Broody Hen Thread!

[soydo]

Candle the eggs now. There are threads on how to candle and what to see for. If they are infertile you can either replace the eggs with fresh, fertile ones if you want her to hatch something. If not, then just candle and none are fertile take them all away now.

 

[kkenney]

When moving a broody darkness is your friend . I use wooden nest boxes that I can move and put a hinged door on . A temporary door works also . I sometimes use a piece of pegboard and screws . This gives some air but limited light . Put door on at night and move . I use a rabbit hutch for broodies . Keep her captive in the dark box until late the next day . Release her for a bit to eat and drink . If she does not return to nest put her back in and close the front again . Do this until she settles in and returns to the nest on her own . I do this with golf balls or hard boiled eggs until they settle . They may have a fit when forced back in . This is why I let them out late before dark . Darkness will stop the tantrum in a little while . You can put her eggs in a incubator until she settles if you have one . Otherwise you may have to give her new eggs to hatch .

Thanks for the advise! Maybe that was the issue, I was moving her in the daylight. I just moved her into a large cat carrier and threw a cloth over half of the holes so she has some ventilation but limited light as you suggested. We shall see how this goes with her once the sun comes up tomorrow. On the plus side, at least she went straight in for me without any temper tantrum or meltdown, just some puffing out of feathers was all! We do not have an incubator so unfortunately if this doesn't go well with her its game over for the two remaining eggs. I do however have another bantam that is laying so if she happens to settle down and remain broody I may try placing some of those under her. One step at a time however! Thanks again!

 

[julieh]

Hi all - my hybrid has been broody for about 4 weeks. We have no fertile eggs and only one other hen who is very docile and friendly. Should I get a day old chick or two for her to rear? I'm worried if I get fertile eggs for her she'll spend 3 more weeks on minimal rations- she already looks a bit skinny & her wattle is really pale. If I get her chicks what else will I need to do?

 

[Bryam]

Yup, get 2 or 3 chicks put them under her and she will probably be very happy!!

Good luck!

 

[soydo]

Yeah you can get chicks for her, best if they are under a week of age. Put them under her early night after dark so they have the whole night to bond.

Have feeder and waterers appropriate for chicks, remove the others so the mother will have to use these and that will help with bonding. Chicks have an intense bonding experience when a mother hen uses food calls- slightly nervous foster chicks often lose loads of their fear after several food calls.

 

[Bryam]

Umm, I just gave a broody hen some chicks, but she is just siting on them all day. She is not going around the cage giving them food. What should I do. Some of the chicks are 2 days old, but must hatched yesterday. I am worried they are getting hungry. How do I know if she is just not doing her job?

 

[farnorth]

She will get up. they will be ok

If you are worried sprinkle a little chick starter around her,

They will complain if they get too hungry by cheeping loudly....

I've put three day olds under a hen, she stayed put 2 days before moving around much. They snuck out to eat and drink.

 

[soydo]

They need to be moved to get the hen into mother mode and leave broody mode behind.

Lift hen and chicks to where they are going to spend their time together. Remove all eggs. Close off access to nest(s) if she tries to go back.

Sometimes the issue is confused instinct. On a normal incubation, the hen starts to go into mother mode when the chicks make their first noises a day or two before hatching. By the time the chicks have hatched and dried off, the hen has been reset into mother mode for 2-3 days already and normally she leaves the nest within 12 20 hours of the first chick to be out. Hens with introduced chicks miss this noisy egg stage so their mother mode started very suddenly and so some maybe become confused and try to stay on the nest too long for the chicks. This is why physically moving the hen and chicks becomes necessary in those situations.

 

[Bryam]

Well, I tried moving her, but she refused to walk, so the chicks kinda ran around exploring and biting at the hay and the shavings in the nest. I dipped all of their beaks in the water bowl and they drink some and then they ran back under the warm broody hen! I figured I will leave them alone the rest of the day and and hopefully tomorrow she will realize she has to feed the chicks!

Is it a problem that they are on shavings? Should I remove the shavings and just have them on newspaper? I did put the crumble in a stainless low bowl because it is shiny and the chicks seem to be attracted to shiny things. The chicks will be 3 days old tomorrow, so the yolk sack should be gone, I hope they will become more hungry.

If she doesn't improve should I put the chick back in my brooder? I am hoping this will be a last resort!

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Having a chicks is so much work on the human grandparents!! Lol!

 

[Zombified]

One of my ducks was broody for a couple weeks, and we were forced to move her and her nest into the shed. Well, after moving her at night, she was fine. But this morning, my dad moved her nest AGAIN even though I told him not to. So Nyx stopped sitting and was not happy where she was. The spot he moved her to, she absolutely hates. I moved her and the nest back in the shed, but I doubt her eggs are even alive anymore. She was off the nest all day.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to keep her from quitting. She's still acting broody, so I don't think her brood was broken, but I think she's really turned off by all the moving. She's going to need to move again, but after this, I'm going to wait until her ducklings hatch or she quits.