Broody hens at lockdown

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hi, looking for input from people who use broody hens. We have two different broody hens, set up in different pens, with day 18 eggs under them. With our previous broody hatch, we had to pull her out once a day to eat and drink as she wasn’t taking care of herself, but we left her alone starting at Day 18. With the current girls, one (Susan) never gets off the eggs and barely eats, doesn’t drink when we force her off. We’ve been quite concerned with her health. The second (Naruto) likes to get off and roam around for quite some time, like a half hour or more. Naruto see me, clucks to me to tell me that she wants off, then I open the pen door so she can eat, drink, and hang with the flock. When she’s had a good long break, she goes back in. Unfortunately, we are due to have a mini heat wave here from today through hatching, highs in the high 90s, but should be pretty humid, maybe 50%? Both hens have food and water in their pens, but they almost never use them. My question is, given the heat, should I be encouraging them off the nest so they don’t overheat? At 97 degrees ambient temp the eggs won’t cool much, but I’m concerned humidity might not be high enough if they’ve internally pipped...

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I always stress when it's hot out but so far my broody hens have been just fine. As long as there is proper ventilation in their coops. I actually put the water within reach of their boxes, they don't use it often but I have seen them sip a bit on the hottest days.

 

[Shadrach]

Hi, looking for input from people who use broody hens. We have two different broody hens, set up in different pens, with day 18 eggs under them. With our previous broody hatch, we had to pull her out once a day to eat and drink as she wasn’t taking care of herself, but we left her alone starting at Day 18. With the current girls, one (Susan) never gets off the eggs and barely eats, doesn’t drink when we force her off. We’ve been quite concerned with her health. The second (Naruto) likes to get off and roam around for quite some time, like a half hour or more. Naruto see me, clucks to me to tell me that she wants off, then I open the pen door so she can eat, drink, and hang with the flock. When she’s had a good long break, she goes back in. Unfortunately, we are due to have a mini heat wave here from today through hatching, highs in the high 90s, but should be pretty humid, maybe 50%? Both hens have food and water in their pens, but they almost never use them. My question is, given the heat, should I be encouraging them off the nest so they don’t overheat? At 97 degrees ambient temp the eggs won’t cool much, but I’m concerned humidity might not be high enough if they’ve internally pipped...

It helps to bear in mind that chickens have descended from jungle fowl. Jungles tend to be pretty warm and humid.
I do take any hens off the nest if they are not showing any interest in doing so by themselves. I lock them out of the coop if necessary and usually they get the idea and go and have a bath and a bit of exercise.
The broodies here get off the nest once a day; some do twice. Sometimes they are off the nest for a couple of hours but usually it's a lot less.
I don't put food in with broody hens. I do leave water in with them if it's particularly hot. The water is probably unnecessary because chickens can go for a long time without drinking. This makes better sense when you know that chickens don't sweat and their feather and skin conditioning system is oil base, unlike ours which is water based. I think leaving food in discourages them from getting off the nest and of course it's an attraction for ants, rats, and isn't helpful for keeping the nest clean.
Once the chicks start hatching I put chick feed in with mum and chicks but as soon as they leave the nest, they eat outside.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Thanks for your thoughts! So it sounds like people think that they should be able to handle these temps and leave them be. You are going to laugh, or think I’m nuts, but I’d already rigged up a mini fan system for Naruto. It’s a tiny battery fan that blows gently on a frozen bottle that is next to her nest. I rigged this up because I saw that she was panting as the temps reached 90 F and she’s sitting in this pile of straw. I plan to set this up again in an hour when it’s hotter. I’ll look in on the silkie (Susan) whom I haven’t seen pant yet. If Naruto asks to get off the nest, should I open the door and let her out, even though we are at day 18? Make Susan get off or leave her be until chicks hatch?

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks for your thoughts! So it sounds like people think that they should be able to handle these temps and leave them be. You are going to laugh, or think I’m nuts, but I’d already rigged up a mini fan system for Naruto. It’s a tiny battery fan that blows gently on a frozen bottle that is next to her nest. I rigged this up because I saw that she was panting as the temps reached 90 F and she’s sitting in this pile of straw. I plan to set this up again in an hour when it’s hotter. I’ll look in on the silkie (Susan) whom I haven’t seen pant yet. If Naruto asks to get off the nest, should I open the door and let her out, even though we are at day 18? Make Susan get off or leave her be until chicks hatch?

Yes. If she wants out let her out. She knows exactly what state of hatch her eggs are. I've had hens nip out for a bit while chicks were in the process of hatching. Hens have been doing this stuff for centuries.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Thanks for your thoughts! So it sounds like people think that they should be able to handle these temps and leave them be. You are going to laugh, or think I’m nuts, but I’d already rigged up a mini fan system for Naruto. It’s a tiny battery fan that blows gently on a frozen bottle that is next to her nest. I rigged this up because I saw that she was panting as the temps reached 90 F and she’s sitting in this pile of straw. I plan to set this up again in an hour when it’s hotter. I’ll look in on the silkie (Susan) whom I haven’t seen pant yet. If Naruto asks to get off the nest, should I open the door and let her out, even though we are at day 18? Make Susan get off or leave her be until chicks hatch?

I don't think there's anything wrong with that! We were discussing putting a solar powered greenhouse fan on our big coop to help circulate more air in the summer. I also put ice in their water on the hottest days and will freeze slices of watermelon to let them peck as as it defrosts to keep cool. Here in Georgia we have to contend with high heat more often than I would like but yes they're usually just fine!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I don't think there's anything wrong with that! We were discussing putting a solar powered greenhouse fan on our big coop to help circulate more air in the summer. I also put ice in their water on the hottest days and will freeze slices of watermelon to let them peck as as it defrosts to keep cool. Here in Georgia we have to contend with high heat more often than I would like but yes they're usually just fine!

That’s what I’m looking into! We get pretty cold in winter but summers can be brutal, reaching 110 every day for a month one year. I made the coop with one side open, even in winter, so people here thought I was nuts! But even with the open side, additional windows, and the door open at the other end, the coop is still hotter than ambient in the afternoon. I’m putting a box fan up to draw air through right now but want a solar fan with a battery that would stay on after dark. It’s the afternoon/evening when it’s so hot that they don’t want to go in the coop. We have an Ameraucana roo who is already suffering in the heat, so I may get out the water pan and block of ice for him today, though it’s not truly “hot” yet.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Yes. If she wants out let her out. She knows exactly what state of hatch her eggs are. I've had hens nip out for a bit while chicks were in the process of hatching. Hens have been doing this stuff for centuries.

Thanks Shadrach! We have a lot of broody gals, but we had only had experience with how to break them prior to last month when a broody hatched 12 chicks. I’m so proud of her that I post this pic anywhere I can! It’s nice to see the positive side of broodiness instead of only the negatives...