Broody Hen Thread!

[foreverlearning]

I am so excited! My broody hen should be a new mamma tomorrow! Blue baby silkies

Sending good hatching vibes!

 

[foreverlearning]

OK, so determined was an understatement! I brought her inside yesterday for fear of my flock. They kept trying to bug her and she got a few pullets good for it. Yesterday she came off the nest once for personal care needs, but I had to remove her from it today so she would care for herself. I waited until almost dusk to get her off thinking she would do it herself at least once. She got a few pecks in until she realized that I had placed her in front of the water. She quickly ate and drank but didn't pass anything. She hasn't been eating much so I think this is the reason. She seems much happier in here with no one bugging her.

 

[sweetmsmisty98]

Sending good hatching vibes!

Thank you!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

This is Ellie Mae. She's currently sitting on 5 Call Duck eggs

 

[RickaRae]

So....I haven't read this entire thread yet (I plan on it, but I'm on my way to school shortly!), but I have some questions. Here's my story:

My daughter and I received an incubator and incubated her first batch of d'Anver eggs. We left 8 eggs with the biomom, who went broody around the same time we removed 7 of her eggs for the incubator. She was broody for a few days, but then got off the eggs. I thought it was because we had gotten a batch of chicks and we put them in with the d'Anvers (because it's a chick proof cage) and they were bothering her (they were in with her before she went broody, I would have never disturbed a broody hen like that, she actually started laying after we put the chicks in). Of the 7 eggs we put in the incubator, only 1 hatched (lots of temp and humidity issues). The chick was having a tough time after hatching, so we brought biomom in to see what would happen & if she could help him. She loved him! Took him in and went broody immediately (that was on Friday, 9/20). So, I stuffed some eggs under her because I have some JG eggs coming this week and if I can have a broody hen try to hatch them, I think the success rate will be better. However, the poor chick had wry neck and last night we had to euthanize him, he could no longer eat from the dropper and was suffering. This morning, I found JazzyGirl off her eggs and they were cold. She's still off of them now. Is there a way to encourage her broodiness to continue? Did we break the spell by euthanizing the chick? We had no other choice as he was suffering, but now my daughter is upset because her hen is not broody anymore and her chick is gone. Arg! Sometimes, farming is SAD! Thanks for any advice!

 

[20736]

I am so sorry you are having problems like this early in your chicken keeping experience. My mantra is, if it don't work do it different next time. We all make lots of mistakes with our birds. I like your idea to use a broody vis a vi an incubator. That works for me.
So, keep at it, try new things, and good luck.

 

[RickaRae]

Thank you! I'll be getting a silkie or two in the spring, too, so I have some good setters. We are raising birds for meat as well as eggs & show & I don't want to buy feed store chicks, I would like some girls that will hatch them out for me! I'm keeping my fingers crossed she'll decide she wants to hatch the eggs. She's actually inside, in a bunny cage by herself because that's where we had the chick, so I'm going to leave her there & hopefully she'll be bored & get back on the eggs!

 

[sweetmsmisty98]

Ok so I feel like I'm in a pickle. I have my broody mamma here who is sitting on 8 eggs and one has already hatched but while sitting here petting her I noticed she has lice. When can I treat her and can I the babies also?

 

[foreverlearning]

Ok so I feel like I'm in a pickle. I have my broody mamma here who is sitting on 8 eggs and one has already hatched but while sitting here petting her I noticed she has lice. When can I treat her and can I the babies also?

I would treat her now and transfer her, eggs, and chick to new bedding. The lice can kill new chicks quicker than anything else.

 

[AmateurChickie]

At about what age do bantams first go broody?
We have a broody on 13 eggs (!!), which are due to hatch within the next week, but yesterday one of our youngest two started sitting on her eggs.
The particular broody lays quite small eggs, so I don't think a baby would be able to hatch from them. The other hen her age, which everyone thought was a rooster, until we started getting humongous eggs (she's quite large for a bantam) which we had never gotten before, hasn't started sitting on her eggs. They were almost fully grown when I got here at the end of May, I think they were born around the middle of May, I can't be certain.
Is it normal for this bantam to be broody yet? Thanks.