Broody Hen Thread!

[chicksurreal]

I
Lilly is a little mottled cochin and she decided to go broody GREAT we love it! My son said mom you think she'd let me stick a d'uccle egg under her? I said go try it. MOM she has after 2 days stolen 12 eggs from everyone!!!! So we rearranged to stop this stealing (what kind of mother example would that be to her brood after all) By the next day she was up to 18 !!!! So Lilly has now been put in isolation with an appropriate number of eggs (some will be adoptees) Waiting and poofing up as large as possible with each peek from us!

There's that fierce look again! Love it!

 

[AmericanMom]

My SIL has the prettiest hen, she looks like my molted java but with pretty dark brown or red spots mixed in....I was just looking at some different breeds and I really think its a jubilee orpington ... oh my goodness I have hen envy, she told me she would give me eggs, she has a splash orpington rooster. I promised myself no more incubator this year, wish another hen would go broody !

 

[elsfieldchickens]

Beautiful hens! Is it there first time being broody?

It is for the black hen but not the Brown one she goes broody every year

 

[sonderah]

Randomly this morning my daughter says to me, " mom, I bet the giant chicken from Dora the Explorer had a miserable life. Cause it was red, so all the other chickens probably pecked it to death!"
Only my child!!

 

[AVintageLife]

As of last night Day 22, no sign of the eggs hatching. Will check the situation tonight, should I candle? Didn't want to disrupt "lock down". I might have to search for a couple of chicks to put under my broody silke.

 

[mollybuck]

Personally, the only way to know is to jump in and try... Perhaps separating her would be good so the other hens don't bother her to much... I had a broody last year and once she was good and broody I was able to move her (at night) to a secluded box on the other side of the coop...we kept them separated until the chicks were a couple weeks old and then allowed her out with them into the flock and just watched them, she did fine and after another week put her and them back into the coop with the others. I have heard Silkies are the best moms and very protective so even tho she is not head hen she may do ok.

Thank you! Right now my girls seem to be protesting the snow in the spring. I was getting 10-12 eggs a day from my 14 girls.. now we are lucky to get 5....any way. This passed weekend was the end of regular hockey season for us. and we will be going on vacation in 3 weeks... so if they want to start anytime after that.. i would love it.

I have a bunch of meat chicks that out grew the brooder, so I cornered off a part of the shed that adjoins the coop.. will the sound from these chicks encourage broodiness? I would think that after having a broody silkie most of the winter that she would start again!! the roosters were on high alert last night and this morning when I went out to feed and water... they actually sounded like they were growling...

*edited for spelling!*

 

[AmericanMom]

my Molted Java on day 8.... she has adjusted to her new temporary home very well!

 

[K Spot]

I'm hatching my first eggs under my broody Welsummer. It's so exciting; she's on 6 turkens and 6 silver pencilled plymouth rock bantams and we are nearly 5 days in.

My dilemma is that right now I'm using my only dog crate for a sick Dorking so I don't have anything to separate her from my others in the flock. I'm going to have to try and attempt to block off the nesting box she's using from the others so she's not disturbed. Easier said than done.

Here's a pic of the mother to be

 

[HarrietB]

I bought two goldtop birds a few weeks ago ( silkie x sussex) as they are renowned for falling broody easily. Ive kept this breed before and have always been impressed by their laying, broodiness and general long life!!


I put some eggs in their hen house to encourage them to go broody and left any eggs that they added to the clutch, It ended up having 21 eggs in and so i have marked the clutch and started to take any new ones away. One of my hens happily sits on the eggs until about 11.30 in the morning and then she gets off. she has plucked the feathers on her underside and so i thoguht she might be tempted by becoming broody but its been a while now and she still hasnt sat for more than half a day at a time.

Should I be making the nest more private for her? Ive not separated her incase it caused her any distress but im not sure if the 3 other hens are annoying her


Any ideas?

 

[sonderah]

I found my Silkie sleeping on a sneaky egg last night. It was my EE's egg, but was in a totally different house than she (the EE) has ever laid in, yet in the house the Silkie sleeps in. I've read that sometimes EE's will lay in a silkies nest, but wow!!!! Lol