Broody Hen?

[TamsSharp]

With the days getting longer and nicer here in southern Ohio I have started giving my Brahmas the run of the yard during the day instead of keeping them locked in the run. I have noticed that four of my hens and the two roosters will wander around the yard, out of concern I have gone looking for my 5th hen a few times. Each time I have found her in the coop in the nesting box and she will stay in the nest all day but come night time when I go out to lock up the coop she is up on the perch with the others. This is when I gather the eggs and bring them in. I don't want to discourage her from sitting on the eggs because I am planning to allow the hens to hatch some eggs out this spring. I'm just not sure when I should do this and if my hen is actually going broody because she isn't showing other behaviors. I should add that my chickens will be a year old in a few days so this will be the first time that I will have the chance to find out if any of them will be willing to hatch out any eggs.
Some advice on how to proceed would be helpful.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, hope you are enjoying BYC!

I have had broody's coming out of my ears.

I collect the eggs EVERY night same as you. It has no effect on any of my ladies. It does not encourage broodiness to leave them there, it only encourages rodents. The hens that are going to go broody are still going to as it is a hormonal condition.

Your hen to rooster ratio sounds like it might be a little off, and a broody will make it worse. Do you already have plans for the extra cockerels that will hatch?

It's possible she is working her way to broody. I plan ahead by collecting and storing at room temp the eggs that I plan to hatch. How many depends on the broody. If I can't set them under her within 7 days then I feed them out to my family or animals. I keep it rolling so I always have fresh eggs to set. I do leave fake eggs so the hens don't think the nests are being raided.

They need to be set on the same day and clearly marked so any new deposits can be collected nightly. I won't let a hen brood if she insist on staying in the main lay box as it just sees too much action and isn't convenient for me or my flock, unless I am incubating the eggs with no chance of breakage and adopting the chicks to her. But the ones who do brood often are in the box next door.

Most of my broody hens have shown their color way before one year old. But maybe there was one who waited that long. It's best if they are mature both physically and mentally. So this is a good age!

Things that can have an impact to some degree... space, not over crowding. Quality, balanced nutrition, not diminished by too many treats. And not less than 18% protein for dual purpose, heavy feathered bird like Brahma. (I prefer 20% protein Purina flock raiser or other brand, with oyster shell on the side for layers) Internal and external parasite control. And a general feeling of predator safety... can help set the stage for success. Happy hatching!

Have fun.

 

[TamsSharp]

We have only been living in our home just over a year when I decided we were getting chickens. My family got together and ordered 30 chicks and since I wasn't sure if we would have an issue with predators at our new home I ordered 10 Dark Brahma, 4 males and 6 females. I allowed my niece to take a pair to the fair for 4-H and then chose two Roosters to keep, the other two were butchered. Unfortunately my Dad's terrier got in with the chicks and killed one of my hens.
(I moved my chickens into their new home on our property this past September.)

I had a custom barn built for my coop. The coop space is 8'x10' with an additional 8'x5' partially enclosed porch on the front where I store their grain, and extras. There are 4 windows to allow for ventilation and there are two doors for the chickens. One is an access to the 15'x20' run the other I open to let them free range on our 1 acre lot.

I have been giving them Layer pellets but just noticed that it is 16% protein so I will up the protein level. I also mix in scratch grain with the pellets and they get a handful or two of meal worms on occasion. Over the winter when it was going to be extra cold I would give them some cracked corn in the evenings. They would also get fruit and vegetable scraps on occasion.

I have been watching the roosters closely lately and noticed that one of them is overly aggressive with my hens so I've decided this week that he has to go, either to another home or into the crock pot.
My plan from the beginning in choosing a multi purpose bird was to have the hens for eggs and any extra cockerels that are hatched out will end up in the freezer.

The hen in question may have been showing signs of this behavior prior to a couple weeks ago but I was working outside the home so I wasn't around to notice. She will be a year old tomorrow.

I currently do not have any nesting boxes in the coop which may be effecting progress.
When the hens started laying I purchased a single box from TSC and set it on a couple cinder blocks to get it up off the floor. It took a little while to get them to start using it. I had one hen that would continue to lay her egg on the floor though. I then took a high sided liter pan and put bedding in it and they then started using both. Now all 5 of them will only lay their eggs in the litter pan on the floor. I am hoping to add some nesting boxes within the next week or two. It just needs to warm up some and stop raining so that I can work outside.

Here's a pic of the coop on delivery day. I put a fence between it and the other shed to make their run.

 

[TamsSharp]

I have gone from one possible broody hen to three confirmed.
I checked all of the eggs today with my first attempt at candling and it looks like they are between 11 - 14 days of development. Which falls right about the time I stopped collecting eggs from them. So with any luck I may have some chicks hatching in the next week or two