Broody Hen Thread!

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Sounds like a good plan, and that you have a good broody.

Fisherlady gave spot on advice. I too have hatched in very cold weather...you can see my Marans hatch below which occurred in teens and twenties with severe wind chill factors and 6 inches of snow on the ground then freezing rain on top of that....momma hatched 3 just fine who ran around in my covered hutch until the snow melted enough to let them out into the run. They feathered in and grew fast and laid by 16 to 18 weeks, very early per Marans and their breeder. (all my winter broody hatches grow fast and lay early...I think it is because they are maturing in the lengthening daylight days).

She had been checking out a dense patch of evergreen bushes before she picked the shed, and I'm really glad she did. She gets much better protection in there. I'm sure someone will end up putting a nest in those bushes though. Everyone likes the nest boxes, but I can see at least one bird deciding that they are too good for the whole nest box thing and moving in under there...

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Mama goose had been super attentive to her nest. Up until today. I got up to see her asleep in the yard. I went out to the shed and found her entire clutch frozen solid. The coldest night since she laid (-10 here at the moment) and she got lazy... I'm going to go bang my head on a wall....

 

[PD-Riverman]

Mama goose had been super attentive to her nest. Up until today. I got up to see her asleep in the yard. I went out to the shed and found her entire clutch frozen solid. The coldest night since she laid (-10 here at the moment) and she got lazy... I'm going to go bang my head on a wall....

Sorry, It Happens---No Need to Beat yourself up----it was out of your control!!

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

Sorry, It Happens---No Need to Beat yourself up----it was out of your control!!

Thanks! I think she decided that sitting around on a nest in the freezing cold was not her cup of tea! (Can't say that I blame her!!)

The first of my indoor broody's eggs pipped though, so I will have babies before I know it!! I stole 2 that had not yet pipped and put them in lockdown in the Brinsea for my daughter to imprint. They looked great on candling, so we will replace our adult house birds with baby house birds as we transition the rest of the family back outside for the spring!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Mama goose had been super attentive to her nest. Up until today. I got up to see her asleep in the yard. I went out to the shed and found her entire clutch frozen solid. The coldest night since she laid (-10 here at the moment) and she got lazy... I'm going to go bang my head on a wall....

That is frustrating. I'm sorry for your loss.

Don't beat yourself up, but with each failure I look to see if there is anything I can do to improve my techniques.

Could she have potentially gotten confused and taken up brooding residence in the yard? Some broodies do forget where they are at and take up brooding wherever after they leave the nest, especially if it is easy to get confused in the yard before they get back to the nest. Then as they sit and get cold, she may have fallen asleep due to the cold.

The only thing to do is make the broody hutch connected to a small pen so that they can still see their hutch when they get up to relieve but can't wander far from the area so when the broody hormones insist sit *NOW* they are prompted to go back to the nest.

Thoughts....
LofMc

 

[LadyHawkeAvry]

That is frustrating. I'm sorry for your loss.

Don't beat yourself up, but with each failure I look to see if there is anything I can do to improve my techniques.

Could she have potentially gotten confused and taken up brooding residence in the yard? Some broodies do forget where they are at and take up brooding wherever after they leave the nest, especially if it is easy to get confused in the yard before they get back to the nest. Then as they sit and get cold, she may have fallen asleep due to the cold.

The only thing to do is make the broody hutch connected to a small pen so that they can still see their hutch when they get up to relieve but can't wander far from the area so when the broody hormones insist sit *NOW* they are prompted to go back to the nest.

Thoughts....
LofMc

I may confine her to a shed next year when she starts scoping out nesting spots. They are definitely taken aback by the the disruption in their nesting, and there has been a sudden uptick of fighting among the ganders. The yard is open and well lit at night, and it is a straight shot out of the shed to both food and water. She was well guarded by her mate, who treats her like royalty. I think the sudden cold snap had a lot to do with it. The weather had warmed up, and had been a lot nicer for the past week before this particular cold front hit. The snow had been melting the day before. The really bitter cold threw off my layer ducks as well, who had been laying daily until last week's arctic blast. My indoor broody hasn't experienced any of this cold weather, and is happily awaiting her little bundles of joy. I'm pretty sure one didn't make it, (I can smell it) but I would have to fish through the whole nest to find the funky one, and I don't want to disturb her that much (Plus, I value my hands, and she bites hard!) I took two eggs from the edge of the nest for my daughter to imprint, which looked beautiful when candled and are now on lockdown in one of the incubators. I could get them with only a couple of bruises to show for it. Mama still has 10 under her, one of which is pipped, so the day is not a total loss!!!

 

[chickalicia]

I have a broody that had 19 eggs under her not all hers she was sharing a nest together with another. the other broody left the nest when I moved them to safer area. I have a homicidal I need to do somethjng with-a whole other hen. She hatched 12 good. There were three dead. Like she ate the heads off. And one that had it's head out but looks like she pecked in another area of it and broke it's neck. I took out the remaining four eggs She is in her own area why would she do that?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I have a broody that had 19 eggs under her not all hers she was sharing a nest together with another. the other broody left the nest when I moved them to safer area. I have a homicidal I need to do somethjng with-a whole other hen. She hatched 12 good. There were three dead. Like she ate the heads off. And one that had it's head out but looks like she pecked in another area of it and broke it's neck. I took out the remaining four eggs She is in her own area why would she do that?

Are you positive it was the hen that ate the chicks? Could it have been a predator?

If you are positive it was the hen, then she is a very bad mother. Likely she became stressed with too many chicks for her to handle.

I would remove the remaining chicks, or watch very, very carefully as the hen does not appear to be trustworthy.

My thoughts
Lady of McCamley

 

[chickalicia]

She is in her v own ward. Nothing could get in. It's inside the coop. I will watch her. It had to be her because her beak was bloody also. Can it be that the chicks wer not healthy?

 

[aatx]

Question: How do I set up the area for a broody and her new chicks? I'm assuming that with the mom in there that she might want some kind of nest or do I just do it like I did when I got chicks the first time (except for not needing the heat lamps this time.) I'll have them inside for a few weeks and them move all out into a separate coop.