Broody Hen Thread!

[microchick]

I just went out to lock the birds up and took a flashlight with me so I could check Aggie's 'compound' for signs that she had been off the nest today and found no sign of a broody poop, nor a decrease in her food and water. I shined the light on her and she looks 'different'. She has been flat as a pancake since she started brooding but tonight she is more alert and her breast and wings are poofed out around her and not clamped tight to her body. I think we are officially on lock down!

6 broody hens in Canada? Are these early bird hens just plain nutz?

 

[Puddin Fluff]

I just went out to lock the birds up and took a flashlight with me so I could check Aggie's 'compound' for signs that she had been off the nest today and found no sign of a broody poop, nor a decrease in her food and water. I shined the light on her and she looks 'different'. She has been flat as a pancake since she started brooding but tonight she is more alert and her breast and wings are poofed out around her and not clamped tight to her body. I think we are officially on lock down!

6 broody hens in Canada? Are these early bird hens just plain nutz?

Good luck! so exciting at the end. I am on day two and can't wait.

 

[the poppster]

They are nuts in the UP so that's not far from Canada....across the big lake! Hello from the south shore! Shoot people from lower Michigan ask us where in Canada we are from? That's rich. Eh? Microchik?

 

[microchick]

Don't feel bad. Before becoming Missourians we were business owners in western IL. Anytime we went to a convention folks would look at our badges and ask us which Chicago suburb we were from. D'oh

 

[Jessorr2]

I just went out to lock the birds up and took a flashlight with me so I could check Aggie's 'compound' for signs that she had been off the nest today and found no sign of a broody poop, nor a decrease in her food and water. I shined the light on her and she looks 'different'. She has been flat as a pancake since she started brooding but tonight she is more alert and her breast and wings are poofed out around her and not clamped tight to her body. I think we are officially on lock down! 

6 broody hens in Canada? Are these early bird hens just plain nutz?

They are a little nuts because it has been Un- seasonally warm here the last 3 weeks -they think its spring hatching time . We've had days in the 10-17C here looks like early spring may be here to stay -at night we're still hitting the 0C mark but getting below freezing anymore for several weeks now

 

[microchick]

Same here Jessorr2. Our broody girl went broody for the first time a week before Christmas. It was in the 70s here. We didn't get any cold weather until after winter. The last couple of weeks has been a roller coaster but at least no more below 0 lows and single digit highs. The Canadian geese and Snow geese are heading to the north east and I saw my first robin yesterday. Guess I'd rather deal with a broody than with frost bite.

 

[16 paws]

I've got a little broody hen in a cage in the house...she has a nice view of the yard through the picture window. Yes it is possible to have a house chicken...They just need regular paper changing to prevent the coop scent from setting in. She was really "beat up" by the overly amorous young cockrels. Now she is furiously broody. She has done this before....and after numerous attempts to break her Broodyness failed. I figured I'd better let her set some eggs or watch her starve and stress herself to death. So in the house she is with no competition for food, no one trying to push her out of her nest, and no need to burn precious nutrients to keep herself and her eggs warm. The temps here are still in the teens to twenties....and will be for a good many weeks yet. If not months. We've had snow in late May. Wish I had a chicken cam. Like those Eagle cams? Although it might be like watching cement set.

I would love to see your little broody. She sounds like she is going to be spoiled by poppster.

Keep us updated.....

 

[16 paws]

I just went out to lock the birds up and took a flashlight with me so I could check Aggie's 'compound' for signs that she had been off the nest today and found no sign of a broody poop, nor a decrease in her food and water. I shined the light on her and she looks 'different'. She has been flat as a pancake since she started brooding but tonight she is more alert and her breast and wings are poofed out around her and not clamped tight to her body. I think we are officially on lock down!

6 broody hens in Canada? Are these early bird hens just plain nutz?

Good luck microchick, we are all eggcited for you

 

[16 paws]

I just watched 'Dawn of the Dead' last night so I had to chuckle at the mental image of a zombie hen staggering about but what you said makes sense considering the degree of concentration they are exhibiting while they are brooding eggs. Frankly I cannot imagine sitting relatively in the same position for 24 hours staring at the side of the nesting box for hours on end without even a Snickers bar to break the grumbling in my belly. I'd be staggering around like a zombie also with my arms outstretched muttering 'Cheetos, I need Cheetos'

Everything a person reads about avian intelligence points to their limited mentality but what I am seeing is a pretty impressively determined little spirit that makes up for not being the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.

I have to agree microchick

 

[microchick]

I checked on her this morning when I let the flock out. Still no signs that she has been off the nest and she still looks more alert. I carefully opened the lid to the nesting boxes and listened. Still no peep peep peep but tomorrow is officially the first day for the early hatchers. This waiting is miserable.

Having a house chicken around here would be interesting to say the least. We would have 5 lazy house cats sitting on top of the cage never blinking, just staring and at least two dogs that would be glued to the area. The only way we could have a house chicken is if was a rooster and then the cats would have an attitude adjustment but the dogs would have dinner. Sometimes you just gotta count the pros and cons and just settle for what you can get.

Still, poppster, having a broody cam would be interesting. It would be simple to say, hen observed getting off nest, eating, drinking, pooing, returned to nest. For 19 days. At least it would be consistent and easy to manage.