Broody Hen Thread!

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He was never broody...and he isnt a hen...This was our Jersy Gient Rooster, Sam. We had a hen with some chicks, and a cyote got her and all but 1 chick. Sam took a shine to her. This was not an uncommon site...even walking around out side!

 
NotSoSimple said:
He was never broody...and he isnt a hen...This was our Jersy Gient Rooster, Sam. We had a hen with some chicks, and a cyote got her and all but 1 chick. Sam took a shine to her. This was not an uncommon site...even walking around out side!

Click to expand...
So sorry you lost your hen and other chicks! That had to be horrible for you!
hugs.gif

That there rooster is a keeper! Absolutely adorable pic and congrats on having such a great baby daddy in the coop! Good roosters are an awesome asset and worth their weight in gold in my opinion!
 
I have 2 broody hens with 4 eggs each that are just now starting to hatch. They all live in the same coop as 11 others and a roo. my nesting boxes r up off the ground.
Should I leave the chicks with mom or put them in the brooder?
If I leave them should I move the nest box to the ground?
Will the other chickens kill the chick? The Broody hen is bottom of the order. This is my first time with chicks. I also have chicks hatching in the incubator.
 
ladylynch said:
I have 2 broody hens with 4 eggs each that are just now starting to hatch. They all live in the same coop as 11 others and a roo. my nesting boxes r up off the ground.
Should I leave the chicks with mom or put them in the brooder?
If I leave them should I move the nest box to the ground?
Will the other chickens kill the chick? The Broody hen is bottom of the order. This is my first time with chicks. I also have chicks hatching in the incubator.
Click to expand...

I tend to leave the hens with chicks in the coop, if needed you can provide a chicken wire partition in a corner to allow the hens a few days of peace and quiet, then open it up to allow them to roam with the flock. Even low ranking hens will often be ferocious broodies, so give them a chance! I definitely wouldn't remove the chicks from the hens unless you have no other alternative. Broodies can teach them all they need to know about flock dynamics and it makes integration a practically done deal... they will be protected by the broody for 4 or 5 weeks, then 'fledge' to a low roost level in the pecking order but will be recognized by the rest of the flock as a member by that time. Much easier than taking them away and then trying to reintroduce them later.

depending on the number you are hatching in the incubator you may be able to graft a few of them back to the broodies if they hatch near the same time. There is always a chance of a flock member being aggressive to the chicks, but many times it will be temporary since they are new to the chicks and if you are supervising you will be able to note any problems and take steps to minimize them. If the flock has multiple problem members you can give the broody a safe spot within the coop (but separated by chicken wire) to raise the chicks for a couple of weeks until the youngsters are bigger, stronger and faster so they can better avoid conflicts.

Having broodies and chicks in a coop is a learning experience every day... there are no perfect answers, but there are many rewards when it works and you get to see a group of chicks being raised within the flock and developing so much faster than they seem to in an artificial brooder.
We recently had a broody with a group of 5 EEs she hatched and had within the flock and out free ranging and learning to be good little chickens for 4.5 weeks... she then left them on their own. Those little chicks went out the next day and spent 10 hours traipsing around the yard and woods and brought themselves back to the coop at the right time to head up on the roosts for the evening... with crops bulging full and no problems.... they are now 'mini-members' of the flock and act like it's never been any other way. Seeing those results is enough to keep me sticking eggs under any broody I am lucky enough to be blessed with and enjoying the end results!
 
fisherlady said:
I tend to leave the hens with chicks in the coop, if needed you can provide a chicken wire partition in a corner to allow the hens a few days of peace and quiet, then open it up to allow them to roam with the flock.  Even low ranking hens will often be ferocious broodies, so give them a chance!  I definitely wouldn't remove the chicks from the hens unless you have no other alternative.  Broodies can teach them all they need to know about flock dynamics and it makes integration a practically done deal... they will be protected by the broody for 4 or 5 weeks, then 'fledge' to a low roost level in the pecking order but will be recognized by the rest of the flock as a member by that time.  Much easier than taking them away and then trying to reintroduce them later.

  depending on the number you are hatching in the incubator you may be able to graft a few of them back to the broodies if they hatch near the same time. There is always a chance of a flock member being aggressive to the chicks, but many times it will be temporary since they are new to the chicks and if you are supervising you will be able to note any problems and take steps to minimize them.  If the flock has multiple problem members you can give the broody a safe spot within the coop (but separated by chicken wire) to raise the chicks for a couple of weeks until the youngsters are bigger, stronger and faster so they can better avoid conflicts. 

  Having broodies and chicks in a coop is a learning experience every day... there are no perfect answers, but there are many rewards when it works and you get to see a group of chicks being raised within the flock and developing so much faster than they seem to in an artificial brooder. 
 We recently had a broody with a group of 5 EEs she hatched and had within the flock and out free ranging and learning to be good little chickens for 4.5 weeks... she then left them on their own.  Those little chicks went out the next day and spent 10 hours traipsing around the yard and woods and brought themselves back to the coop at the right time to head up on the roosts for the evening... with crops bulging full and no problems.... they are now 'mini-members' of the flock and act like it's never been any other way.  Seeing those results is enough to keep me sticking eggs under any broody I am lucky enough to be blessed with and enjoying the end results!
Click to expand...

Thank u so much
 
I placed eggs under my broody on May 21st, 7 of them are CCL, 4 RLB Barnevelders and 2 Easter Eggers. She did not get off the nest on Day 3 and 4 but today she got out and seems like forgot to go back. She was busy taking a dust bath for almost 2.5 -3 hrs. When dear wife told me, I had to chase her back to the coop and her nesting area. As soon as she saw the eggs though, she firmly set herself back. I don't know how much damage has been done.I heard up to 2 hrs is ok but this was a little more. How do I prevent this from happening again?
 
Junibutt said:
I placed eggs under my broody on May 21st, 7 of them are CCL, 4 RLB Barnevelders and 2 Easter Eggers. She did not get off the nest on Day 3 and 4 but today she got out and seems like forgot to go back. She was busy taking a dust bath for almost 2.5 -3 hrs. When dear wife told me, I had to chase her back to the coop and her nesting area. As soon as she saw the eggs though, she firmly set herself back. I don't know how much damage has been done.I heard up to 2 hrs is ok but this was a little more. How do I prevent this from happening again?
Click to expand...


I notice our broodies spend a lot more time off of the nest during hotter weather, though 2.5 hours does seem a lot. Level of harm depends on the ambient temp, hopefully they will be fine. You can always candle for movement and development on day 8-10 to be sure. I had one new hen who was always much longer than my other broodies (sometimes as long as an hour) and I too fretted about it, but she hatched 6 out of 8 eggs she had....
If you don't want her up and about as long you can try restricting how far she can roam while she is off of the nest when you aren't around to supervise. I have placed fencing around a broodies nest area to prevent other flock members from bothering her, but made the area big enough to allow the hen to get up for a stretch. I placed water and food within the fenced area. Then if the hen did get up when I wasn't around she was not out of sight of her eggs. If you or your wife can be around much of the day you can also block the broody into her nest with a fence of some type and then get her off of the nest when you can supervise her 'free time'. Then you can shoo her back to her eggs after she has a good chance to stretch, bath, eat and drink.
Broodies are the most wonderful frustration to deal with!
barnie.gif
love.gif
 
400


Here's a pick of my broody girl. She just keeps cooing away at the moment sitting on diddly squat! Well apart from her bedding :)
 

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