Broody Hen Thread!

[Morrigan]

Last time she went broody I only saw her off the nest once. She seemed to be sneaking off at odd hours, as I found the broody poop every other day or so, but always saw her on the nest. I'll take her off later today (she won't be happy about that, lol) when the rest of the flock is getting their afternoon feeding, and change out the bedding.

I was thinking back on it -- my first broody had an egg break, but ate the shell. Then she pooped in the nest (she was one I ended up having to manually force to take a break once at day). Those eggs were disgusting -- yolk and poop everywhere. But it was a tiny clutch, so I shrugged it off, and waited to see what would happen. 2 of the 4 hatched. Still, I think I'll clean up the nest this time.

 

[16 paws]

Personally, and I am sure others will say they couldn't are less about this, but I believe it would be extremely cruel to have a broody devote several weeks hatching eggs and finally be rewarded with precious baby chicks only to have them all taken away a couple of days later.

Years ago I worked at an office that had a lake with a bonded pair of canadian geese. Every year they would lay a clutch near a fountain and then take the babies to the lake. We would watch the babies grow up from the office windows. One year there was a lot of rain and the whole bunch of very young chicks got sucked up into the overflow gutter and washed out never to be seen again. Those birds freaked out and searched, called, panicked for 2-3 days afterwards. The mama kept going back to the nest (quite a ways away) and looking through the pile of empty shells searching for her chicks. It was very sad.


Use an incubator if you don't want to let the broody raise any of the chicks.

Sonya,
That is so sad......
I am glad you told this story I have to agree with you...
Marie

 

[16 paws]

Video of my broody having breakfast with her two 1 week old bantam babies.

When she loudly announces FOOD the rooster (daddy) flies over the fence separating the broody/chick pen to steal some of the goodies being advertised.

So cute!

 

[chickenlickin8]

My current broody hen is the daughter of the broody from last year (my avatar). She raised her chicks and they grew up to adulthood with mom last year. Betty started to lay again when the chicks were 6 weeks old. She showed her young daughters to lay in the boxes when they started. I will do the same with her daughter (Rosalee). Nothing like watching them raise their own chicks from hatch.

 

[PheobeLover21]

I know this isn't about a broody hen but I need SERIOUS HELP!!

My cousins and I built this for my hens, I was maybe thinking this could hold up to maybe 4 silkie hens? It is about 3-4 feet wide and 4 feet long. How many hens do you think it could hold?

 

[sharol]

Quote:
A rule of thumb is 4 sq ft. per full sized hen, less for bantams. That is 12 to 16 sq feet, so I would think it would work fine for 4 silkies. The little run underneath may be a little small unless they are out in the yard part of the time.

 

[PheobeLover21]

Quote:
A rule of thumb is 4 sq ft. per full sized hen, less for bantams. That is 12 to 16 sq feet, so I would think it would work fine for 4 silkies. The little run underneath may be a little small unless they are out in the yard part of the time.

Ok thank you

 

[hereorthere]

I have a question, if you don't mind me crashing your broody party.

I have a broody hen who is going into her 4th day sitting. I lifted her up today to peek under and saw that one of the eggs had broken. If was at the back and the rest of the 9 eggs didn't look like a total mess, but she was fussing so I set her back down before I could make a thorough examination.

Questions: Should take her off the nest, remove the broken egg and change her bedding? Or will she just clean it up on her own. Also, should I gently wipe down any eggs that look like they may have gotten some yolk on them? I've been going by the theory that the less I intervene the better, and that eggs in nature must get dirty all the time. But I want to give her remaining eggs the best chance possible.

Many thanks!

Definitely clean it up. She can't do it and yes it can contaminate other eggs. It can also attract ants which can be a disaster. Can you clean the nest when she takes her daily break? I wouldn't wait to long though.

Agree x2. Sometimes you just can't wait for them to take their bathroom breaks. I have a spare plastic waterer that I've unscrewed off it's base, placed it over my broody's head & neck, thus I can easily & safely move her without worrying about her pecking me in utter annoyance.

 

[Morrigan]

Agree x2. Sometimes you just can't wait for them to take their bathroom breaks. I have a spare plastic waterer that I've unscrewed off it's base, placed it over my broody's head & neck, thus I can easily & safely move her without worrying about her pecking me in utter annoyance.

Thanks. She was so deep into her broody state I was able to get her on and off with minimal fuss. Only one egg had much yolk on it. I gave it a gentle dry wipe,changed the bedding and am now hoping for the best.

 

[Southerlys]

Here is my broody French wheaten Maran with her barnyard mix of babies