Broody Hen Thread!

[vpatt]

When they hatch and she brings them off the nest down to the dirt--(the 3ft drop will be no problem)--I would keep checking on them---to make sure all are together----she will probably stay on the dirt for a few nights till they can get into the coop, BUT she might not---she might go into the coop and some chicks make it in, some don't. The ones that don't will die if you do not help---put them with Mom. Most chicks can start flying a little by 3 to 4 weeks old they got to get some wing feathers first---some longer, some sooner. I do not want to loose any chicks so I build a place for them/her so I do not have to worry if they make it in----I try to do anything/everything I can to keep from Loosing ONE!

I guess I made a bad choice due to no being experienced.....I felt so bad for her sitting on a golf ball so faithfully that I wanted her to have eggs. Now I can't just get rid of the eggs until I see how they do. After this I will be prepared before letting them try to raise babies. I will get someone to build me a box for the hen and her eggs/chicks. Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[vpatt]

So you think they can flutter to the ground ....how soon?...as long as I watch out and make sure they stay near her and help them back into the coop at night or when it is very cold? What about her crankiness?
Lol

 

[PD-Riverman]

So you think they can flutter to the ground ....how soon?...as long as I watch out and make sure they stay near her and help them back into the coop at night or when it is very cold? What about her crankiness?
Lol

LOL, I do not pay the cankiness any attention. When the mother hen gets ready she will get out the nest and call the chick to her----they will jump right out the nest/coop if they need to to get to her. I would just check a little while before dark to make sure all the chicks are with her-----If she is staying on the ground---then I would set a pet carrier cage or similiar that she can get into---to be out the weather. I would make sure she is protected from preditors. Good Luck!!

 

[MyChickyMama]

Hi there, I am seeking advice, My hen has gone broody, it is November 23 and I worry about the winter and the stress of hatching the egg. Should I postpone her hatching or allow her to continue. I am new to raising chickens and hope that you can help me out .

 

[vpatt]

Hi there, I am seeking advice, My hen has gone broody, it is November 23 and I worry about the winter and the stress of hatching the egg. Should I postpone her hatching or allow her to continue. I am new to raising chickens and hope that you can help me out . 

If you want my very newbie opinion....here goes. If you are in a nice warm place without the likelyhood of bad/cold weather and IF you have a very safe place for the chick prepared now....then it would be great. But if like me it is COLD and you are not prepared then you would be better off waiting for warm weather and that gives you time to make a safe predator free 'nursery' for your hen to raise her babies. I felt sorry for my hen sitting so faithfully on a golf ball that i got her four fertile eggs to sit on. We have had a cold snap....right now it is nice and warm, but this time of year it can change in a heartbeat here in our neck of the woods. Thanks to the good advice here at BYC I am better equipped if the eggs hatch......but you can see it is not always a simple yes or no.
Good luck with whichever way you decide to go.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Hi there, I am seeking advice, My hen has gone broody, it is November 23 and I worry about the winter and the stress of hatching the egg. Should I postpone her hatching or allow her to continue. I am new to raising chickens and hope that you can help me out .

If I wanted some new chicks and as said---according to your location and/or set-up would make me decide to or not. I feel you could let her raise some no mater where you live----the colder your area---the more you would have to do to fix a place where they will survive.

If you decide to not let her hatch---"I" would break her because I feel it would better for her health this time of the year-------not allow her to set for a couple months----loose weight etc as cold as it is getting. You should be able to break her in 3 or 4 days. I Break ALL broodies that I do not want to Set. Most of the time they will be back laying within a couple weeks of being broke.

 

[Peepers23]

My two girls have been laying an egg a day each since they started laying about a month ago. Now, from what I have read, it seems, one of my girls has become broody...how is that possible? I have no Rooster and eggs are removed within about 30 minutes( or less) of being laid.... I am very new at this. Can someone shed some light on this for me?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

My two girls have been laying an egg a day each since they started laying about a month ago. Now, from what I have read, it seems, one of my girls has become broody...how is that possible? I have no Rooster and eggs are removed within about 30 minutes( or less) of being laid.... I am very new at this. Can someone shed some light on this for me?

If your hen is indeed broody, it would be possible because neither of those things has anything to do with a hen becoming broody. Broodiness is a hormonal state. What are you seeing in your hen that leads you to the conclusion she has gone broody?

 

[appps]

Yep what old grey mare said . My hens quite happily try and hatch the straw in the nesting box. Eggs don't seem to matter that much to them

Roosters are quite irrelevant to broody behaviour, the hens aren't smart enough to know their eggs aren't fertile without one. I can say this from experience as I have two silly hens happily trying to hatch a nest of infertile straw at the moment sigh lol

 

[PD-Riverman]

Yep what old grey mare said

. My hens quite happily try and hatch the straw in the nesting box. Eggs don't seem to matter that much to them

Roosters are quite irrelevant to broody behaviour, the hens aren't smart enough to know their eggs aren't fertile without one. I can say this from experience as I have two silly hens happily trying to hatch a nest of infertile straw at the moment sigh lol

If you want to break them-------"I" have never failed to break one in a wire bottom cage off the dirt with No bedding----just food and water.