Broody Hen Thread!

[Lady of McCamley]

Hi, I need some advise! I have a 1yr old Ameraucana that is wanting to go broody. She takes every egg and insist on sitting on them. I don't have a Roo so I just take all the eggs away from her and she usually gives up. Well, this time she isn't giving up!! I took the unfertilized eggs away and replaced them with 2 (so far) eggs out of my bator that are on day 12. I gave her my iffy(I can't see movement) eggs just to see how she would do with them. I figure if she looses interest I'm prob not loosing any chicks???? My question is, if she seem to stick with it should I put more eggs under her?? I've always used an incubator so this is a first for me so I would love to hear what you think!!

If she seems determined...give her some real eggs!

It is awesome to see them hatch and brood chicks. A good broody hen is rated at 80% to 100% efficiency of hatching chicks...and your life is free from heat lamps and brooding cages...mom does all the work.

Lady of McCamley

 

[NCChickchick]

I agree with "the Lady". I started with 14 shipped eggs in Sept and divided them between the incubator and my broody Silky. The incubator produced one (1). Silky hatched four (4). Same egg shipment. These were Seramas which are supposed to be hard to hatch in any event.
I have 4 under dual Serama/ BO mommies now. Started with 6, 1 just flat disappeared and candled tonight at day 14. 1 was just undeveloped and the rest were dark as they could be!
These are broody mommies that are both only 6 and 7 months old. The eggs are from the 6 month old Serama. I only have one roo and he's a Serama too- 6 months old and couldn't POSSIBLY handle my Buff.
Hope these babies hatch. Will post photos. Here's the dad

 

[Alaskan]

Will a broody be "broken" if she hears a bunch of chicks?

So, if she is in a dog crate on a nest, and in the next room I have a bunch of new chicks.

I am thinking that the odds are good that something bad will happen (like she deserts the nest she is on and gets desperate trying to get to the new chicks that she can't see but can hear.)

Is my guess likely to be correct?

 

[sonderah]

Momma took the adopted babies out today!! She is doing a great job. 1 baby did decide to try & go through the fence to visit the turkeys, & got stuck 1/2 way through. My bf pushed him back into their pen & mom pecked it on the head real good a few times. Lol Its so awesome to watch! My broody turkey goes on lockdown tomorrow!

 

[roheryn]

Here is my broody Phoenix. She is about a year old, I adopted a phoenix pair at 7 months when my lovely 6 mo cochin died suddenly of a bacterial infection. She had fluffed feathers and was listless, died in under an hour. So when I saw my little phoenix all fluffy, I immediately logged in here! Was I glad to see that she is just broody!

She is the lowest on the pecking order, and such a sweet hen and she never pecks me when I move her or take the eggs away. I find her in the nest every time I go out, and although there are two spaces for nesting, my four hens only use one. I literally saw one hen hopping from foot to foot, calling her egg song, and when I moved the phoenix the other ran in and laid in egg in under 5 minutes! I guess they will figure it out since I keep hearing egg songs, and she always has eggs under her. Do I just let her get it out of her system? We don't have space for more chooks (although I want them, hubby says NNNNOOOO) And of course no rooster in my city outskirts. Just keep kicking her out?

 

[NCChickchick]

Will a broody be "broken" if she hears a bunch of chicks?

So, if she is in a dog crate on a nest, and in the next room I have a bunch of new chicks.

I am thinking that the odds are good that something bad will happen (like she deserts the nest she is on and gets desperate trying to get to the new chicks that she can't see but can hear.)

Is my guess likely to be correct?

I would guess that she would stay put and wait for hers. In nature other clutches would hatch around her. These mamas can be really determined.

But I'm totally inexperienced. Maybe someone else will weigh in...

 

[Tyaloria]

Here is my broody Phoenix. She is about a year old, I adopted a phoenix pair at 7 months when my lovely 6 mo cochin died suddenly of a bacterial infection. She had fluffed feathers and was listless, died in under an hour. So when I saw my little phoenix all fluffy, I immediately logged in here! Was I glad to see that she is just broody! e She is the lowest on the pecking order, and such a sweet hen and she never pecks me when I move her or take the eggs away. I find her in the nest every time I go out, and although there are two spaces for nesting, my four hens only use one. I literally saw one hen hopping from foot to foot, calling her egg song, and when I moved the phoenix the other ran in and laid in egg in under 5 minutes! I guess they will figure it out since I keep hearing egg songs, and she always has eggs under her. Do I just let her get it out of her system? We don't have space for more chooks (although I want them, hubby says NNNNOOOO) And of course no rooster in my city outskirts. Just keep kicking her out? Great pictures! They really helped as it's my first time hatching and it's nice to see that's hens are setting the same way as yours! Thanks for sharing

 

[jammyjammy2112]

what do hens act like befor they go broody is there anyway of telling that there going to go broody in a few days or do they just go to lay an egg and not get out or something

 

[randerson846]

My incubator arrived so they are going In 12 hours woooo e

 

[Tyaloria]

what do hens act like befor they go broody is there anyway of telling that there going to go broody in a few days or do they just go to lay an egg and not get out or something

My wyandotte went broody first and then my sussex copied her.
They just sat in the nest box and refused to move and they went all big and fluffy when in there.
I also noticed lots of feathers everywhere and turns out they were plucking themselves to line the nest with feathers!

Im a first time hen owner so I didnt know what they were upto at first but thats what I observed with mine.
They are now sat upon some silkie eggs (much to my husbands disgust, he says he doesnt want a metropolis of hens in the garden lol)