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Broody hen with sidekick in nest?

Discussion in 'Chicken Behaviors and Egglaying' started by Beekissed, May 31, 2008.

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  1. May 31, 2008 #1
    Beekissed

    Beekissed Free Ranging

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    I have a hen gone broody and she has a young pullet from her last brood that won't "wean"! This young pullet is over half her mom's size but still acts like a young peeper. When she is on the nest she wants to get on her back but is so big she just slides off and sits next to her. Still peeps constantly! When she does get off the nest, this teenager doesn't leave her side and continues to try to get a ride on mom's back but slides off. Isn't this a little big for this behavior? Other than isolation for one or the other, how can I get this annoying mama's girl to leave her alone? Anyone else witness this kind of behavior from a previous brood?
     
  2. May 31, 2008 #2
    Nichole77

    Nichole77 Songster

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    She sounds like a human teenager. Can you find her a friend?
     
  3. Jun 1, 2008 #3
    Beekissed

    Beekissed Free Ranging

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    Well, I have some 4 mo. old pullets only slightly bigger than she, but they won't let her hang out with them. I actually saw her get off the nest today and go outside. I plan on moving the broody to a basket on her own and see how she'll do. That leaves Slim Shadey(the preteen's name) on her own with the bigger teens. She'll get tough or else, I guess. [​IMG]
     
  4. Jun 1, 2008 #4
    tx_dane_mom

    tx_dane_mom Songster

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    Yea, I had a boy do that too and I just seperated him & gave him his own girlfriend. His mom kept trying to wean him but he just didn't know how to be w/o her.
     
  5. Jun 2, 2008 #5
    Beekissed

    Beekissed Free Ranging

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    Another hen stole her eggs today!!! She was in the next nest sitting on nothing and the other hen was acting all broody while sitting on her clutch of eggs! I evicted her, with much squawking and feather puffing, and placed the whole nest in a bushel basket, put the original hen on it and put on a lid. I went back later and she has settled on the nest. I don't have enough room right now to give her her own space, so I will just watch for any other nest robbers. Darn hens! [​IMG]
     
  6. Jun 2, 2008 #6
    Chirpy

    Chirpy Balderdash

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    You said that she was sitting on the next nest on nothing with another hen on her nest. That's exactly what happened to my broody. Four different times over the last three weeks we found momma broody on some other nest instead of her own. I figured out that when she was getting off the nest to eat/drink one of the other hens would take over her nest. So, when she came back she just picked another nest. Each time I would evict (as you did) the non broody hen and physically lift the broody back to the right nest. A couple of times the other hen had already left the egg nest and they eggs were cold to the touch since my broody hen hadn't gone back to them but kept sitting on the wrong nest.

    Thankfully we are home everyday so we could go out every half hour or so and check on her. Still, there were a couple times when I don't know how long the eggs were uncovered.

    I truly wondered if we would get any peeps hatching with her off the nest so much and the eggs uncovered. BUT, yesterday we got one baby! I'm giving her another couple of days to see if any of the others hatch.
     
  7. Jun 3, 2008 #7
    Beekissed

    Beekissed Free Ranging

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    I'm glad you posted because that was the exact situation with us. The broody got down to eat, Beth stole her eggs (she's not really broody, but I think she just wanted me to leave her alone while she layed her egg). The broody(CQ) got back on an empty nest. The other day the same scenario happened except she found 2 eggs in the other nest to sit on!!! The other 6 she had already sat on were cold. I reached under her and stole her 2, exchanged for the 6. Funny thing is, this chicken is not laying right now....she is setting on other hen's eggs! She was laying but stopped and got broody. I wish I had the other part of my coop finished so I could isolate her and end the confusion....also end the need for junior to be sitting on top of her mother all day! Kids!!!! [​IMG]
     

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