Broody Hen Thread!

[microchick]

X2 Katatonic123.

My broody left her nest of 12 eggs and set on the nest next to her (she squeezed through a gap in her kennel wall and the wall of her nesting box) She was off her eggs for about 6 hours. The temps were warm. Mid 80s. She hatched 8 healthy chicks. One died while hatching. One quit late and another quit at 8 days. The other two were infertile.

What I'm saying is that maybe you will have a later hatch. Maybe one might not hatch but you will be surprised how durable these little devils are.

Good luck with you hatching. Take a deep breath, let it out, relax and smile. Hens have been doing this since they were dinosaurs.

 

[CrazyHenLady386]

I am not allowed to let my broody hen sit on fertilized eggs(I am thirteen and my parents won't allow it. Poos Piper! She is getting thinner every day!

I can't do anything about it!

 

[Selsley]

I am not allowed to let my broody hen sit on fertilized eggs(I am thirteen and my parents won't allow it. Poos Piper! She is getting thinner every day!

I can't do anything about it!

read the thread on how to break a broody hen, lots of helpful info on stopping her being broody and get her laying again

 

[the poppster]

I am not allowed to let my broody hen sit on fertilized eggs(I am thirteen and my parents won't allow it. Poos Piper! She is getting thinner every day!

I can't do anything about it!

Take her out of the nest box and put her in a cage of her own....no bedding...just nice fresh water and a feeder....if the cage has a wire floor that's even better...set it up on a couple bricks is scrap two by fours....get it up off the ground, so air can flow all around her....you have to cool her off and remove her from any sort of nest type area. Give her some treats that you know she loves....watermelon is a favorite for my birds...if possible....it will supply water and sugar, carbohydrates....just as a treat. Anything like that...even putting her in a pen on the grass in a nice shady area in the yard....the point is to not let her nest anywhere till she stops acting broody...I hope that helps...any kind of cage will work....as long as there is enough room for water and food. Be sure she will be safe! But if she is getting thin you have to break the broody behavior....she probably won't quit on her own. Good luck! Do it now! Don't wait. Don't worry if she fusses and complains...she will be fine...it's for her own good....I'm sure at 14 you've heard that before! Well, this is a chance for you to provide guidance to another creature...for her own good...it could be you break her Broodyness....or she could make herself very sick....it's rare, but she could starve herself to death....so you are doing it for her own good! She doesn't know any better. So,You take charge and do what you know is best for her....you will be glad you did it, when you've succeeded to break her of broody behavior and she goes back to being a happy healthy hen....good luck! We will be pulling for you! Keep us posted! We will answer any questions we can. Just ask! I repeat! Don't wait! Make her happy, your parents happy and your self proud for learning how to take care of another challenge of raising healthy happy hens. You go girl!

 

[Puddin Fluff]

I am not allowed to let my broody hen sit on fertilized eggs(I am thirteen and my parents won't allow it. Poos Piper! She is getting thinner every day!

I can't do anything about it!

Take her out of the nest box and put her in a cage of her own....no bedding...just nice fresh water and a feeder....if the cage has a wire floor that's even better...set it up on a couple bricks is scrap two by fours....get it up off the ground, so air can flow all around her....you have to cool her off and remove her from any sort of nest type area. Give her some treats that you know she loves....watermelon is a favorite for my birds...if possible....it will supply water and sugar, carbohydrates....just as a treat. Anything like that...even putting her in a pen on the grass in a nice shady area in the yard....the point is to not let her nest anywhere till she stops acting broody...I hope that helps...any kind of cage will work....as long as there is enough room for water and food. Be sure she will be safe! But if she is getting thin you have to break the broody behavior....she probably won't quit on her own. Good luck! Do it now! Don't wait. Don't worry if she fusses and complains...she will be fine...it's for her own good....I'm sure at 14 you've heard that before! Well, this is a chance for you to provide guidance to another creature...for her own good...it could be you break her Broodyness....or she could make herself very sick....it's rare, but she could starve herself to death....so you are doing it for her own good! She doesn't know any better. So,You take charge and do what you know is best for her....you will be glad you did it, when you've succeeded to break her of broody behavior and she goes back to being a happy healthy hen....good luck! We will be pulling for you! Keep us posted! We will answer any questions we can. Just ask! I repeat! Don't wait! Make her happy, your parents happy and your self proud for learning how to take care of another challenge of raising healthy happy hens. You go girl!

I agree. Best of luck.

 

[the poppster]

Thank You, Puddin Fluff!

