Broody Hen Thread!

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Mame sure she is good and broody, move her in the middle of the night, I keep my henenclosed in a quiet dark place for atleast 24 hours before slipping eggs under her, until then I use dummy eggs.
 
Alwayswantchics said:
I have a blrw and bo that have gone broody. I want to let them hatch. If I move them out of main coop will they stay broody. These are the first I'm going to let hatch.
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There is no way to tell absolutely if they will stay broody... best option is to leave them in the coop where it is familiar if you can work out a way to just separate them with temporary fencing. If there is cause for concern due to aggressive flock members or them being bullied from their nest you can even move them within the coop to a 'safer' area which can be fenced off... or if the coop set up doesn't allow for moving like that you can try moving them to another nesting area.
Usually best done late in the evening or after they are settled for the night, keep it dark while moving her, do it gently and quietly and have the new nest prepared (I prefer to add some of the old nesting material to the new nest also). When you have her settled in the new nest then cover the area with a towel or sheet to keep it dark and quiet for the next day. Allow them to sit undisturbed during that time.

I prefer to move broodies before I give them the eggs they are going to have to hatch, in case they give up. Once they are on the nest for two days they should be fine for giving the eggs to. If they are already on eggs, and you have to move both then do it the same way, but be careful to check on her every few hours for the next day to make sure she doesn't abandon the nest. If she freaks too badly and stays off of the nest you will have to 'rescue' the eggs and pop them into an incubator if you want to save them.

Good luck with the broodies! Hope they move easily for you and you have lots of fluffy butts to show us in a few weeks!


forgot to add.. keep the broodies on 'fake eggs' after the move till you swap out for the hatching eggs.
 
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How long do they stay with the chicks if they complete the natural cycle? Broody blues chicks are a month old (lil more?) She has started squatting for me again. Lol

Last night she went to roost! But she collects them and does the mama thing still. Defends them, feeds them. Just a lil less now like she's weaning them? She still won't let us near them :gig
 
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Expect momma hen to go into "lock down" by tomorrow...LOL.. do hens really do that?? Last time I checked the 5 eggs she has had from the beginning look really good, air cells on a couple were starting to get a slight dip.. hope beyond hope she can wait out the other 5 that are three days behind... So far she seems pretty determined!
 
Ok I have to ask. I read the thread yesterday about it being proven that a 12x12 peice of aluminum foil will raise chance of going broody by 48%. Has anyone here tried that. I of course ran and started cutting out foil, but feel too dumb about it to actually put it on. Lol
 

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