Broody Hen Thread!

[MisfitMiniFarm]

Thank you, this is very informative. But I have to ask, when you say "THEN place fresh eggs..." I get that you mean a new batch - hopefully I can mix with other hens' eggs... but do I collect these fresh eggs and store them some how (We are trying to avoid purchasing more chickens or fertilized eggs for that matter) to build up a new clutch, while she sits on fake eggs? Sounds like it could be problematic having eggs laid from different days - but do they all have to be from the same day? or within how many days would be ok? some days we have no eggs, some days we have 3 eggs and a few times now we've had 7 eggs in one day... I just disliked the idea of taking the egg from right under the hen... none are aggressive, but they seem to freak out, almost like a shrieking like they are horrified the eggs are being taken, so I try to leave them if they don't willingly budge, then come back later to see if the eggs were left behind - they usually are. I hate the idea of making a traumatizing event. Also I try to not go into the coop at night. We lost our dear loving rooster on New Years eve to a neighborhood dog

and since has been replaced with a rooster who dislikes me very very much - last thing I want is him attacking from eye level.. (he's such a jerk, I've never disliked an animal I've owned so much.... I finally understand why people don't like roosters! Not a day goes by that he doesn't attack me - got bruises on my legs and everything).
*sigh* Life was so much easier with just 4 hens...
Oh one last bit of info... all my hens lay in the same box.. usually they are good about waiting to use it, sometimes they fight over it though, how can I peak their interest in using different nesting boxes?

 

[leedyfeathers]

I saw a place on here that claimed Tyson chicken before picking up eggs to hatch would have this place supplying the eggs to refrigerate them up to three days..unwashed.. then set out 24 hour then placed in brooder.. has anyone done that? its said to slow the development before hatching and that it could mean longer hatch time.
If someone does maybe they can help you figure out how to save up eggs that you want to place under her retarding development so all can possibly hatch closer together.????

 

[lisa67steve99]

Please forgive my inexperience, but I wondered if it's possible to encourage a hen to go broody. I have a Buff Orpington who always wants to stay in the nest box after she lays. There is usually several eggs in the box and she sits there and growls and fusses if other hens try to get in the box or if I reach in to take the eggs. However, if I remove the eggs, she will immediately leave and join the rest of the flock. If I left the eggs or replaced them with others that I would like to hatch, what is the likelihood that she would stay on them?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you, this is very informative. But I have to ask, when you say "THEN place fresh eggs..." I get that you mean a new batch - hopefully I can mix with other hens' eggs... but do I collect these fresh eggs and store them some how (We are trying to avoid purchasing more chickens or fertilized eggs for that matter) to build up a new clutch, while she sits on fake eggs? Sounds like it could be problematic having eggs laid from different days - but do they all have to be from the same day? or within how many days would be ok? some days we have no eggs, some days we have 3 eggs and a few times now we've had 7 eggs in one day... I just disliked the idea of taking the egg from right under the hen... none are aggressive, but they seem to freak out, almost like a shrieking like they are horrified the eggs are being taken, so I try to leave them if they don't willingly budge, then come back later to see if the eggs were left behind - they usually are. I hate the idea of making a traumatizing event. Also I try to not go into the coop at night. We lost our dear loving rooster on New Years eve to a neighborhood dog

and since has been replaced with a rooster who dislikes me very very much - last thing I want is him attacking from eye level.. (he's such a jerk, I've never disliked an animal I've owned so much.... I finally understand why people don't like roosters! Not a day goes by that he doesn't attack me - got bruises on my legs and everything).
*sigh* Life was so much easier with just 4 hens...
Oh one last bit of info... all my hens lay in the same box.. usually they are good about waiting to use it, sometimes they fight over it though, how can I peak their interest in using different nesting boxes?

First, to the question of the hatching eggs....I recommend letting the broody hen sit on the eggs she wants to sit on (or swapping once for dummies, and then letting her sit). It is usually best that she is separated out of the coop if you still want eggs from others as they tend to lay in the same nest, which complicates things. I have had very poor luck with communal brooding because of that...and it is always the eggs that you want hatched that get kicked out and stomped on....and then less dominant hens get pushed off the nest and stop brooding, or try to brood in odd unsafe places...or the dominant hen makes life miserable for the rest of the flock and totally gums up the coop so you can't get eggs....or they start laying around the yard. So for me, I separate out my broodies, it just makes life much better all around for flock, broody, and eventual chicks.

Now back to the egg question...so you have her sitting on disposable eggs, and by that I mean pick a set number, say 6, of either your tossable eggs or buy some cheap store eggs or ceramic eggs, or even golf balls, or ping pong balls (though they travel because they are so light)....she now has a clutch pressing against her breast bone to encourage her to brood. You now begin to collect the eggs you want to hatch. You can store hatching eggs for up to 7 days, then you should begin again as they diminish in fertility after day 7, although many have hatched eggs several weeks old, but the hatching rate is much decreased. Mark the date on the eggs so you know which ones are at the 7 day mark. You will have some 6 days old, some 5, some 3, etc. If you set them before day 8, you should not see any difference in hatchability. Set only well shaped, good shelled eggs (not looking too porous) as thin shelled eggs are likely to break.

The key to setting for hatch is to set ALL the eggs at the SAME time under the hen. The embryo does not begin to develop until it is brought to about 101 degrees F and sustained for several hours and then kept there for 21 days. You are correct that if you allow eggs to be added later, and incubated after the first egg, then you end up with a staggered hatch which is not good as the hen will only tarry for about 2 days before giving up on the unhatched eggs to tend to the hatched chicks (or some ignore the hatched chicks to try to hatch late eggs).