 

[fisherlady]

Take her out of the nest box and put her in a cage of her own....no bedding...just nice fresh water and a feeder....if the cage has a wire floor that's even better...set it up on a couple bricks is scrap two by fours....get it up off the ground, so air can flow all around her....you have to cool her off and remove her from any sort of nest type area. Give her some treats that you know she loves....watermelon is a favorite for my birds...if possible....it will supply water and sugar, carbohydrates....just as a treat. Anything like that...even putting her in a pen on the grass in a nice shady area in the yard....the point is to not let her nest anywhere till she stops acting broody...I hope that helps...any kind of cage will work....as long as there is enough room for water and food. Be sure she will be safe! But if she is getting thin you have to break the broody behavior....she probably won't quit on her own. Good luck! Do it now! Don't wait. Don't worry if she fusses and complains...she will be fine...it's for her own good....I'm sure at 14 you've heard that before! Well, this is a chance for you to provide guidance to another creature...for her own good...it could be you break her Broodyness....or she could make herself very sick....it's rare, but she could starve herself to death....so you are doing it for her own good! She doesn't know any better. So,You take charge and do what you know is best for her....you will be glad you did it, when you've succeeded to break her of broody behavior and she goes back to being a happy healthy hen....good luck! We will be pulling for you! Keep us posted! We will answer any questions we can. Just ask! I repeat! Don't wait! Make her happy, your parents happy and your self proud for learning how to take care of another challenge of raising healthy happy hens. You go girl!

X2....as a flock keeper it is up to you to do what is right, not what is easiest or wanted most....it is a difficult but necessary thing. You will be proud of taking the needed steps to keep your birds healthy.

It should only take 3 days or so in the cage to get her hormones back to normal...if you let her out and she goes back to the box/nest then put her back in the cage another day and try again the next day.

 

[joannakginter]

Help! One (Rosie) went broody so after 3 weeks I gave her 10 fertilized eggs. She continued to lay and the other 3 hens laid in the nest with the 10. It seemed great as often another hen sat on the eggs when she got up for a break. One got cracked so I moved her eggs to a nearby nest. The other hens (Jane, Ruthie, and Joyce) laid their eggs next to her, but she then began pulling them into her nest. This caused another crack but not of the fertilized egg. Next I caught another hen with her in her nest. Well, Yesterday I noticed the count was off. I only had 6 left. Then today, I found that only 2 were left of the original 10. There were other daily eggs there, but the fertilized ones were missing. I then saw a bit of egg shell in the nest. I don't know who is eating the eggs, but at this rate I won't even get 2 chicks! What shall I do?

 

[16 paws]

Help! One (Rosie) went broody so after 3 weeks I gave her 10 fertilized eggs. She continued to lay and the other 3 hens laid in the nest with the 10. It seemed great as often another hen sat on the eggs when she got up for a break. One got cracked so I moved her eggs to a nearby nest. The other hens (Jane, Ruthie, and Joyce) laid their eggs next to her, but she then began pulling them into her nest. This caused another crack but not of the fertilized egg. Next I caught another hen with her in her nest. Well, Yesterday I noticed the count was off. I only had 6 left. Then today, I found that only 2 were left of the original 10. There were other daily eggs there, but the fertilized ones were missing. I then saw a bit of egg shell in the nest. I don't know who is eating the eggs, but at this rate I won't even get 2 chicks! What shall I do?

I always separate my broody hens. When you say she continues to lay do you mean she is laying eggs or sitting on her eggs?

 

[the poppster]

Help! One (Rosie) went broody so after 3 weeks I gave her 10 fertilized eggs. She continued to lay and the other 3 hens laid in the nest with the 10. It seemed great as often another hen sat on the eggs when she got up for a break. One got cracked so I moved her eggs to a nearby nest. The other hens (Jane, Ruthie, and Joyce) laid their eggs next to her, but she then began pulling them into her nest. This caused another crack but not of the fertilized egg. Next I caught another hen with her in her nest. Well, Yesterday I noticed the count was off. I only had 6 left. Then today, I found that only 2 were left of the original 10. There were other daily eggs there, but the fertilized ones were missing. I then saw a bit of egg shell in the nest. I don't know who is eating the eggs, but at this rate I won't even get 2 chicks! What shall I do? 

Ok, here we go...where did the eggs go? They ate them. By allowing the"flock" to take "Turns" setting a clutch of eggs rarely works out for the best...you think they are sharing the duty of brooding the eggs....when in reality they are "Stealing" the nest....or just laying an egg and taking a break....if Rosey had been broody for 3 weeks, she was only a week away from a hatch, if she had been actually brooding eggs. If you wait to long to give them eggs....they may give up before the eggs are ready to hatch and just leave the nest and eggs. The broken eggs were from the various hens scrambling around on them. If you want your broody to be successful..
And she can't hide her nest away from the flock. You will have to give her a place where she won't be disturbed. Away from the other hens. With her own water and food. In an area large enough for her to get off the nest and eat, do her business, stretch her legs...flap her wings a bit and returned to her nest....with out any "Helpers". Think about it...the only times you see a chicken "Share" anything....is a rooster Tidbiting his hens or a mother hen teaching her chicks what to eat....as she breaks up the food for her chicks. When she is done raising them it's game over. Every one for them selves. Ppl