Broody Hen Thread!

[NotSoSimple]

Well, this is her first clutch. So i am just hopeing she has something to show for all of this fussing!

So i pulled the hen out from under my porch, she STANK!
She had a dozen rotten eggs under her.
Yuk!

 

[sab]

LIVE CAMS - Hatching now.... You can watch the last egg of the clutching hatching and see the darling chicklets by going to www.clucksnducks.com and clicking on CAMS. She has hatched 4 dark chicks and 1 light chick since yesterday AM. There are 6 all together. You can see the egg in front of her every time she lifts up a bit, which is often. We have enjoyed hatching them under a broody and likely will never buy another chick! Plan is to let her care for them in the general population. Have to see how that goes of course. I'll mother her, but she gets to mother the chicks -- the work is off me and on to her! ENJOY!

 

[jajeanpierre]

She's had them outside, just by the door today. One isn't even 24 hours old yet. She's been broody since February--I think she is just so fed up of being cooped up that she desperately needs out into the sun. If I'm not too near, I can catch them with mama exploring a fair bit of the pen. I can't tell which one was the one I deemed "weaker" so hopefully it was all just because it was a lot younger than the others.

 

[TiaRC]

LIVE CAMS - Hatching now.... You can watch the last egg of the clutching hatching and see the darling chicklets by going to www.clucksnducks.com and clicking on CAMS. She has hatched 4 dark chicks and 1 light chick since yesterday AM. There are 6 all together. You can see the egg in front of her every time she lifts up a bit, which is often. We have enjoyed hatching them under a broody and likely will never buy another chick! Plan is to let her care for them in the general population. Have to see how that goes of course. I'll mother her, but she gets to mother the chicks -- the work is off me and on to her! ENJOY!

I've been watching every day for about 4 days now. I love your cam idea!

 

[sab]

I love my cams too, TiaRC! I know what those girls are up to.... ALL the time.

 

[Chickens R Us]

I put a 1 liter bottle w/water nipple in it next to my broody so she didn't have to leave the nest to drink, just move her head/neck.  Also had to make sure it wouldn't drip into her nest.  I hand fed her once or twice a day, but a small bowl on the edge of the nest works great for snacking.  Even with all that care, the hatch was still hard on her, she looks older and did lose some weight, but remains healthy enough to do it again in a couple of months should the urge arise.  I think she eats less now that the chicks are here LOL, gives every-single-thing to the little ones, I never see her swallow, just peck & spit.  

I put the water and the food " chick starter because of the higher protein" next to the nest box but she is facing the back of the nest box. Hope she eats something. I even put a little scratch out to entice her.

 

[goosegirl6]

This morning I put my small wire pet cage in the coop with a little water and food. I wanted to leave the floor open wire like you said, but the wires are like 6 inches apart, so I put the tray back in with a little straw. I put Rose in there, because she has been broody for a long time. Tonight I opened the door and she got out, stretched her wings, and went right back to the nest box. The cage is on 2 concrete blocks, about 7 inches off the ground. Will this work? How long will it take?

 

[chicksurreal]

So, the pullet that played at being broody for half a day a couple of months ago has been sitting in the communal nesting box all day. She has let a few other pullets in to lay an egg but never got out herself (everyone loves this box) and I have no idea how many eggs are under her right now, but it's after dark and she's settled in to sleep in the nesting box.

It's secure against predators, so I'm not worried about that. I just wonder how serious she is. Here she is, sorry for the lousy picture, it's sort of back under the coop.

 

[fisherlady]

So, the pullet that played at being broody for half a day a couple of months ago has been sitting in the communal nesting box all day. She has let a few other pullets in to lay an egg but never got out herself (everyone loves this box) and I have no idea how many eggs are under her right now, but it's after dark and she's settled in to sleep in the nesting box.

It's secure against predators, so I'm not worried about that. I just wonder how serious she is. Here she is, sorry for the lousy picture, it's sort of back under the coop.

Unfortunately all you can do is give her a couple of days to see if she changes her mind, and then find her some eggs.... since she has 'played' before you could always just give her 4-6 barnyard mix eggs so if she abandons her efforts halfway through you won't be loosing expensive shipped eggs. She may still be young enough to just be experimenting or she may stick without a problem. She may surprise you... even though she is a pullet she may do very well for you. I had 3 broodies who were 8 months old this spring and another which was only 7 months... and they did an awesome job for us!

 

[chicksurreal]

Unfortunately all you can do is give her a couple of days to see if she changes her mind, and then find her some eggs.... since she has 'played' before you could always just give her 4-6 barnyard mix eggs so if she abandons her efforts halfway through you won't be loosing expensive shipped eggs. She may still be young enough to just be experimenting or she may stick without a problem. She may surprise you... even though she is a pullet she may do very well for you. I had 3 broodies who were 8 months old this spring and another which was only 7 months... and they did an awesome job for us!

We have a rooster, so the eggs that she has under her right now may very well be fertile, I'm just not sure how many are there, I tried to check and she hissed at me, Lol. We get anywhere from 8-13 eggs a day and most of the pullets love to use that box to lay. Many of the ones I've cracked open over the last few months have been fertilized.

She's 10 1/2 months old right now, and like I said, she has played at it once before, so maybe...

The main problem right now is that she is occupying the most coveted nesting box (of course), and I don't want the others to keep going in to lay where she's at, assuming she continues. I know that Hamburgs are not known for broodiness, so we'll see what happens. I just want to give her a chance if she wants to do it.

Edited to add - Maybe "playing" at it isn't the right wording. I think maybe she has been practicing.