Broody Hen Thread!

[Lady of McCamley]

Hello! My hen is by her self! I cleaned her off as best as I can (still lots of poop) she has a lot of space to get up and walk around though but she never does

Sometimes they are very messy if they let go a really big broody poo after holding for 2 days during the final days of lock down.

I do try not to disturb my mommas those first few days/week as she really needs to bond with her babies, and you can definitely interrupt that.

Clean her if really she really needs to be, usually by doing some judicial trimming of feathers. However, honestly don't worry too much. I am amazed how in a few days with dust bathing most of it knocks off. (Just make sure she isn't sick...but chances are it was a big load of broody poo).

She'll also molt soon and have new clean feathers. I figure it is Nature's way of cleaning up the mess after brooding and having the babes run (and poo) in your hair...er...feathers. So glad I am not a chicken mom....oh wait...during those baby years I wore a lot of spit up and poo too.

LofMc

 

[PD-Riverman]

Hello! My BO is raising 6 chicks! She keeping them warm, showing them food and everything. I noticed the my BO has poop ALLLLLLLL over her stomach and bottom. Tried to clean her with paper towel and water.. didn't do much. I'm worried that the chicks will die sitting under her in the poopy feathers. The smell is so bad. I can't explain PLEASE REPLY ASAP!!!!

Has she just come of the nest with the just hatched chicks?
Was her nest pooped in or did she get the poop on her after coming off the nest?

 

[JessHeller]

Hey All
With over 1200 posts I don't have the fortitude to gleam through them all looking for info and help so any thing anyone can provide me - a few quick bullet points- would be greatly appreciated.

Looks like our 1 year old Austrolorp, Pam, has just gone broody on us. First hen to do that and I have no experience. She let me pick her up last night from the nesting box and I sat with her on my lap for a little while. Looked like she was in a trance. She just sat there, one big lump of warm feathers (there was an egg she was sitting on). It was until one of the dogs came close that she shook herself and jumped off my lap to go off and peck around with the rest of the girls.

This morning she was back in the box and didn't come out for the morning frenzy feed of meal worms. When I lifted the lid she puffed up and kind of growled at me. I let her be.

So, what DO we do to break this cycle?????

Thanks in advance.

 

[microchick]

JessHeller, you can try to break her using what is referred to as a broody buster cage. Basically a wire cage with a roost pole in it and no bedding. Food and Water naturally. It usually takes 3 days more or less of her having nothing but air under her bottom to break them.

Be advised, that from my experience, I've found that this is only a temporary fix. She will more than likely go broody at a later date once again. Once those hormones kick in they tend to stick around until cycle is completed.

 

[fatcatx]

We have minimal experience with setting so I have hoping for some opinions/input.

We have a CLB that is sitting on eggs because we couldn’t convince her otherwise. (It was too cold at the time to do our tried and true dunking method.) We don’t have room for extra chicks so we will be selling them – hopefully quickly. The plan is to take them within a day or two of hatching and put them in a brooder.

My question is: will she snap out of her broodiness if we do this, or does she need to keep the chicks for a week or so to help her hormones run their course? The whole point of letting her set was to get our layer back asap.

 

[PD-Riverman]

We have minimal experience with setting so I have hoping for some opinions/input.

We have a CLB that is sitting on eggs because we couldn’t convince her otherwise. (It was too cold at the time to do our tried and true dunking method.) We don’t have room for extra chicks so we will be selling them – hopefully quickly. The plan is to take them within a day or two of hatching and put them in a brooder.

My question is: will she snap out of her broodiness if we do this, or does she need to keep the chicks for a week or so to help her hormones run their course? The whole point of letting her set was to get our layer back asap.

Hey, it only takes 3 days to break any broody I have ever had that I did not want to set---and that been many, both ways----so allowing her to set is the Loooooooong way to get your layer back. I have Never used the cold water method and never will(I personally prefer the wire bottom cage method). I have took them away at about 4 days and she clucked for them a couple days then got back to normal.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Be advised, that from my experience, I've found that this is only a temporary fix. She will more than likely go broody at a later date once again. Once those hormones kick in they tend to stick around until cycle is completed.

I too have had several that went back broody within a few weeks after breaking them. I just put her/them back in the cage again, if I do not want to set her/them at that time.

 

[fatcatx]

Hey, it only takes 3 days to break any broody I have ever had that I did not want to set---and that been many, both ways----so allowing her to set is the Loooooooong way to get your layer back. I have Never used the cold water method and never will(I personally prefer the wire bottom cage method). I have took them away at about 4 days and she clucked for them a couple days then got back to normal.

We've had less luck with the wire cage - definitely not within 3 days - and we're dunking our large breeds anyway half the time in the summer to beat the heat. They don't seem to mind. One actually likes it. It only takes us two days with the water method.

Of course we only do it if it is warm and sunny - never when it's chilly or windy so it has its limitations in the spring.

 

[szczur]

Wow, yall have been busy, I got a little behind!

But I have a question. I candled a few of my broody's eggs last night, somewhere around day 6-8, and a couple appear different than what I am used to when I use my incubator. It appears that maybe she is not turning the eggs, as all of the "life" appears to be on one side of the egg, and no blood vessels or anything in about half of the egg. I'm guessing this is not normal, and those 2 will likely quit, but thought I would ask the pros anyway. What do you think?

I'm pretty new to this, but I would just monitor. If you look up hand turned eggs, they often only have development on one side as you turn them, and look different than incubator eggs. If they're only Day 6, it is pretty early on, the embryo development won't be big enough to be all over the egg yet. As long as the veins are healthy and red, and not clumpy, floaty, and blackened, I would keep them under her. I have polish eggs under mine that had large clear areas that are filling out now around Day 14, and they are definitely still alive, moving and kicking. Hopefully they hatch, because I am building a new pen for them (ugh chicken math strikes again)!

 

[WVduckchick]

I'm pretty new to this, but I would just monitor. If you look up hand turned eggs, they often only have development on one side as you turn them, and look different than incubator eggs. If they're only Day 6, it is pretty early on, the embryo development won't be big enough to be all over the egg yet. As long as the veins are healthy and red, and not clumpy, floaty, and blackened, I would keep them under her. I have polish eggs under mine that had large clear areas that are filling out now around Day 14, and they are definitely still alive, moving and kicking. Hopefully they hatch, because I am building a new pen for them (ugh chicken math strikes again)!

Thanks! I really want her to hatch these.

New question for anyone... after one goes through the brooding process, hatches chicks, lets the chicks go, and everything... how long until they go broody again? I assume different breeds are different, but any opinions on an average? (my current one happens to be an OEGB)