Broody Hen Thread!

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I got lucky this week!!! My Buff girl who hatched out 10 chicks last fall went broody again. A few days ago, I took the 11 LF Dark Cornish hatching eggs I had gathered for the week and gave them to her. She was all pancaked out when I lifted the lid to her box but was completely silent until I showed her an egg. She puffed up really big and started making contented broody noises and tucked the egg under her. She let me put the rest of the eggs under her, and she made happy noises the whole time! I’m really hopeful that she’ll hatch them out well. She mothered her last batch until 15 weeks. This was her the next morning. I have to go out once a day and take her off the nest because she doesn't think to get up otherwise.


She's a good Mama.
Mama warming 7w babies.jpg
 
@Redhead Rae that's so sweet she was so happy!

My sister's California White went broody two days ago. Poor thing is sitting on 2 of her own eggs but my sister doesn't have a rooster. She's the first to go broody and so she's getting picked on :(

We decided this was perfect as my incubator is a little iffy suddenly (the day my incubator decided to go crazy with the temp was the day the hen went broody). So we are going to bring the hen to my house and set her uo real nice in the storage room next to the kitchen. I'll give hee about 4 eggs, which should leave me with about 11 eggs that I know to be viable (possibly more but won't find out until tomorrow). I hope she will be happy with them ^.^
 
@Redhead Rae, I'm so grateful you said that, about taking your girl off the nest once a day!!

My little Welsummer hen was on her first nest for 4 days since last Wed and I was sure she wasn't getting up. A couple of friends told me she was probably either getting up and I wasn't seeing her or that her instincts would kick and she'd get up on her own. I was getting so worried, but since it's my first time, I was afraid to disrupt her.

As soon as I read your post, I ran out there and got her up and she pooped for 5 minutes and drank for 10!

Unfortunately, she wandered out to where her sister and our rooster were grazing and our rooster attacked her. Can anyone explain that behavior? Had he forgotten her in 5 days and she was an unfamiliar hen? My husband stopped the attack while I got her back to the her nest, but the rooster wanted to keep at her.

I had to herd her back towards the nest, but then she settled back in no problem. Unfortunately, I discovered there's only 3 eggs in the nest. I thought she already had 2 or 3 of her own when I added 2 of her sister's and now it's too late to add any more. Fingers crossed that I get 2 hens rather than 2 roosters!
 
Susanna329 said:
@Redhead Rae, I'm so grateful you said that, about taking your girl off the nest once a day!!

My little Welsummer hen was on her first nest for 4 days since last Wed and I was sure she wasn't getting up. A couple of friends told me she was probably either getting up and I wasn't seeing her or that her instincts would kick and she'd get up on her own. I was getting so worried, but since it's my first time, I was afraid to disrupt her.

As soon as I read your post, I ran out there and got her up and she pooped for 5 minutes and drank for 10!

Unfortunately, she wandered out to where her sister and our rooster were grazing and our rooster attacked her. Can anyone explain that behavior? Had he forgotten her in 5 days and she was an unfamiliar hen? My husband stopped the attack while I got her back to the her nest, but the rooster wanted to keep at her.

I had to herd her back towards the nest, but then she settled back in no problem. Unfortunately, I discovered there's only 3 eggs in the nest. I thought she already had 2 or 3 of her own when I added 2 of her sister's and now it's too late to add any more. Fingers crossed that I get 2 hens rather than 2 roosters!
Click to expand...
I don’t know about the rooster attacking her. I’ve never had that happen because I separate my broody hens because I don’t want other hens adding to the nest after the eggs are started, harassing the broody, breaking eggs, forcing the broody off the nest, etc. I put my broody girls in broody box (tote or small rabbit hutch with a door) and I put the box in a 5x5 pvc run with a lid. This keeps the girls within sight and sound of the flock, but protected. I leave her and the babies in there for about a week after hatch and then I start letting them out with the flock in the afternoons. Usually the broody will protect the chicks from other hens. If your rooster attacks chicks (or continues aggressively pursuing hens like like he did with this one)
I would cull him. I only keep roosters that are nice to other birds.
 
@Redhead Rae, I would be so heartbroken to cull him! He's been such a gentle rooster since we got him in the spring (at 2 yrs old, I think). My broody isolated herself under the milking bench in the goat shed and I've put up hardware cloth around it to keep both chickens and goats out.

So he essentially hadn't seen her for 4 days when she suddenly appeared. I only have 2 hens right now and my gut sense was that the attack (which only my husband saw) was a very sudden mating attempt. I think she was his favorite before she went broody and she used to stay near him all day, whereas my other Welsummer likes to go off on her own at various times.

When I've gotten her off the nest and out in the goat pen each day, he's come running to the fence wanting in. Yesterday, once she was back under the bench, and I had opened the pen gate again he came in and walked all around the pen looking for her. Now I'm feeding the other two behind the house to keep him busy elsewhere when I go to get my broody up.

I'm REALLY hoping that he's just missing her and not getting enough action from my remaining hen! I'll be making a pen for mum and chicks that will keep them within sight and sound of the other 2 and hopefully it will work itself out.
 
Redhead Rae said:
I got lucky this week!!! My Buff girl who hatched out 10 chicks last fall went broody again. A few days ago, I took the 11 LF Dark Cornish hatching eggs I had gathered for the week and gave them to her. She was all pancaked out when I lifted the lid to her box but was completely silent until I showed her an egg. She puffed up really big and started making contented broody noises and tucked the egg under her. She let me put the rest of the eggs under her, and she made happy noises the whole time! I’m really hopeful that she’ll hatch them out well. She mothered her last batch until 15 weeks. This was her the next morning. I have to go out once a day and take her off the nest because she doesn't think to get up otherwise.


She's a good Mama.
View attachment 1406454
Click to expand...
Here is the ending of this story.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/broody-catastrophe-with-a-happy-ending.1252677
 
So glad your almost catastrophe worked out in the end!
I had a happy ending as well.

My little Welsummer hatched 3 of 3 eggs last Thursday! And of course their colouring is all Australorp, like their dad....so I won't know the sex for months. Dang!!
I'm enjoying my first chicks SO much.

Thank you all for your support and input along the way! I'll try and post a pic from my phone.
 

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