Broody Hen Thread!

[holm25]

We got a broody!!!!

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Yay, I'm hoping for 2-3 broodies this spring but something tells me it will be 85% of my flock haha

 

[sunshynertc]

This is my second time with a broody hen. The last time I got eggs off of Craigs list and the eggs did not hatch. I went to the local feed store and got day old chicks and put them under the hen.

I am at my maximum number of hens for our county. If I get day old chicks and sell them as pullets how much should I mark up the pullets, or is there a way to break her from her broodiness?

Thanks.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

This is my second time with a broody hen. The last time I got eggs off of Craigs list and the eggs did not hatch. I went to the local feed store and got day old chicks and put them under the hen.

I am at my maximum number of hens for our county. If I get day old chicks and sell them as pullets how much should I mark up the pullets, or is there a way to break her from her broodiness?

Thanks.

If you are talking about common layer breeds (which are popular), typically, depending where you are but from my local prices, it is $3.50-ish a chick.

Most pullets at 8 to 12 weeks of age sell for $10 to $15 depending upon the breed. More specialty types, like BCM or Rhodebar, and nice Welsummers can go for $20 or more.

Yes, you can attempt to break a broody hen...I don't if I ever want to use that hen to brood again as I believe it sets her up for poor brooding habits...but if you don't need her, you can keep lifting her off the nest and setting her in the yard away from her nesting area, giving her food treats at the instance you set her down. Keep doing that 2 to 3 times a day for almost a week and they generally stop unless they are in a deep brood.

If they are very broody, you can try locking them out of their nesting site in an area that they have no nesting material...typically on dry ground or grass.

Some will keep them in a cage that is hung so that their under belly gets a lot of air flow for several days. I don't prefer to subject them to that, but it can work.

Some will dunk the bird in ice water, or hold ice to their under belly, as the breast bone is where the brooding hormones are released which is triggered by a full clutch pressing on it and warmth.

As for me...I use my broodies if I am blessed to get one...or I go the food treat route.

Lady of McCamley

 

[Robbo]

My I candled my broodies 5 eggs today. Day 11. 3 were infertile and 2 were doing great. I took a few good ones out from my incubator and set those back with her.

 

[chixinrox]

I am here with the same concerns and question....hoping someone will see it and reply. I have a young Wyandotte go verify bloody. Persistent. Put her in a dog crate to try that. She bloodied her comb banging on the door of the crate. Stopping that....putting her out to forage with the others. After applying blue antiseptic. My questions are...can't we just gather her eggs...make her forage and eat drink etc. But let her go through this obvious natural hormonal phase. Will she give up trying to hatch non fertile eggs????? We have an extra little coop if she should be separate. Seems the others aren't liking her much these days! :/...

 

[SD Bird Lady]

It depends upon the bird. Some will sit and once their eggs do not develops will sense that and move on. Others will sit on anything dead, alive or otherwise. Good luck.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

We always just collected the eggs from under our broody hens. Some of our RIR girls were a bit aggressive when we did, but my broody bantam girls were fine when we did the daily egg collection. One finally outsmarted me and hid a nest under the henhouse. I had a lot of chickens at the time, and didn't notice until one morning she strolled out with a line of chicks in tow. I had enough girls laying that one or two broodies slacking off didn't hurt my production.

 

[Robbo]

I love how my broody can't resist the sound of scratch hitting the ground. Though she wont come out to eat it she runs out fast enough to say "HEY! Look! I'd love some, don't forget me!" So I always go over and open the door to sprinkle a bit around her nest and she sits back down on her eggs and eats it from her nest, lol.

 

[thechxwhisperer]

My broody hen stopped sitting today. I candled her eggs and nothing was happening! It was so sad, she had been on there for 3 weeks!