Broody Hen Thread!

[PD-Riverman]

Thats whats good about raising our own chickens-----We can raise them Like We Want. For Me----I Never mix chicks with the Adults for several reasons. I do not want them picked/pecked on, I want to feed them different and I sell the older hens when the younger ones get to laying good. Now if I could free range, I would probably do things a little different.

 

[krista74]

Hmmm, well, the Momma Hen sat on her nest and hatched her chick in a cornered off section of the main coop, so the others were familiar with them from the start.

When the chick was 2 weeks old we moved both it and it's Momma out to a larger, separate coop outside the main run. This was done primarily to give them a bit more space and some privacy, and let the chick experience sunlight and see the yard. From inside their pen, they could also see out to the rest of the flock while they free-ranged.

I make a concerted effort every day to offer a treat of scratch to the roo and the rest of the girls in the afternoons. This is done along-side the coop where Momma and her chick are, and they too get a scratch treat. So, they all kind of have afternoon tea together, and can see each other though the wire of the coop.

No-one has ever lunged at the wire of the coop to try and get to the chick, and I assume Momma would keep an eye on him/her? My big concerns are the chick getting pecked at, or my cat getting her - she has a real killer instinct. If I locked up my cat in the late afternoon, and let Momma and the chick out with the others for an hour before dusk, is she likely to take the chick back to their private coop? Or would she follow the roo back like the good old days, and leave the baby stranded out in the yard?

Krista

 

[Rhandi74]

Hmmm, well, the Momma Hen sat on her nest and hatched her chick in a cornered off section of the main coop, so the others were familiar with them from the start. 

When the chick was 2 weeks old we moved both it and it's Momma out to a larger, separate coop outside the main run.  This was done primarily to give them a bit more space and some privacy, and let the chick experience sunlight and see the yard.  From inside their pen, they could also see out to the rest of the flock while they free-ranged.

I make a concerted effort every day to offer a treat of scratch to the roo and the rest of the girls in the afternoons.  This is done along-side the coop where Momma and her chick are, and they too get a scratch treat.  So, they all kind of have afternoon tea together, and can see each other though the wire of the coop.

No-one has ever lunged at the wire of the coop to try and get to the chick, and I assume Momma would keep an eye on him/her?  My big concerns are the chick getting pecked at, or my cat getting her - she has a real killer instinct.  If I locked up my cat in the late afternoon, and let Momma and the chick out with the others for an hour before dusk, is she likely to take the chick back to their private coop?  Or would she follow the roo back like the good old days, and leave the baby stranded out in the yard?

Krista

I think it depends on our hen but if she has been a good Mom and is still broody she should take it back to where she feels it is safe. My hen took her chicks back to their area each day until she felt they were old enough to roost in the coop. She started introducing them to the coop when they were 6 weeks old by taking them up each day and showing them how to roost for about a week. She then moved to the coop with them and slept on the roost for about 2 days with them and then she was done. Good Luck.

 

[Angie16hearts]

What breed hens go Broody the most ? I have 3 bantams, 1 D'uccle, 1 black frizzled cochin, 1 red cochin, 1 Old game mix, 3 production RIR , 1 Australorp , 1 Barred rock, ,1 GLW, and 4 female EE's . Awhile back my old game mix tried to go broody but walked away. Now she is not laying at all! I'm curious cause I would like a broody. Just wondering if possible with my flock . I do have a Roo. Thank you

 

[TiaRC]

What breed hens go Broody the most ? I have 3 bantams, 1 D'uccle, 1 black frizzled cochin, 1 red cochin, 1 Old game mix, 3 production RIR , 1 Australorp , 1 Barred rock, ,1 GLW, and 4 female EE's . Awhile back my old game mix tried to go broody but walked away. Now she is not laying at all! I'm curious cause I would like a broody. Just wondering if possible with my flock . I do have a Roo. Thank you

Cochins for sure. And silkies. Sometimes EEs will. Idk about the rest.

 

[offgridhermit]

Question. If one Wyandotte goes broody, will another also go broody?

 

[TiaRC]

Question. If one Wyandotte goes broody, will another also go broody?

Sometimes broodiness can be contagious lol but there is not garentee

 

[fisherlady]

Sometimes broodiness can be contagious lol but there is not garentee

x2....


and the good news is that if they came from the same source there is a better chance that the genetics will work in your favor also... though that can be a double edged sword! I had 5 silver pencil rock hens from eggs from the same breeder... they are all broody as can be and if one even thinks about getting on a nest it seems like it is a competition amongst the others to see who else can go broody next!

 

[justin24]

 

[Angie16hearts]

Tha n

...

Cochins for sure. And silkies. Sometimes EEs will. Idk about the rest.[/quote thank you! Do Cochins go broody quite often ? Or a little here and there? Guess every bird is different I definitely need some time to modify coop my big girls will be in the big coop. I'm excited to design the bantam am coop ! Like a little doll house. I love there personalities ! Especially my d'uccle oh man is she a angel !