Broody Hen Thread!

[heatherindeskies]

Harold the Hen is a big black cochin who is setting on NOTHING. Not even a rock! she sets on a piece of plastic tarp near the hay pile. I put some straw under her for comfort, but she pushed it out and sets on the bare plastic. Go figure.

 

[FarmerBoy24]

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Lol. Why don't you put some eggs under her for her to hatch? I love letting the hens hatch their own babies!

 

[heatherindeskies]

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Lol. Why don't you put some eggs under her for her to hatch? I love letting the hens hatch their own babies!

I'd love that, but I DO NOT need any more chickens... and do not have a rooster at the moment anyway.

 

[Lifesong Farm]

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I would set them on the counter and let them warm up. She may not like you if you put cold eggs under her. Lol unless of course its hot out.

That's what I was thinking. She's not in the best mood as it is! So with her being 4 feet in the air in the nest box - do I just calculate x many days after I stick them under her & hope I catch her before she tries to walk them out of the box - that'd be quite a tumble! Do you recommend I take the hatched ones & stick them in the brooder until she hatches everybody - then somehow try to give them back to her? Will she stay on the ground once they hatch?? I'd hate for her to leave them...

I would do what you said. She should stay with them since they can't get back up top. I would watch and see. She should also take them back. My broody only had 6 eggs under her. The other 6 I hatched in an incubator. I never thought I would see a chicken get as excited as mine when she realized I was giving her more chicks. She also took on another this week when it was already two weeks old.

 

[FarmerBoy24]

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Lol. Why don't you put some eggs under her for her to hatch? I love letting the hens hatch their own babies!

I'd love that, but I DO NOT need any more chickens... and do not have a rooster at the moment anyway.

Yea w ell hopefully shes not a long brooder! lol

 

[FarmerBoy24]

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That's what I was thinking. She's not in the best mood as it is! So with her being 4 feet in the air in the nest box - do I just calculate x many days after I stick them under her & hope I catch her before she tries to walk them out of the box - that'd be quite a tumble! Do you recommend I take the hatched ones & stick them in the brooder until she hatches everybody - then somehow try to give them back to her? Will she stay on the ground once they hatch?? I'd hate for her to leave them...

I would do what you said. She should stay with them since they can't get back up top. I would watch and see. She should also take them back. My broody only had 6 eggs under her. The other 6 I hatched in an incubator. I never thought I would see a chicken get as excited as mine when she realized I was giving her more chicks. She also took on another this week when it was already two weeks old.

Thats good, because lots of hens WILL NOT take any more chicks.

 

[Lifesong Farm]

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I would do what you said. She should stay with them since they can't get back up top. I would watch and see. She should also take them back. My broody only had 6 eggs under her. The other 6 I hatched in an incubator. I never thought I would see a chicken get as excited as mine when she realized I was giving her more chicks. She also took on another this week when it was already two weeks old.

Thats good, because lots of hens WILL NOT take any more chicks.

Wow. I didn't realize that. However I have a strange farm. Cats fighting to steal anothers kittens, an intact male dog as a nursmaid to ANY babies yet he kills and eats wild rodents, rabbits that live together and don't care what I do with babies (i n winter I pulled nest boxes and they didn't care if I didn't put their nest back. They took care of the kits), and a barn cat who even nursed a bunch of new born rabbit kits for a day. (I do have proof in a pic)

 

[debilorrah]

Can I join? I have been unable to break my turken this time so she has 5 eggs. She is a TINY banty and a good mama.

 

[ralleia]

My daughter and I implemented OPERATION MOVE BROODIES tonight.

Several of the black australorps among my mixed flock consistently go broody one more more times spring through fall. This past week two of them did so, disrupting egg collection with their growls and threats and monopolizing two of my very short number of nestboxes.

This afternoon my daughter and I crafted two private brooder nestboxes out of corrugated cardboard boxes, roughly 14"x14" and 16" tall, with a hole for entry/exit. We lined the bottoms with hay, and then used plastic playpen corral pieces and zip strips to isolate two areas of the henhouse. Food and water will be provided to each area. I also "seeded" the two nestboxes with a couple rubber eggs each.

Tonight after it was good and dark my daughter and I crept into the henhouse, worked each hen out of her respective nestbox and placed each in her private quarters.

The first complained quite a bit, but after I got her into the new box, she started making that happy "cluck cluck" sound like she was pleased with her new digs. The other one didn't give me any indication of acceptance or refusal.

Tomorrow morning, if either is still "settled" she'll get 10-14 eggs to sit on. We CERTAINLY don't need any more chickens, but I don't know WHAT to do when they become broody, and it seems like such a disappointment to them if they don't get to rear their babies.

Also, we're had almost zero success in allowing hens to hatch out eggs (probably mainly because we never isolated them before). The setting hen would get displaced by another hen, more eggs would get laid into the box, the broody would end up sitting in the wrong box....

This will at least be an interesting experiment!

 

[FarmerBoy24]

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NO YOU MAY NOT JOIN!!!!!

lol jk OF COURSE YOU CAN!