Broody Hen Thread!

[yochickiemomma]

My micro broody is now sitting. Eggs set today!

Sitting on one of hers while we waited for shipped eggs.

Sitting on 3 Belgian D'Anver eggs, 3 Crele EGH eggs, a Speckled and Mottled "surprise" Bantam.

She's so tiny!

 

[elaineinspain]

Hello.....I brought a hen from my uncle's home about 1.5 week ago.It is a new hampshire hen.She was acting broody over there fluffed up and sitting on the eggs laid by the other hen.I brought the hen to my house and the very next day she was fluffed up and was fighting with my rooster and other hen and i placed some egg in my coop but she didn't sat on the eggs and then after a day or two she was back to normal but my question is that when will she start laying again??

it all depends. I've heard the longer they were broody for, the longer it takes for them to lay again. I've heard of a hen who was broody for just 3 days and started laying again a week after the broodiness broke.

 

[iammarkt732]

One of my chickens has gone broody and gets mad if you disturb her. I have no rooster and no need for more chickens right now. How do you break her from doing this? Or will it just pass in time.

 

[bobbi-j]

One of my chickens has gone broody and gets mad if you disturb her. I have no rooster and no need for more chickens right now. How do you break her from doing this? Or will it just pass in time.

The most effective way that I have read is to put her in an elevated, wire bottomed cage (like a wire dog crate) to cool her bottom off. You'll want to put her in that crate for 3 days or so with food and water, but no bedding. If you're not going to let her hatch, this is probably the kindest thing you can do for her since brooding is hard on them.

 

[TeeMom]

Hey everyone! I have a black copper marans first timer broody sitting on 8 eggs. Everything is going smoothly except she has horrible diarrhea. My last broody had diarrhea as well while brooding, but was normal very quickly after her chicks hatched and she was off of the nest. This one is just an excessive mess. She makes it out of the nest to do it, but shoots it everywhere. I just don't know what to do for her. I do have some chick vitamins and probiotics on hand and I started that in her water today...Any other ideas?

 

[elaineinspain]

One of my chickens has gone broody and gets mad if you disturb her. I have no rooster and no need for more chickens right now. How do you break her from doing this? Or will it just pass in time.

if you type in 'how to break broody hen' there are lots of posts here on BYC giving really good advice.

 

[elaineinspain]

Hey everyone! I have a black copper marans first timer broody sitting on 8 eggs. Everything is going smoothly except she has horrible diarrhea. My last broody had diarrhea as well while brooding, but was normal very quickly after her chicks hatched and she was off of the nest. This one is just an excessive mess. She makes it out of the nest to do it, but shoots it everywhere. I just don't know what to do for her. I do have some chick vitamins and probiotics on hand and I started that in her water today...Any other ideas?

Those are "broody poops" you are describing. They really stink, don't they? You'll just have to put up with it, it comes with the territory! Clean out her broody pen as often as you can and throw the broody poops on the compost heap.

 

[TeeMom]

So the diarrhea is normal? I kept seeing pictures of broody poops being giant formed mounds and was warned of the stink (it's SO horrible), but I wasn't prepared for liquid. She's quite the mess!

 

[mcclucker]

My broody's poops were like half liquid and half solid. Now that her chicks are here the poops are more solid but they still stink like crazy.

 

[yochickiemomma]

The first time my broody hen pooped I gagged it stunk so bad. I was only a few feet from her in the run. I can handle a lot I grew up on a small farm but whew that was bad! Lol