Broody hens

[rosemarythyme]

My question is, can I put both hens in a medium cage at the same time?

Yes you can put both in one broody breaker as long as they're both friendly to each other and the breaker is spacious enough. How big is it? Likely they'll be so obsessed with going back to the nest they'll ignore each other, but keep an eye on them to make sure they don't turn on each other.

 

[aart]

It seems that these two go broody on me constantly, but not at the same time. I'll put them in a cage for a couple days, they will be OK after that, a couple weeks go by ,and boom right back wanting to hatch a empty nest

Sounds like you have a couple of serial broodies.
I had one of those, broke her 7 times over a summer after she hatched in March.
Finally gave her to someone who wanted a broody, she never went broody again.

 

[junkman56]

Yes you can put both in one broody breaker as long as they're both friendly to each other and the breaker is spacious enough. How big is it? Likely they'll be so obsessed with going back to the nest they'll ignore each other, but keep an eye on them to make sure they don't turn on each other.

Thank you

Sounds like you have a couple of serial broodies.
I had one of those, broke her 7 times over a summer after she hatched in March.
Finally gave her to someone who wanted a broody, she never went broody again.

This one hen goes broody every couple weeks. I cage her then she is ok for awhile. I let her out of the cage this morning ,and she went right for the nesting boxes, needless to say, she is back in the cage.
I just can't get her mind right, lol
I really don't want to let her sit on eggs, and then have more roosters to deal with.

 

[aart]

This one hen goes broody every couple weeks. I cage her then she is ok for awhile. I let her out of the cage this morning ,and she went right for the nesting boxes, needless to say, she is back in the cage.
I just can't get her mind right, lol
I really don't want to let her sit on eggs, and then have more roosters to deal with.

Yep, that exactly what this one did.
Good for a week, laid for a week, then back to broody.
No reason to let her set if you don't want more birds.

 

[WaveyCreekChickens]

I have one that has gone broody 3 times this summer. Then she quits laying for days. I try to catch it before that happens, but she tricks me.
I lock her out of the nest area or barricade her nest. She snaps out of it quickly that way and is busy outside , but her laying takes days to come back.

 

[junkman56]

Yep, that exactly what this one did.
Good for a week, laid for a week, then back to broody.
No reason to let her set if you don't want more birds.

I want more hens but don't want any more roosters, so i will continue to buy the chicks (hens) from a hatchery , like I been doing. I try to get a batch every year.

 

[Nigel27]

Thank you

This one hen goes broody every couple weeks. I cage her then she is ok for awhile. I let her out of the cage this morning ,and she went right for the nesting boxes, needless to say, she is back in the cage.
I just can't get her mind right, lol
I really don't want to let her sit on eggs, and then have more roosters to deal with.

I’ve heard that if you refrigerate the eggs for a week before setting most of the male embryos die, worth looking into if you don’t want cocks. I’m going to try with my next clutch. Also, how long until my hen will lay again after being broody for 35 days? I took her eggs, they didn’t hatch.

 

[aart]

I’ve heard that if you refrigerate the eggs for a week before setting most of the male embryos die, worth looking into if you don’t want cocks. I’m going to try with my next clutch.

Nah. There is an incubation temperature thing than can affect gender of embryo, but think it applies more to reptiles than poultry. Keeping hatching eggs in the fridge might just make for a lower hatch rate.

Also, how long until my hen will lay again after being broody for 35 days? I took her eggs, they didn’t hatch.

What kind of eggs was she sitting on that you'd wait 35 days?
So did taking the eggs break her broodiness?
Usually a chicken hen will start to lay a couple weeks after she is no longer broody,
Tho she also might molt first, especially this time of year in the northern hemisphere, so it will be longer.

 

[Nigel27]

Nah. There is an incubation temperature thing than can affect gender of embryo, but think it applies more to reptiles than poultry. Keeping hatching eggs in the fridge might just make for a lower hatch rate.

What kind of eggs was she sitting on that you'd wait 35 days?
So did taking the eggs break her broodiness?
Usually a chicken hen will start to lay a couple weeks after she is no longer broody,
Tho she also might molt first, especially this time of year in the northern hemisphere, so it will be longer.

She was sitting on her own eggs for ten days and I candled them, none were fertile so I got more eggs for her and none of them hatched