Broody Hen Thread!

[mindylee]

Congrats!!!   Sounds like the broody flu hit your coops hard!  We currently have 3, one is on eggs (day 10) and the other 2 are waiting for eggs from a breeder, hopefully he will get some collected in the next few days... weather has complicated his egg collection.

About a monty ago I had 22 broodies at once. I always have broodies all times of the yr. Not often when I have not a single broody. Its very contagious in my flock.

 

[kmollyhughes]

I've had 9 broodies this winter. Love having an excuse to have babies.

But! I have a question. Can a first time broody not know how to control the humidity of her eggs? All my other girls were first timers too, and they had no issues keeping eggs humid enough, even through hatching. Tonight I have eggs hatching under a Faverolle and I've had to help them all. Totally shrink wrapped. ...??? I've never had such an issue! Dehydrated hen is my husbands guess. ....??? Glad I checked. I knew when I checked tonight and nothing had changed from this morning that her 8-/+ eggs were in trouble.

 

[zinkie]

I have a broody hen question.

I have 10 girls of various breeds of which I would like to hatch eggs from my 2 EEGs girls. (my roo is also an EEGr). One of my girls will start to sit (most often my Buff Orp, or one of the Cucoo Maran's and then eventually (even after 4 hours) she will get up and then I will see someone else in the nest. Last weekend this happened for 3 days, then one climbed off and roosted and no one took over, it was cold, so I just collected the eggs. Cracked them open later and there were big blood spots....

They are 11 months ish old. They seem to love to sit, but never stay. They typically lay in a orange plastic tub (seems to be the fav spot). When 1 starts to sit, should I move the whole thing and isolate it? Would that help her stay?

IS there anything I can do to encourage one to stay? I so want some EEGr baby's.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I have a broody hen question.

I have 10 girls of various breeds of which I would like to hatch eggs from my 2 EEGs girls. (my roo is also an EEGr). One of my girls will start to sit (most often my Buff Orp, or one of the Cucoo Maran's and then eventually (even after 4 hours) she will get up and then I will see someone else in the nest. Last weekend this happened for 3 days, then one climbed off and roosted and no one took over, it was cold, so I just collected the eggs. Cracked them open later and there were big blood spots....

They are 11 months ish old. They seem to love to sit, but never stay. They typically lay in a orange plastic tub (seems to be the fav spot). When 1 starts to sit, should I move the whole thing and isolate it? Would that help her stay?

IS there anything I can do to encourage one to stay? I so want some EEGr baby's.

When one hen goes broody, it often tempts the others to sit too. However, in my experience competing broody hens tend to push each other off the nest and then nobody sits and, yep, the eggs get cold...or broken...in the shuffle.

If I have a hen exhibit broodiness, I isolate her. I put her in my broody hutch and watch her for a day or two. If she is sincere, I take out the fake eggs and put fertilized eggs under her...although if you have an abundance and don't mind tossing eggs, you can put your fertile eggs immediately under her.

It's the only way I can keep competing broodies, or simply the territorial layers, from pushing each other off and messing up stuff. I know that others report happy community brooding, but I've not experienced it.

Lady of McCamley

 

[zinkie]

So do you think that when one starts to sit (for up to 4 hours) she is really broody.... or just chilling......

So remove them... I will try that.
Thanks

 

[Lady of McCamley]

So do you think that when one starts to sit (for up to 4 hours) she is really broody.... or just chilling......

So remove them... I will try that.
Thanks

A true brooder will sit pretty much 24/7 for 3 weeks getting up about an hour each day to eat, drink and relieve.

So 4 hours is not a true brood. However if a bird wants to brood but is less dominate in the flock, other more dominate birds can push her off the nest. When one bird goes broody others sometimes mimick the behavior but never fall into a real brood.

Problem is you won't know if you've got a true but less dominant brooder or somebody just chillin until you separate them. It can help kick in a true brood in a bird who is unsure about it.

It can also help you figure out who is serious and who is not and who will stay the course...which genetics, hormones and temperament determine.

Good luck.
Lady of McCamley

 

[jctid]

I have a clutch of eggs under a broody. Then another one started sitting with her. (Unable to separate them at this time). Then the other day I went out- the original gal changed her mind and the second one was sitting (broody and flat) in another box with no eggs. They were uncovered somewhere between 1-4 hours and cold to the touch. Are the eggs gonners? They were two weeks in. It was below freezing I think- 25-30 degrees.

 

[mindylee]

I have a clutch of eggs under a broody. Then another one started sitting with her. (Unable to separate them at this time). Then the other day I went out- the original gal changed her mind and the second one was sitting (broody and flat) in another box with no eggs. They were uncovered somewhere between 1-4 hours and cold to the touch. Are the eggs gonners? They were two weeks in. It was below freezing I think- 25-30 degrees.

It depends...

I had that happen too just reciently.

I tossed them in the bator and looks like some lived But only time will tell PLUS what deformities the chick might have due to it.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I have a clutch of eggs under a broody. Then another one started sitting with her. (Unable to separate them at this time). Then the other day I went out- the original gal changed her mind and the second one was sitting (broody and flat) in another box with no eggs. They were uncovered somewhere between 1-4 hours and cold to the touch. Are the eggs gonners? They were two weeks in. It was below freezing I think- 25-30 degrees.

I agree don't give up hope...put them in an incubator. Likely a number of them have survived. I am constantly being surprised at how hardy the embryos are that I now give them a try even when I think they are gonners.
Lady of McCamley

 

[lilmizscareall]

I have a partridge Cochin bantam which just laid her first egg about 3 days ago. Today she's acting broody!
I have no interest in hatching any eggs at the moment, so my question is this: Can a hen go broody so early on like that?
I've had my birds since November. The hens should be around 9 months old and they've never laid any eggs until just a few days ago.
I believe she is the only hen that's laid. She lays super flat and is very warm in the nesting box. I moved her from the coop and she returned to the nest. Could she just be a beginner layer having a rough time at it?
Our days have been getting longer and we are still experiencing below freezing temps.
It appears that the two eggs she's laid have come in late afternoon. I'm going to check on her in a little bit to see if she's been successful.