Broody Hen Thread!

[newduckmom2015]

So I have a broody chicken I think, shes been laying on her best for about 2 weeks but she gets off sometimes well the last 2 days she hasn't got off at all!! I'm worried she's going to starve or get dehydrated. Anyone else have this problem? Is it normal? I've only had chickens for about 8 mo and I'm not sure how old they were when I got them

 

[nchls school]

So I have a broody chicken I think, shes been laying on her best for about 2 weeks but she gets off sometimes well the last 2 days she hasn't got off at all!! I'm worried she's going to starve or get dehydrated. Anyone else have this problem? Is it normal? I've only had chickens for about 8 mo and I'm not sure how old they were when I got them

Broody hens are sneaky. She is getting off and taking breaks when she needs too; just not when you are around. She will not starve or become dehydrated. Don't worry.

I'm assuming this hen is brooding eggs. If not, trailrider330 is correct. The hen should be broke of broodiness.

 

[trailrider330]

So I have a broody chicken I think, shes been laying on her best for about 2 weeks but she gets off sometimes well the last 2 days she hasn't got off at all!! I'm worried she's going to starve or get dehydrated. Anyone else have this problem? Is it normal? I've only had chickens for about 8 mo and I'm not sure how old they were when I got them

While she should be taking short breaks to eat, drink and relieve herself, if she is broody it is best to decide if you would like her to remain broody with the intent of giving her eggs soon, or you should consider "breaking" her broodiness for her own health. When hens are broody they consume considerably less feed than normal (some say up to 80% less feed). While she may not starve, if that goes on too long, she can lose a considerable amount of weight.
So, either round up some fertile eggs for her

, or search this site for advice on how to break a broody hen. If your plan is to break her, sooner is better than later. For one of my hens, the only thing that works to break her is to put her in a large wire-sided dog cage, where she can still see her flockmates, and give her food and water but no nesting material. Then wait it out.

Good luck!

 

[fisherlady]

I agree with both above replies...
So to help answer your question further I have a few questions. ..

Do you want her to hatch and raise chicks?
Does she have eggs, when did she get them?
Are the eggs from a fertile source?

If your time line is off by a few days and eggs are fertile she may be sitting tight because it is nearly hatch time.

 

[RubyNala97]

I'm on my second broody and with the first one the chicks got severe pasty butt. She wasn't a very good mama and I had to eventually brood the chicks myself. Now I'm worried about this with the second one. Is it common for broody chicks to get pasty butt?

 

[trailrider330]

I'm on my second broody and with the first one the chicks got severe pasty butt. She wasn't a very good mama and I had to eventually brood the chicks myself. Now I'm worried about this with the second one. Is it common for broody chicks to get pasty butt?

I've used three broody hens and have also purchased chicks from other sources, but I have yet to have a chick with pasty butt (knock on wood). I do feed medicated chick feed so maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[fisherlady]

Where did she raise the chicks and what flooring do you use in the brooder area?
I haven't had any of our broody chicks get pasty butt, however there are numerous possible causes so rather than just assuming it was bad mothering I would consider other environmental factors also.

Not all hens are wonderful mothers, some are stellar no matter what the situation is, many do well with minimal assistance (such as privacy help the first week or help rounding up the littles in the evening the first few outside trips)and some need privacy throughout to keep them on track and frequent interventions to keep everyone safe.

Thankfully the full assistance broody is rare, as are the really poor broodies or the ones who never bond with the chicks when they hatch and attack the newborns because they don't transition from sitting mode to mama mode. Sometimes poor human planning causes poor brooding and the hens get blamed and sometimes the poor or borderline hens can improve with a bit of help and experience. Some are just too scatter brained to ever really settle in to good brooding.

There are just a ton of factors at play so often it means weeding through possibles to find the probables....and there are no perfect answers...

Pasty butt with a broody would be caused by the same factors as pasty butt in an incubator chick raised in a brooder...

 

[Dani4Hedgies]

Lol looks like I will be getting more chicks though I have no idea what kind or how many have a friend who is a special ed teacher and they are getting some fertile eggs from an Olathe breeder to hatch then any chicks that hatch will come live on my chicken farm. Lol yep chicken math is evil!!!

 

[Lilorp14]

Wow! Your lucky! for 7 years I have been raising quail and chickens from one day old, and at least fifty percent of each batch have pasty butt, and I'm stuck cleaning them up! Unfortunately, medicated feed has nothing to do with whether you get pasty butt or not. It is mainly caused by a stressful environment. A curious cat and two kids doesn't really qualify as a stress-free environment!

But it usually only strikes in their first week and a half. All cases after that only need to be treated if it gets super bad.

 

[mo puff]

I thank ALL of you who have responded to my query. I posted another same thread because I didn't think my post went through.. I couldn't find it. YET, here it is today?
So, this to PD Riverman... how do you stop the broody behavior? Just touch them? I must be missing something. I physically removed her and locked her out of the coop forcing her to free range out with the other girls last time she went broody. It went on for more than a month [7wks] that last time. THIS time, I put the balls in and have just ignored her... I feel bad about that but have given up. New baby chicks arriving at Feed store this week.. I may try the baby thing, but can not do 3 more... I wonder if one wont be enough to make her stop sitting?