Broody Hen Thread!

[ChelseysChicken]

I'm in love....

Ugh how could you not be! Sweet little thing

 

[Nicky-the-witch]

I am currently trying to keep my broody cool - it's 44C (111.2F) out there today!!! Day 16 of the hatch.
I have shade cloth over the coop, a mister kit spraying water over the coop and downwards above the front door and a fan blowing the misted air into the coop - back doors ajar. Also have frozen bottles of water laying and standing around the nest all in an effort to get that temp down.
Thermometer reads just over 40C (104F)

she can get something to hatch. She has cool water just beside her so she can drink at any time without moving - as the water bottles thaw I pour a little into her water to keep it cooler.

As they are shipped eggs it will be a miracle if I get more than a couple if any

Only the 2 full grown chickens out there - 2 young chicks in the laundry with the guinea pig!!

Well it feels like the cooler weather is coming on - very windy and the wind is cool rather than from the North and very hot.
I did what I could to keep her cool - with the exception of moving her into the laundry with all the others - Once I have the outcome of this hatch I will discover if next time I must take the chance and move her and the eggs inside with the aircon and risk her giving up the eggs.

So fingers crossed - day 17 today. Not too long to wait and hear if any peeping starts. I will of course post pictures if we have any miracle chicks!!

 

[fisherlady]

Well it feels like the cooler weather is coming on - very windy and the wind is cool rather than from the North and very hot.
I did what I could to keep her cool - with the exception of moving her into the laundry with all the others - Once I have the outcome of this hatch I will discover if next time I must take the chance and move her and the eggs inside with the aircon and risk her giving up the eggs.

So fingers crossed - day 17 today. Not too long to wait and hear if any peeping starts. I will of course post pictures if we have any miracle chicks!!

hoping they hatch for her! (and you!)

 

[foreverlearning]

Well it feels like the cooler weather is coming on - very windy and the wind is cool rather than from the North and very hot.
I did what I could to keep her cool - with the exception of moving her into the laundry with all the others - Once I have the outcome of this hatch I will discover if next time I must take the chance and move her and the eggs inside with the aircon and risk her giving up the eggs.

So fingers crossed - day 17 today. Not too long to wait and hear if any peeping starts. I will of course post pictures if we have any miracle chicks!!

If you have one that goes broody you might want to look into removable nest boxes. When mine goes broody I just pick the whole thing up and move it to a better area for her. Moving is best done at night as it reduces the risk of her not wanting to sit anymore.

Hoping for a good hatch.

 

[Nicky-the-witch]

If you have one that goes broody you might want to look into removable nest boxes. When mine goes broody I just pick the whole thing up and move it to a better area for her. Moving is best done at night as it reduces the risk of her not wanting to sit anymore.

Hoping for a good hatch.

Thanks - I have cardboard "nests" made out of beer boxes cut in half on an angle filled with shavings then straw. I did try moving her (when she was sitting on her own infertile eggs prior to arrival of fertile ones) to the little coop so she could be on her own in peace - she walked away from them to get back to her favorite spot in her usual coop. That was why I was very reluctant to try moving her later on. If (ha! ha! WHEN) we hatch again I will put the coop in a better spot to start with so this is not an issue.

 

[kmollyhughes]

Thanks - I have cardboard "nests" made out of beer boxes cut in half on an angle filled with shavings then straw. I did try moving her (when she was sitting on her own infertile eggs prior to arrival of fertile ones) to the little coop so she could be on her own in peace - she walked away from them to get back to her favorite spot in her usual coop. That was why I was very reluctant to try moving her later on. If (ha! ha! WHEN) we hatch again I will put the coop in a better spot to start with so this is not an issue.

Hi! If you move them at night to wherever you want them and keep them in total darkness the next day, more often than not they'll be fine. We pull our broody girls into our shop during the winter and put them in large dog crates. We have only had one girl fight it out of 7 this winter. The others just settled in and i think were relieved not to be pushed around out in our large coop full of other hens anymore.

 

[Nicky-the-witch]

Hi! If you move them at night to wherever you want them and keep them in total darkness the next day, more often than not they'll be fine. We pull our broody girls into our shop during the winter and put them in large dog crates. We have only had one girl fight it out of 7 this winter. The others just settled in and i think were relieved not to be pushed around out in our large coop full of other hens anymore.

Oh, OK. I have some dog travel crates - currently housing a guinea pig and two 4 week old chicks - I will give it a go next time. Thanks for the advice.

 

[kmollyhughes]

Oh, OK. I have some dog travel crates - currently housing a guinea pig and two 4 week old chicks - I will give it a go next time. Thanks for the advice.

This was the girls when they first got settled. After the chicks hatched we pulled the two silkie mamas and their 4 babies to another crate and left the Marans in this one with her babies.

Worked great to seperate them from the flock and while they were sitting we were having nights of -12! Brrrrr

 

[glebreton]

Just went out to feed my flock and saw my broody bantam was sitting in an adjacent box on a couple of fresh eggs. Her clutch she has been on for 10 days was open. Guess I left the flock penned up too long sleeping in this morning. I usually let them out the coop before 7, today was 10. Hens had laid some eggs and pushed her off her clutch to lay in that box. Good thing is the temps are in low 70s and the eggs weren't exposed more than a couple hours. They didn't feel too cool. I put her back on them and she is still sitting. So just hope for the best!

 

[Cole1895]

hey everyone not new here but haven't been on byc for about a year I had to move away for a while outta town an had to get rid of my birds ... hoping to get back into them this spring ... get me a few silkies as my hatchers instead of an incubator ... so much easier that way ... post pics after I get back into the swing of things

~ c. wilson