To store your hatching eggs, put them in an egg carton pointy side down. Place the carton in a cool but not cold place. Cooler room temperature is fine (some have even refrigerated them, but that is not recommended as that can interfere with the fertility greatly). Place a pencil or some object under one corner of the egg carton to tip the carton, and then alternate the corners several times a day. That is to keep the egg yolk from sticking to one side of the egg shell.

As to nest boxes....yes, the little darlings always have a "golden nest box" which is the only one that can be laid in. I've seen the golden box switch periodically to other boxes. There is a natural instinct for a hen to lay on an established clutch, part of that building the clutch instinct, and partly out of dominance and pecking order. You can encourage laying in other boxes by salting them with fake eggs or golf balls or ping pong balls (again which tend to travel because they are light, but they are cheap, unless you go to the golf course and pick up stray balls). However, sometimes there is nothing that can be done to prevent the golden status being deferred upon a box...it is chickens being chickens.

Just a side note...as to that rooster...he may need to meet with the soup pot. Do not put up with an aggressive rooster. You should not live in fear of your rooster. Some of it is handling and conditioning, helping him see you as the alpha rooster, some of it is genetic and just plain in born mean-ness...those deserve nothing less than becoming a side dish to dumplings as they are unsafe for anyone.

Your hens screech because that is natural instinct to protect their clutch...but again they need to see you as the alpha hen/rooster. Take those eggs with confidence. If need be, give them a treat, or lure them out of the coop with treats and then gather your eggs. I've learned a lot of animal conditioning can be accomplished with a well timed treat, positive reinforcement, and well timed distraction (something I learned from 7 years of Guide Dog Puppy training).

I hope that helps. Good luck with your flock and hatching some eggs.
Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Please forgive my inexperience, but I wondered if it's possible to encourage a hen to go broody. I have a Buff Orpington who always wants to stay in the nest box after she lays. There is usually several eggs in the box and she sits there and growls and fusses if other hens try to get in the box or if I reach in to take the eggs. However, if I remove the eggs, she will immediately leave and join the rest of the flock. If I left the eggs or replaced them with others that I would like to hatch, what is the likelihood that she would stay on them?

You can't create a good broody hen...that has to be within the genetic makeup of the hen, and her hormone levels have to be right.

However, you can help tip the scale if she has the broody make up...if you have been reading back posts, you have seen I've relayed how the broody process works...the hormones are literally released by eggs pressing upon the breast bone. When the clutch is the right size, the pre-brooding, gathering phase kicks into the full set phase, because of the pressure release on that spot in the breast bone.

Temperature also plays into the release of hormones. The hen must be in a warm, draft free area. EDITED TO ADD: by warm, I mean nothing interfering with the hen's warmth...she just needs to be out of direct elements, drafts, wind...she will supply enough body temperature on her own, do not heat her area or she will get too warm, unless you are in sub-zero freezing Alaska.

Light plays into it as well. The hen should be in a darker, secluded corner.

Put those things together, and you can create an enticing atmosphere that may throw a broody-prone hen into a full brood.

Good luck!
Lady of McCamley

 

[PD-Riverman]

been replaced with a rooster who dislikes me very very much - last thing I want is him attacking from eye level.. (he's such a jerk, I've never disliked an animal I've owned so much.... I finally understand why people don't like roosters! Not a day goes by that he doesn't attack me - got bruises on my legs and everything).

You got some great Answers from Lady Of McCamley!! I would find me a different rooster ASAP. Until then I would carry me a tennis racket or similiar in the chicken yard---I personally would just kick his butt across the yard till he realizes he does not want none of "this"(me-LOL). I have 27 grown roosters(breeders) in as many pens Not One of them tries to bow up at me or flog me----if one did he would be replaced ASAP. Good Luck!

 

[JJSS89]

beat his butt and become the boogey-man to him. I've had some nasty roosters, most of them are bantams. I've only had to cull one that got too nasty and he was a white leghorn.

I don't really care if chickens attack me but I am going to have little kids here soon and don't want to have that many nasty birds to threaten them.

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

You got some great Answers from Lady Of McCamley!! I would find me a different rooster ASAP. Until then I would carry me a tennis racket or similiar in the chicken yard---I personally would just kick his butt across the yard till he realizes he does not want none of "this"(me-LOL). I have 27 grown roosters(breeders) in as many pens Not One of them tries to bow up at me or flog me----if one did he would be replaced ASAP. Good Luck!

I had a bantam roo who was so bad we had to warn people who visited the farm about him. He would hide under the porch and ambush your ankles with his spurs! Some folks didn't realize he was trying to hurt you because he was so tiny.
"That's so cute! Your rooster is following you!"
"Actually, he's trying to kill me.…"

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I had a bantam roo who was so bad we had to warn people who visited the farm about him. He would hide under the porch and ambush your ankles with his spurs! Some folks didn't realize he was trying to hurt you because he was so tiny.
"That's so cute! Your rooster is following you!"
"Actually, he's trying to kill me.…"

I am curious - why did you keep him around if this was his behavior?

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

I am curious  - why did you keep him around if this was his behavior?

He was a show bird. He also was so full of himself he would dominate crowing competitions. If he wasn't such a good quality bird we totally would have eaten him!