Broody Hen Thread!

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troy007ramz said:

Day 21 is TODAY! Happy Halloween! Our first borrowed egg hatched under our broody. A friend talked me into letting my broody just do her thing and give her some fertile eggs from her flock (I don't have a rooster). I have a happy hen, and so far ONE very cute baby. The kids want to call her Boo.
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The chick is adorable and I love the 'Halloween' name!
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Angie16hearts said:
Anyone have any thoughts ? I'm baffled after so long ! No eggs at all!
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It may take her a few weeks yet, and even then she may not start back to daily eggs since the days are getting so much shorter. Usually when a hen is broody she has 3 weeks (at least) on the nest and then an average of another 6 weeks with the chicks and then back to laying or maybe a week or two transition from playing mama to going back to egg making mode. So you can expect a 9 week break in egg laying (that is just an average). So with that being said your hen may have just a few more weeks before her hormones are back to normal.
I had a 7 month old pullet do almost the identical thing this spring and it was at least 8 weeks before she started egging again. In fact, her general behavior was all out of whack for about that time, she hung out around the coop and yard instead of foraging like she always had and just acted like she needed to stay around the nest area but didn't know why. The good news is that she eventually did return to normal!
 
fisherlady said:
 It may take her a few weeks yet, and even then she may not start back to daily eggs since the days are getting so much shorter.   Usually when a hen is broody she has 3 weeks (at least) on the nest and then an average of another 6 weeks with the chicks and then back to laying or maybe a week or two transition from playing mama to going back to egg making mode.  So you can expect a 9 week break in egg laying (that is just an average).   So with that being said your hen may have just a few more weeks before her hormones are back to normal.
 I had a 7 month old pullet do almost the identical thing this spring and it was at least 8 weeks before she started egging again. In fact, her general behavior was all out of whack for about that time, she hung out around the coop and yard instead of foraging like she always had and just acted like she needed to stay around the nest area but didn't know why.  The good news is that she eventually did return to normal!
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Thank you so much! It totally makes sense! We did supplement light. The way you explained I would never had thought of. I though it was really soon for her to go broody! Maybe next spring. She gets a nice break. You have me my answer thanks again!!
 
Disaster on Day 20- Its possible all the chicks are dead!

I went to check in on my broody around noon today and found her nest abandoned with 1 extra egg in there. This is I think what happened. She must have gone out to have food and water around 7-8 AM (her usual time). While she was gone, someone else decided to sit in her nest and when she came back, she did not find her nest empty, therefore decided to sit in the regular nest instead (where there was already an egg from someone else). It was down to 33 degrees in the morning (may be 5 degrees higher in the coop). I touched the eggs and they were all all cold, so that indicates probably they had been left abandoned for at least 1 hr but possibly 4 hrs.

Are they all dead now? I quickly brought the broody back into the correct nest and she readily took her spot. I should have listened to my heart last night and brought her inside my house/put her in a dog cage. I had not foreseen this because no one has bothered her for 20 days.

I am not candling them because it may make the situation worse. Any suggestions when should I intervene? I have a feeling that even if they survive, these chicks will hatch late.
 
Junibutt said:
Disaster on Day 20- Its possible all the chicks are dead!

I went to check in on my broody around noon today and found her nest abandoned with 1 extra egg in there. This is I think what happened. She must have gone out to have food and water around 7-8 AM (her usual time). While she was gone, someone else decided to sit in her nest and when she came back, she did not find her nest empty, therefore decided to sit in the regular nest instead (where there was already an egg from someone else). It was down to 33 degrees in the morning (may be 5 degrees higher in the coop). I touched the eggs and they were all all cold, so that indicates probably they had been left abandoned for at least 1 hr but possibly 4 hrs.

Are they all dead now? I quickly brought the broody back into the correct nest and she readily took her spot. I should have listened to my heart last night and brought her inside my house/put her in a dog cage. I had not foreseen this because no one has bothered her for 20 days.

I am not candling them because it may make the situation worse. Any suggestions when should I intervene? I have a feeling that even if they survive, these chicks will hatch late.
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Don't loose hope... I have had this happen many times (one of the biggest risks when brooding within the flock) and I have returned the hen to the nest and left her go and they have had good hatches.... Don't disturb her further and I wouldn't worry about late candling until day 23 or 24.
PM was returned also.
 
Junibutt said:
Disaster on Day 20- Its possible all the chicks are dead!

I went to check in on my broody around noon today and found her nest abandoned with 1 extra egg in there. This is I think what happened. She must have gone out to have food and water around 7-8 AM (her usual time). While she was gone, someone else decided to sit in her nest and when she came back, she did not find her nest empty, therefore decided to sit in the regular nest instead (where there was already an egg from someone else). It was down to 33 degrees in the morning (may be 5 degrees higher in the coop). I touched the eggs and they were all all cold, so that indicates probably they had been left abandoned for at least 1 hr but possibly 4 hrs.

Are they all dead now? I quickly brought the broody back into the correct nest and she readily took her spot. I should have listened to my heart last night and brought her inside my house/put her in a dog cage. I had not foreseen this because no one has bothered her for 20 days.

I am not candling them because it may make the situation worse. Any suggestions when should I intervene? I have a feeling that even if they survive, these chicks will hatch late.
Click to expand...

Put her back on the nest and hope all is well. You may be okay.
 

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