Broody Hen Thread!

[KarliR]

Thank you so much for the advice. Got home from lunch and got her separated in a wire crate, went to collect eggs and had another girl starting to act the same way. So she is now separated as well. I wouldn't mind having them sit on eggs but with them destroying almost 3-4 eggs daily I'm not sure she is even wired to do so! Hopefully this will do the trick & next week they will be over it! Wish me luck this is our first go around with broody hens!

 

[KarliR]

It Usually works?! But those determined girls had their second bath and still dried themselves and back to nesst!!!! Ahhggghh they're driving me coocoo banas! I need their eggs right now! We already let 4 broodies hatch! Tow of those were given to our auties, one is with us and the 4th one is the 8year old who hatched yesterday.... So not getting much eggs and our few customers are getting upset

we only sell eggs to specific people just so they pay for their feed.
We're not even having enough eggs for ourselves! So I really need to break them and it's already summer, toward the end of laying season

i will try bathing tomorrow for the last time, if they don't break i will try building them a broody breaker

I'm so frustrated...

Oh my!! Sounds like you really have a situation on your hands.
We are so new to this hen game that this is my first go around with a broody hen and today when I got home to set up the broody breaker I had a second girl acting the same way as the other. It is sure driving us crazy. I believe we might give the bath thing a shot tomorrow but have the broody breaker ready to go so we don't loose anymore eggs.
Good luck hoping those girls will be back to normal soon.

 

[AmericanMom]

All our boxes are to high for chicks to get into, I have some as high as four feet.. Momma hatches them, she takes them off ( I have deep litter on coop floor, chicks will jump off the nest and follow hen, I have never lost a chick yet) She does not take them back to nest in the evening she goes to a quiet corner and covers them on the floor. I also do not provide chick waterers nor chick food. They drink out of the large 5 gallon waterer the rest of the flock uses and they eat the all purpose pellets. Hen breaks it up for them for first couple days then they are fine eating it themselves without help.
My flock free ranges 1/2 acre, broodys hatch in main coop and chicks are integrated with main flock as soon as she takes them from the nest. I have yet to lose a chick because of an attack by a flock member (I have over 50 birds including turkeys) I have 1 gallon waterers placed in different positions all over the property and I have yet to lose a chick to drowning.. If you watch the interaction between hen and chick she is showing them exactly what to do.

 

[misspnme]

Hi everyone. So I discovered my first broody hen a couple of weeks ago. She's been consistently sitting on her eggs up until we got some very got days the last three days. She seems to have abandoned her nest. Is this normal? Can a broody just as easily become "un-broody"? Maybe it's too warm in the coop for her? Or is it possible it's warm enough in there during the day that she doesn't need to sit on them? I'm totally clueless and really disappointed. I wanted babies! Thanks in advance for any advice or info.

 

[cats and chicks]

Anyone have any experience with broody seabrights? I'm wondering if they're good moms
She's not a super friendly bird overall, but she's not mean, either. ..

 

[ChickMommaB]

Ok so lets start this broody season off shall we...I didn't realize when my first hen(Molly) went broody because she escaped my coop, i only found her by accident because i was looking for survivors from a weasel incident(2 didn't make it 1 was in really rough shape but she lived and is doing very good now no eggs from her but shes alive and very lovable, the other 15 were fine not even touched-ok back to broody) so I found Molly sitting on eggs no idea when she started sitting so I had to wait for what seemed like a year lol, she hatched me 6 beautiful babies! while she was sitting I had another hen(Annie) decide she was going to sit on some eggs in a nesting box... yup I can handle 2 broody mommas and still get all my eggs from the other ladies, nope one of my silkies (Sasha) decided she was going to help Annie by making her clutch bigger about a week after she already started sitting so then Sasha starts sitting in the same nesting box, the two have split the pile in half and take turns on each side! two weeks go by and Annie hatches me 3 beautiful babies(2 are silkies!!) I move them to my baby momma area and the next morning I go to check on Sasha to see if maybe another one or two have hatched, when I look in the nesting box I have yet another hen(Paula) sitting there! and I tell you she must be a super chicken because she laid an egg and the next day had a chick! LOL! I scoot her out because I really don't need another broody, I move the fourth baby to Annie and the other babies which she welcomes with open wings, now I'm waiting for Sasha to hatch her clutch and see what that brings! in the meantime I am moving Paula out of the nesting boxes everyday because she is determined to sit on some eggs!


Did I mention that I am really surprised that any of these girls are going broody??? they are all last years chicks that came straight from the local TSC and I have had older chickens that I "stole" from my aunts dairy farm( she was really begging me to take the roosters but I said I had to have some hens too lol) most of which have been hatched by their chicken mommas and none of them have every gone broody for me, I had almost lost all hope of having a broody hen and now this year I have too many!

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Well I now have TWO broody girls. Better to give them chicks at the same time or space it out? [broody one is 1.5 weeks ahead of broody two; will pick up chicks on the 20th].

 

[casey197530]

'Allowing' a broody to poop in the nest is not good for the hen or the eggs/chicks.
That's why you put the food/water out of reach of the nest...and 'convince' them to partake of it, as well as stretch their legs and poop outside the nest.
Now they might drop a load in the nest during the last few days but again why you check the condition of the nest and eggs around day 23 or so.

Ok thank you next time I will do that

 

[Chickencame1st]

All our boxes are to high for chicks to get into, I have some as high as four feet.. Momma hatches them, she takes them off ( I have deep litter on coop floor, chicks will jump off the nest and follow hen, I have never lost a chick yet)  She does not take them back to nest in the evening she goes to a quiet corner and covers them on the floor. I also do not provide chick waterers nor chick food. They drink out of the large 5 gallon waterer the rest of the flock uses and they eat the all purpose pellets. Hen breaks it up for them for first couple days then they are fine eating it themselves without help.
 My flock free ranges 1/2 acre, broodys hatch in main coop and chicks are integrated with main flock as soon as she takes them from the nest. I have yet to lose a chick because of an attack by a flock member (I have over 50 birds including turkeys)  I have 1 gallon waterers placed in different positions all over the property and I have yet to lose a chick to drowning..  If you watch the interaction between hen and chick she is showing them exactly what to do.

I have not had flock issue either but watched carfully at first. I had never done that. The waterers and feeders I have are not chick accessible so I have to modify.

 

[Texas4T]

Hehe
Hehehhe....
Well an update! I found all 15 chicks in the morning as expected and i checjed for the 16th egg, it was not chirping then i supposed it's dead... Then when i was about to make a small pip to make sure its dead a loud chirp came out!!! I was sooo surprised!!!! I was still there and trying to pip a bit late! So i put it back under mama to hatch peacefully! Then i remembered that i pit that egg the second day of incubation! Oh wow i am so proud of my broody who is 8 years old and had a 100% hatch of SIXTEEN eggs!!!

I know this reply comes late but I just had to say...WOW!!!! That's a GREAT broody! What a good girl. She needs an extra treat for that accomplishment, and congrats to you as well on a terrific hatch rate.