Broody Hen Thread!

[mychicks1313]

My hen (Snow White) appeared to be broody so I left her be for a few days when I went to Che k under her for the egg (I will date the eggs so I know about when the will hatch) there was no egg. Snow White has been sitting in her nest box for over a week now and still no eggs, is there something wrong with her?

 

[Rhandi74]

This is my first broody hen. She has been broody for over a month so I thought I might get some hatchlings to let her raise. Does anyone have any thought on whether she should be moved with the babies to a new caged nest or left where she is in the communal nesting box she likes? The box she's been in is off the floor so I don't think the babies could get in and out but I don't know if they usually do leave the nest when they are really small? Also, will the other hens be aggressive towards hatchlings, they are the docile black austrolorp? Thanks everyone, I'm excited to hear from y'all! This is a great resource and I'm so glad I joined!

I do not have a lot of experience as I only have had one broody that hatched her chicks and is currently raising them. My hen was in the coop that is about 4 ft off the ground when she started laying. I decided to leave her be but I marked the eggs and pulled out unmarked eggs daily. When the eggs started hatching I waited until they were all hatched and moved he and the chicks to a dog house under the coop. I rigged the set up in the coop so the chicks would not be in danger of falling out. As soon as the first chick hatched I knew without a doubt they would be safe from the other chickens. My hen no longer allowed any other hen near her or the communal nest box everyone preferred. I never knew a chicken could be so fierce. Once they were moved and out with the flock the other chickens learned to stay at least 3 ft away from her and her chicks or they would get a lashing. They are now close to 6 weeks and they mingle with the flock and stray far from my hen and no chickens dare mess with them. If you decide to let her rise them as did, I would suggest you observe and move them if your hen is not quite as fierce as my hen. Good Luck and I hope you have fun watching them.

 

[TiaRC]

My hen (Snow White) appeared to be broody so I left her be for a few days when I went to Che k under her for the egg (I will date the eggs so I know about when the will hatch) there was no egg. Snow White has been sitting in her nest box for over a week now and still no eggs, is there something wrong with her?

No when I chicken broods. It doesnt lay eggs. It just sits on what it has. You can give her eggs and if she's a true broody she will except them with no questions asked.

 

[KatieRogers]

I have a little Bantam hen that disappeared last weekend. This past Wednesday we found her next to the garage sitting a nest. I can't tell if there are eggs under her or not and I have no idea if they are fertile as the only Roo I have is a LF Wyandotte. How much can I likely mess with her without her abandoning the nest if I were to pull an egg out and candle it(if there are any under her to begin with). I had been seeing her early in the morning going to eat by the coop but since we found where she is I haven't seen her leave the nest once for me to be able to peek and see if there's anything there. This is the first time I have had a hen go broody at all.

 

[NCChickLovers]

Hello everyone. I do e a question. One of my hens is currently broody and we've had 2 out of 12 eggs that we let her sit on hatch 2 perfect little chicks, 2 have broken with just yolk and other nastiness getting all over the place, and I found a broken one earlier with a half developed chick hanging out of it. she is currently sitting on 7 more eggs that have not had anything exciting happen to them, yet, but I don't want to bother her to try and candle them to see how far along or if they are even fertilized. Her and her sister, who is helping to show the babies that have hatched how to forage and other really adorable stuff, don't seem to mind when my husband and I go in there to check on them and make sure there is food and water, but the broody hen seems to get too agitated if one of us gets too close to her nest. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[fshinggrl]

Hello everyone. I do e a question. One of my hens is currently broody and we've had 2 out of 12 eggs that we let her sit on hatch 2 perfect little chicks, 2 have broken with just yolk and other nastiness getting all over the place, and I found a broken one earlier with a half developed chick hanging out of it. she is currently sitting on 7 more eggs that have not had anything exciting happen to them, yet, but I don't want to bother her to try and candle them to see how far along or if they are even fertilized. Her and her sister, who is helping to show the babies that have hatched how to forage and other really adorable stuff, don't seem to mind when my husband and I go in there to check on them and make sure there is food and water, but the broody hen seems to get too agitated if one of us gets too close to her nest. Does anyone have any suggestions?

If they are getting up off the nest, there is a good chance that the other eggs are not good. I would grab all or a few and candle. You don't want a nest of rotten eggs sitting there. Good luck!

 

[fshinggrl]

I have a little Bantam hen that disappeared last weekend. This past Wednesday we found her next to the garage sitting a nest. I can't tell if there are eggs under her or not and I have no idea if they are fertile as the only Roo I have is a LF Wyandotte. How much can I likely mess with her without her abandoning the nest if I were to pull an egg out and candle it(if there are any under her to begin with). I had been seeing her early in the morning going to eat by the coop but since we found where she is I haven't seen her leave the nest once for me to be able to peek and see if there's anything there. This is the first time I have had a hen go broody at all.

If it were me, I'd just start timing her hatch from when she disappeared. If she lets you, go ahead, try and candle an egg or two. 21 days.

 

[mychicks1313]

Yep I understand that they don't lay the issue is that she hasn't even laid a fertile egg yet. She is just sitting on an empty nest...

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Some hens do that. You can either give her fertile eggs or break her.

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Well I had 5 eggs under a broody and 4 hatched. So I put the last egg under a different hen. Yesterday was 24 days going by the timeline of the other chicks. I almost threw the egg as the new hen kept getting the wrong nest. Anyway eggs must be resilient as I had a cute little easter egger when I went to do chores. So now both moms are happy.