scratch' for them. It has tiny seeds easy for the babies to pick up and crushed sunflower seed kernels and we have raised many broody clutches with great results doing this. They still eat their chick starter, the scratch is just provided to keep them busy and to help the broody teach them all about scratching even on days they aren't outside.

 

[fisherlady]

Hope it works out for you Emcrowston.

My plans are not going well, my incubator eggs are all clear at 14 days so I can't give those to my broody, she is not impressed with my 10 day old chicks, won't let them near her

I have totally failed in finding any fertile eggs locally and so I am left with 2 choices. Either I try to break her, but she seems pretty determined, or I buy eBay eggs and hope they don't get too scrambled in the post.

Can you contact farm vets in your area (or whatever amount of area you would be willing to travel) and let them know you are in need of chicks for a broody due to a bad egg batch? They may not give you the names of other folks with chickens (due to privacy concerns) but they probably know of a few folks who may have chicks and might be willing to pass your info along to them if you don't mind your contact info being spread.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Can you contact farm vets in your area (or whatever amount of area you would be willing to travel) and let them know you are in need of chicks for a broody due to a bad egg batch? They may not give you the names of other folks with chickens (due to privacy concerns) but they probably know of a few folks who may have chicks and might be willing to pass your info along to them if you don't mind your contact info being spread.

Hope it works out for you Emcrowston.

My plans are not going well, my incubator eggs are all clear at 14 days so I can't give those to my broody, she is not impressed with my 10 day old chicks, won't let them near her

I have totally failed in finding any fertile eggs locally and so I am left with 2 choices. Either I try to break her, but she seems pretty determined, or I buy eBay eggs and hope they don't get too scrambled in the post.

Elliechooks,
Fisherlady makes a good point and prompts a thought for me...have you contacted your local 4H Extension office? When I was in 4H years ago with the kids, and we did an egg hatching unit, we got our eggs from the 4H Extension...they have good connections in the community. Also ask about the local 4H chicken clubs, another good resource.
EDITED to add: I see you are both in the UK, but there must be some sort of Ag club for kids there as well. An idea.
Lady of McCamley

 

[DebbieParker]

New Post:

I have 5 auracanas and no rooster. For at least three weeks now one of the hens has gone broody. (This is my first experience, but it is my best guess.) she sits on anyone's eggs all day long and makes a clucky sort of sound. I remove her to get her to come out and eat scratch, I manually place her on the perch at night but she still persists. What should I do? Thanks is for ANY advice!