Broody Hen Thread!

[PimentoPlymouth]

Congrats on the chicks. I am a firm believer in letting broody hens do the work. My orignal chickens were raised but us and the only upside I found was they were a little easier to handle but other than that I will always let a broody hen hatch them out. They know what they need to do and how to react. The next step is keeping an eye on her and seeing how good a mother she will be. Mine was great and fought for he little ones until they all got the hint not to mess with them. She was always the docile of the hens too but motherhood brought out her fighting side.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

SO it seems like I should not worry about the cold.
So should I still move her to get her out of the hub bub of the coop and maybe put her in the barn close to the coop where she has some piece and quiet?

I recomend isolate if you can. I find my hatches are best if mom is isolated from the rest...less likelihood of eggs getting stepped on or kicked out and mom is less stressed and not at risk of being pushed off the nest by a more dominant but non-brooding hen. But others report great success in communal hatches. I think it depends on where the broody is in the pecking order.

Lady of McCamley

 

[zinkie]

OK, So I stopped worrying about the cold and got a box ready and put a bunch of hay in and placed it next to some hay bales and got it all ready for momma and her eggs.

Well while I was in there getting things ready, another hen tried to push her off and they fought, so I thought well - right decision.
Well I moved the eggs and then her and she fought and protested and actually broke 2 eggs ( I kept a board over the whole, so she could not get out ) well , she finally sat so I thought she was ok, I moved the board and she stayed a while, but then after a minute or two, she took off to the other spot and sat.... even with no eggs.
So I moved the eggs back.
Any suggestions? I know some people say do it at night.
I guess I will try that tonight.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

OK, So I stopped worrying about the cold and got a box ready and put a bunch of hay in and placed it next to some hay bales and got it all ready for momma and her eggs.

Well while I was in there getting things ready, another hen tried to push her off and they fought, so I thought well - right decision.
Well I moved the eggs and then her and she fought and protested and actually broke 2 eggs ( I kept a board over the whole, so she could not get out ) well , she finally sat so I thought she was ok, I moved the board and she stayed a while, but then after a minute or two, she took off to the other spot and sat.... even with no eggs.
So I moved the eggs back.
Any suggestions? I know some people say do it at night.
I guess I will try that tonight.

Yes moving can be a problem if the bird becomes attached to the original brooding spot...and some do.

Try again at night. You may have to keep the board up for several days until she fully settles and watch...some hens refuse any other place other than the original. She may panic and fight again crushing more eggs.

If so then the best option may be to try and let her communal hatch or do what I did in a similar situation...subdivide around that original nest box if you can do it and still have free nesting boxes to the others.

Or build a seperate hutch for brooding and put them in it with the first sign of brood and add eggs after and if they settle.
Lady of McCamley

 

[wewcz5]

Broody poops are NASTY. Don't worry about it as long as she's eating and pooping. "Better out than in". I give mine water in their nest or close by and a hard boiled egg on top of their food daily. At least you found that runny poop in your run....my poor husband got sprayed down his hip/leg/boot one night moving a broody for me. I still die laughing thinking about him trying not to throw up. Oh, the things he deals with for me. You could even try some greens to up her fiber. I wouldn't worry though.

Thank you for the reply! I won't worry. I do have a feeling she isn't getting off the nest. We have our coupe divided and she has her own area. I haven't seen any new broody poops since I posted that picture. I do have food right by her and she seems uninterested. I will cook her an egg and give it to her. Hopefully that helps!

 

[kmollyhughes]

Thank you for the reply! I won't worry. I do have a feeling she isn't getting off the nest. We have our coupe divided and she has her own area. I haven't seen any new broody poops since I posted that picture. I do have food right by her and she seems uninterested. I will cook her an egg and give it to her. Hopefully that helps!

Have you checked under/behind her?? Some broody girls will just poop right in their nest. Yuck! I've had some that did that and I've have to scoop it out every day and replace a big chunk of pine shaving so it wasn't all stinky and dirty around the eggs. I'm not a softy when it comes to gross stuff...but broody poops are at the top of my list for things that are ultra disgusting. Lol

 

[Chicken-Man]

x2
That's been my experience as well.
And don't feel you need to make her get up and exercise. She will when she needs to. "Enabler Alert"

If you can, put some fertile eggs under her

Lady of McCamley

Thank u very much!! I so would LOVW to get some fertile eggs, but I am unable too. But I will defiantly do it some time in the future. I loved the day old experience!!!

I would say it is to be expected... when hens are broody they don't usually bother with any socializing with others in the flock unless it is to flare their wings at them and growl if they get in her way when she is trying to scratch or get in a quick dust bath. Seems like hens are totally fixated on their 'job' and don't have time for anything else. She will be very standoffish with them when the chicks are little also, because her job is strictly to find food for her babies and keep them safe and other hens are a 'threat' till proven otherwise.
Once she leaves the chicks (4-8 weeks, depending on the hen) she my go back with her flock buddies and all will return to normal, or she may not have quite the same relationship with them anymore... no way to tell for sure. I have one hen who will 'rejoin' the flock just like nothing ever happened with some hatches, and a few other times she just kind of hangs out on her own most of the time till she goes broody again.... there are no hard and fast rules.

Ok thank u very much too!!

 

[FFAChickenFan]

Hey guys! First time broody hen hatcher here!
My family and I are letting one of our bantam blue ameraucanas sit on some mixed eggs- some her own, some orphington, and with a black ameraucana rooster I'll bet we'll get some fun mixes!
She's on hatch day today and we've already seen one black chick when she got up this morning for food (we've since isolated her in the coop with some food/water). Its all quiet for now, but hopefully I'll be posting some pics of the other chicks soon! Wish smokey and me luck!

 

[PimentoPlymouth]

Good luck I can't wait for my hens to go broody......it was one of the coolest expierences I have had with my chickens

 

[FFAChickenFan]

Yeah! Its been such a cool experience so far. But not without its challenges- within the first week or so our designated 8 eggs (4 green 4 brown) turned into 12! (4 green 8 brown?!) So some of the other hens must have laid eggs into the broody's nest. No idea how this will affect hatch- i guess we'll have to see! and who knows, maybe I'll candle the remainders and pop them in my incubator.