Broody Hen Thread!

[GitaBooks]

Hey Everybody! I am new to this thread. I have a little backyard city operation going on. I have a lavender orpington, a black australorp, an easter egger, 3 white leghorns, and a fuzzy footed buff bantam cochin. I just acquired 14 eggs picked for their beautiful egg coloring. My black australorp is named Pecka. This past spring she went broody and i couldnt get ahold of eggs in time. She lasted for a whole month and dropped a bit of weight. She has since put the weight back on and just went broody again. This time I knew i had to get clutch ready for her. I found someone offering eggs on craigslist so i picked up a dozen and he threw in two extra.

Today I introduced Pecka to her new eggs. I took out the golf balls that she has been trying to hatch and placed the 14 new golf balls that will hatch under her. I picked up her nesting box and moved in into the brooder to give her space and privacy. She got off of the eggs and ran out into the yard. After 10 minutes she went back to where her old nest was. I picked her up and moved her again and locked her in with the eggs for 20 minutes. After I checked in on her she was right back in mother hen mode sitting on her clutch. Hopefully she will take her job seriously and get the job done. Today she started sitting so i am counting tomorrow(7/31) as day 1. That means that the eggs should hatch on Aug 20th.

Fingers crossed everybody is a healthy pullet! (A girl can wish... right?)

How exciting! I bet she will be a good mother.

 

[GitaBooks]

This is less of a question about broody hens and more about breeding pairs. I know it is better to breed father to daughter than brother to sister, but what about halves. I have japanese bantam silkie crosses and EE silkie crosses. Same silkie roo fathered them. Could I breed the bantam to ee and vice versa without side effects as I have a roo and hens of each cross or would it be better not to?

That is certainly healthier then breeding pure siblings together, so you could do it for one generation and get some awesome chicks.

However, inbreeding in its self, while used a lot, is not wise as it is what has led to most of the negative mutations in domestic dogs, cats, horses, snakes, chickens, ect, including poor fertility and the like. It is very useful in one generation to establish colors, however, and generally won't cause health problems.

I hope this helps. Best of luck!

 

[katatonic123]

Thanks! My roos have awesome colors and am just afraid breeding back to my buff silkie would just give me more straight buff chicks. Very blah in mass quantities. I do have other hens I can breed with but they are different breeds so would create even more crosses. I just don't want chicks to suffer because of me.

 

[OnlyOrps]

I have my very first broody hen, she's been on an empty nest for over a week now. She gets up once or twice a day to eat and drink but she is otherwise glued to her nest. She plucked her feathers out and growls if anyone gets near her. I've collected 8 eggs for her and all of the ones we've eaten previously have been fertile. It is HOT and humid this summer. It's been 100 or above every day for weeks now with high humidity and it feels like it's 102 ish. Is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable? Will the heat of her body added to the day time Temps simply cook the eggs? I'm worried about her but I've always wanted a broody and she seems pretty committed so I'd like to let her have a chance at motherhood.... thanks in advance!

 

[Angel16]

(hope the pic showed up) thank you all for your advice!! They seem to be doing nicely

and are so cute!!

 

[OnlyOrps]

Well... I gave her eggs and apparently she prefers an empty nest... what did I do wrong?

should I take the eggs back? Should I wait awhile? I don't want them to go to waste... thanks

 

[SilverLacedLady]

I have a broody question. I have a broody who just sat on eggs, 2 hatched, flock members killed her babies. Unhatched eggs were discarded after they would have all hatched and didn't because my eldest son was in charge while we were gone, he brought them in the house, they died. Anyway, she just decided that she is going to try again. Is it safe for me to let her sit for another 3 weeks on this new clutch of eggs when she only took a 2 day break from being broody? I am about to build a broody house for her and the one she seems to have turned broody. But can I let her hatch this clutch without risking her? The picture is my first broody, first one I have ever has and I have been keeping chickens for almost 6 years. If it helps at all, she has 15 eggs underneath her?

 

[Monkeybean415]

For those of you that move your broodies into a separate area do you let her out once a day to go outside? Mine is in a crate in the garage right now and finally settled into her eggs. I have food and water in there with her but she hasn't touched it in a day or so. I also don't see any poop in the crate. Should I put her outside? I did this with our last broody and it worked well but this one is different and I'm afraid she won't come back to the eggs

 

[SilverLacedLady]

Monkeybean- I am going to be moving my broody ladies and hoping for the best. Never hd a broody before but my first one ever hatched two eggs on Sunday, and the flock killed the chicks, her other eggs never hatched and that is why I am going to move her. Having issues like yours with her. She has decided to try again, on a new clutch of 15, I am letting her direct me because I have never had a broody until her. I would say keep an eye on your broody ' s coloring, mine is a bit on the pale side and I am keeping a close eye on her, any chance her poop is in the litter somewhere? Mine gets off her eggs 2-3 times a day to eat and drink but only for 3-5 minutes at a time which is why I am worried about her, because she lost her chicks Sunday and is already sitting again.

 

[lazy gardener]

I have my first broody in 45 years! She was getting a bit pale, so I started offering her some cooked egg every other day or so. Her comb and wattles reddened back up almost immediately. She's on a nest in the main coop, inside an enclosed area that's about 3 x 4'. Feed and water there. I let her out when she's pacing and I can be around to see that she gets back in and the others don't mess with her nest. She comes out every couple of days, runs around a bit, takes a dust bath, then is ready to go back in. I usually have to help her at that time b/c she's not aggressive, and usually has a bunch of girls standing around, inspecting and commenting on her clutch of eggs.