Broody Hen Thread!

[Peepers23]

What leads me to believe that she is Brody is the following, she spends a lot of time in her nesting box. When I lift up the nesting box lid she puts her head down and puffs up. Also she is making little cluck noises. Her eyes look clear and normal there is no discharge from her nose or anywhere else for that matter. Her poop seems normal in size and color and When she is out of her nesting box her personality and actions seem to be normal. The only thing I could come up with was that she is broody.

 

[PD-Riverman]

What leads me to believe that she is Brody is the following, she spends a lot of time in her nesting box. When I lift up the nesting box lid she puts her head down and puffs up. Also she is making little cluck noises. Her eyes look clear and normal there is no discharge from her nose or anywhere else for that matter. Her poop seems normal in size and color and When she is out of her nesting box her personality and actions seem to be normal. The only thing I could come up with was that she is broody.

She for Sure Sounds Broody----Hatch You Some Chicks!!!

 

[A6chickenhome]

I just discovered round worms in my broody hens poop. She hatched her chicks last Thursday so they aren't yet a week old. I'm not sure what is the best way to treat Her. I normally put DE in my flocks food but the broody is eating the chick starter and she doesn't seem to be eating very much at all. Should I put the DE in the chick starter or go right for the Wazine in their water. I don't even know if the wazine is safe for chicks? Has anyone had experience with this? P.S. My broody looks awful and this is my first hatch and hers. Do all Brody's get to lookin raggedy?

 

[glebreton]

I have a Cochin bantam who is broody and does well with chicks. She started setting on eggs again, but I have only gotten about 20% to hatch and raised successfully. Figured I would reward her dedication by buying 6 hatchlings from a local breeder when day 21 came around. Bought 6 chicks and put them under her and she took to them well. All seemed to be going well until this week.

Kinda puzzled. Found one chick dead with a broken wing about a week after doing well with adoptive mom. Looked like it was trampled somehow, but the hen and chicks are in their own pen separate from the flock. Next day, I found two more chicks dead, so now I have 3 of 6 left. I checked over the remaining chicks and found 2 of three with poo stuck around feathers on their butt so I pulled that off. Seem to have runny poop sticking to down. One is vibrant and following mom around pen. Other two that had a pasty butt are little less active, but still hanging in there.

The breeder had some 10 week old pullets that he offered to sell when I bought the chicks, but I declined because I thought my Bantam would raise most of the 6 chicks I was buying that day. Already lost 3 of 6, so now I am considering either getting a few more chicks if he has some about a week old, or buying some 10 week old pullets. Decision is whether to buy week old chicks and hope the bantam will take them in with the 3 she has already or go with 10 week old pullets, whether they do in with bantam or try to integrate them with flock...

If I get pullets, what is better option, try to introduce 10 wk old pullets to the to adult flock slowly or put them in brooding pen with Bantam and 2 week old chicks? I think the 10 wk olds will not mess with 2 week old chicks, but mom bantam may not like them so much. Or if I get week old chicks, what is the chance that mom Bantam will take to the new chicks now that she has had 3 chicks for 2 weeks already?

Thanks for any suggestions or experience in this you may have had

 

[Pocket Money Poultry Farm]

my blr wyandotte just hatched out three females... wyandottes make great mothers

 

[PD-Riverman]

I just discovered round worms in my broody hens poop. She hatched her chicks last Thursday so they aren't yet a week old. I'm not sure what is the best way to treat Her. I normally put DE in my flocks food but the broody is eating the chick starter and she doesn't seem to be eating very much at all. Should I put the DE in the chick starter or go right for the Wazine in their water. I don't even know if the wazine is safe for chicks? Has anyone had experience with this? P.S. My broody looks awful and this is my first hatch and hers. Do all Brody's get to lookin raggedy?

I personally would not put wazine it the chicks water. If I felt it was a emergency to get the hen wormed I would put the chicks in a brooder and then doctor her. I had 33 broody hens this season and none of them looked "raggedy".

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Mine only look raggedy if they are molting at the time.

 

[appps]

Thanks PD-Riverman, but Im lucky in that I have a safe enclosed backyard and we dont have all the predators over here that you guys do to do that so dont need to use the more drastic measures.

I just lock them out of the run so they cant get into the nest box and let them wander round the backyard for 3 or 4 days (locking the nest box at night so they cant get in it at bedtime when I let them back in) and that always does the trick. I really didnt think it through when I picked my breeds though, silkie, favorelles and now an australorp. Can be broody central here at time LOL

 

[luvmypets]

One of our hens went missing, or so we thought... However when we found her she had a little surprise! It's 18 eggs in all! Each egg has development!

 

[PD-Riverman]

One of our hens went missing, or so we thought... However when we found her she had a little surprise! It's 18 eggs in all! Each egg has development!

She looks to small to cover 18 eggs and as seen in the first picture---she has not got all of them covered. "I" would remove a few of the least developed---so the rest have a better chance to hatch. If I wanted all of them to hatch then "I" would put the few I removed in the incubator. Good Luck!!