Broody Hen Thread!

[chicksurreal]

That's what I love about animals and farming chick surreal. There's always something to learn, sometimng to improve, something to grow and love and something to get back from all your hard work put in. It's a beautiful circle

I agree 100%!

 

[chiklee]

Here is my broody Sussex
I got a few chicks a week ago Golden comets instead of brooding them alone.
I put a few golf balls under her the Sussex for a couple of days then took them out and added my chicks and as they all say they are living happily ever after . Now that's a great mom there .

 

[phryan]

So after blocking off one of the roll out boxes and leaving a few seed eggs one of the hens decided to step up and go broody. Waiting 3 days to amke sure she was committed and then did a clean swap of the 12 eggs for a set date of May 6.

The goal was to make this as human interference less as possible (do as little as possible). So she is in a nest box in the main coop, 17 other hens and 1 rooster have access.

2 issues I am hoping maybe you'll have solutions for.
*Eggs are marked but daily the other hens have added about 6 more, is there any way to discourage this?
*Egg Breakage, Started with 12 eggs and halfway through down to 5. The rest were either broken/shattered.

Would narrowing the nestbox opening allow the broody to better defend her nest and keep out intruders.

 

[chickbrad24]

Update on my broodies a fox took one of my broody ducks and stole the other 2 broody ducks eggs 2 nights ago. Bella Donna hatched out ducklings yesterday very excited about that. Now I have one more broody duck I'm just trying to make sure she stays safe and the fox dose not come back. I also have a broody Jersey Giant that's been sitting on eggs for a bit now so they should be hatching soon. My other 3 broody hens their babies are doing very well and getting so big.

Here is a little peek at the new babies.

 

[n3kms]

So after blocking off one of the roll out boxes and leaving a few seed eggs one of the hens decided to step up and go broody. Waiting 3 days to amke sure she was committed and then did a clean swap of the 12 eggs for a set date of May 6. The goal was to make this as human interference less as possible (do as little as possible). So she is in a nest box in the main coop, 17 other hens and 1 rooster have access. 2 issues I am hoping maybe you'll have solutions for. *Eggs are marked but daily the other hens have added about 6 more, is there any way to discourage this? *Egg Breakage, Started with 12 eggs and halfway through down to 5. The rest were either broken/shattered. Would narrowing the nestbox opening allow the broody to better defend her nest and keep out intruders.

So far I have taken the advice given here and moved all my broodys then set eggs I wanted. If possible with your set up you can try to block off an area so the other hens can't get in and she still has a place to eat, drink and poop. Some people use large dog crates. I was not able to block off my nest box and so got a small coop just for broodys. About to use it for the third time this spring.

 

[Sonya9]

What to do at this point? I am feeling a bit lost. Last year she sat on the nest and hatched out a chick and all went really well.

Another problem with Broody's hatching in a communal area, if there are several eggs and some hatch a day earlier sometimes the broody will have to leave the eggs to chase after active chicks that are scampering about.

Peace, quiet, and private space is always best.

 

[Sonya9]

Would narrowing the nestbox opening allow the broody to better defend her nest and keep out intruders.

Surely you have some scraps of chicken wire or a dog crate or something you can set that nest box in. Put up a barrier and give her food/water.

 

[fisherlady]

So after blocking off one of the roll out boxes and leaving a few seed eggs one of the hens decided to step up and go broody. Waiting 3 days to amke sure she was committed and then did a clean swap of the 12 eggs for a set date of May 6.

The goal was to make this as human interference less as possible (do as little as possible). So she is in a nest box in the main coop, 17 other hens and 1 rooster have access.

2 issues I am hoping maybe you'll have solutions for.
*Eggs are marked but daily the other hens have added about 6 more, is there any way to discourage this?
*Egg Breakage, Started with 12 eggs and halfway through down to 5. The rest were either broken/shattered.

Would narrowing the nestbox opening allow the broody to better defend her nest and keep out intruders.

Some people have had great luck with placing a dog crate in front of the nest, with the door of the crate up against the door of the nest. The crate then becomes the 'run' for the hen and allows her room to move around a bit and get food/water but prevents the other hens from interfering. If you don't have a dog crate you can do the same thing with chicken wire by creating a wire 'tunnel' for her by arching the chicken wire into a long (2 or 3 feet) half tunnel out in front of the nest, you can also create rectangular frames from scrap wood and cover with wire and make your own box in front of her.
Remember if you do that she will still benefit from getting out to really run around every day or every other day (unless you can give her 4 or 5 square feet worth of moving room) but you will need to provide a little bit of supervision when she does so other hens don't bother the nest.

If you do use a dog crate remember that the wire openings are way too big for baby chicks and they will escape it and then not know how to get back in... you will need to 'baby proof' whatever type of enclosure you decide to use.

also.... some hens do fine brooding in the coop, others are easily bullied, easily nest confused and/or have trouble protecting the nest. Unfortunately you usually don't know which will be which until they actually are experiencing a brood. I have some hens who routinely brood and hatch in any egg box they choose with no problems at all, and a couple who I know I have to provide barriers for as soon as they have gone broody. This is one area of brooding where, unfortunately, there is just know way to know for sure until they experience it.

 

[chicksurreal]

I candled the Dark Cornish egg that mysteriously appeared in my broody's nest and I think it's clear, but this is my first attempt at candling. Any other opinions?

 

[fisherlady]

I candled the Dark Cornish egg that mysteriously appeared in my broody's nest and I think it's clear, but this is my first attempt at candling. Any other opinions?

I don't remember how many days you said it was there....but if it has been over 5 days I would call it a clear.