Broody - Need Help Quick!

[Mollysgirl]

Brand new to chickens here so please excuse the silly questions. We do have a rooster. Our kids would love to see mother nature at work but I am beginning to think we do more work than "mother nature".

1. First hen sits on a clutch of eggs for a few days. Build her a new box and move her entire clutch to the new box, all still within the coop. She sits on them all night but returns to the "old" nesting spot as soon as she is allowed. We put her back into her new box and shut the door. We do notice that in her new box the eggs are scattered all around. Does that mean she has given up on them?

2. Today hen number 2 (Silkie) appears to want to start down the mommy trail. She is sitting on some eggs and has that look. However, she will not be quite! This is not normal for her. What does she want? Now they both are camped out in the hen house.

Can 2 become broody at the same time? Suggestions on what I am doing wrong? I read everywhere that people put eggs under the hen, can she not just use the ones she is already sitting on? I realize they may or may not be fertilized. I could separate with a dog kennel but does that have to go in the hen house (there isn't enough room) or can I put it in my garage with fresh air/water/food? Can I put two broody hens together?

See told, you they were silly questions...but we need some elementary advice.

 

[Life is Good!]

Not silly questions at all.
I've got 4 out of 5 hens broody - all Black Java hens - all about the same age (same hatch different parent combinations). One 'started' this wonderful craziness a little over 3 weeks ago. Her first egg hatched on 6/19, second is today 6/20 and a third egg is unzipping right now.

Four days after our first hen became broody, a second did. As circumstances have it, there were fertile eggs under her. Her eggs are due to hatch on 6/23 or 6/24. Six days after this second broody, a third became broody. (We only have three nest boxes!). I split the eggs that were under #2 (she had 8 eggs) and placed half of that brood under #3. Just last Sunday night, a fourth showed some interest - but only at night. She deserts the eggs during the day, so she's not 'truly' broody. But again, we only have three nest boxes, perhaps she doesn't feel comfortable yet?

I'm out of spaces to put chickens (emergency dog crate has 5 month old chicks purchased because no one was going broody!) and our PVC tractor is currently holding the last of our meat birds due for Camp Frigidaire this weekend.

Soooooo, I'm building a broody box coop today (came in for water and A/C to cool off - 97 degrees out there!). Yes, I should have built this long ago, see above statement about meat birds....

Sounds like your broody rejected the new nesting spot. She chose her spot for whatever reason. She might not be 'really ready'. She might not like the new spot either (too drafty, too smelly, too close to the door, has a spiderweb over it, doesn't like the floor plan, hates the paint color....whatever!) But for whatever reason, she's chosen to not take to the new spot. If she returns to her old nest and acts broody, then I'd put some eggs under her to see what happens. There's no 'right' or 'wrong' about hatching new babies, after all, they've been doing this for a lot longer than any of us! If your rooster is able, those eggs are fertile too. Read about candling the eggs on these forums to get tips and hints and helps.

Your silkie is simply talking to her babies - my broodies chatter, chirp, squeal like pigs when I come into the coop, growl, grump and just generally are a LOT more noisy than usual. The other girls seem to ignore it all - and our rooster too (whew!). However, if he's inside the coop and the girls growl, he's checking on them in an instant! Good daddy.

As for where to put hen, if she accepts the new spot - great! If not, well, then perhaps letting her set until the eggs hatch might work. Has for me - but I've heard horror stories of new chicks being killed by jealous hens. My hens are in their regular nesting boxes on eggs - I've used an oil pastel to mark the eggs, so I take out new eggs daily. Since one has hatched her brood, I'll move her into a new broody house later this afternoon. The house I'm building now is four feet wide, two feet deep and four feet tall with a slant roof towards the back. Why? Because I dislike cutting plywood! So a minor cut across the end to get the slant and I'm good. 1 piece of left-over plastic roofing, 5 pieces of plywood and some 1x2's for a frame - and viola! A broody house. Now, to figure out how to get the Mom and new chicks into it...without being attacked by rooster. THAT's the part I've not yet figured out! The broody house will be inside the regular run with some T-posts and hardware cloth for a fake fence to seperate the babies and Mom's from other hens and rooster. A run within a run. That'll keep everyone happy for at least three - six weeks, when Mom wants back with the flock.

Good luck! Happy hatching - it's amazing to see what God does!

 

[Mollysgirl]

Thank you so much! You have provided some much needed information and the detail is fantastic.

So, if she abandons her nest because she doesn't like the paint color (ha!) but returns to the old nest and still appears to be in mommy mode, can I just add eggs that were hatched yesterday and today? My current thought is to just let her be. My hens are all bantams and we have raised them from chicks. They seem pretty tamed and laid back to me so maybe she will be fine.

 

[Mrs. K]

What size are your nesting boxes?

I have done the broody thing for 6 years, and love it! It is all the fun of new chicks, and none of the work!

If you have large, wide nesting boxes what will happen is other hen will donate eggs to the cause. A hen can only cover so many eggs, and she rotates those eggs around. With too many eggs, the ones on the outside edges get too cold and die, and then she rotates the inside eggs out there, and they die too and nothing hatches.

If you have smaller nesting boxes, only one hen fits, then this is not such a problem.

As for moving the broody hen, I did that the first time, she sat there for 4 days, and then went back to 'her' nest. I lost that clutch. I have never moved one again.

I was surprised at the above posters post in that she is hatching eggs for three days. Mine will stay on the nest for about 24 hours, and then leaves the nest, and creates a new one on the floor. Anything not hatched will die.

Broodyness is caused by a hormone, and I think it takes a couple of days to really set in. They may sit in a nest, may change a nest for a couple of days. This year, I had a first time broody, and she began to sit, I gave her a clutch, she changed nests. I gave her a clutch, and she changed nests, and then I did not catch her off that nest again. I always get in too much of a hurry.

However, depending on chick availability, getting close to the 21 day mark, a broody hen will accept chicks and raise them like her own. The above gal, hatched out two of her own, and took 12 day old chicks I had ordered to come on the hatching day.

A lot of people think that it is all on the mama's part, but it is also on the chicks part too, the chick has to figure out that this hen is equal to warmth and food, and stick close to her. Day old chicks will do that. If your run set up is large enough, and you have some obstacles, and hideouts in it, a broody hen can raise her chicks right in the coop/run and there will be no introduction issue. It is pretty sweet.

MrsK

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[Mollysgirl]

Thanks MsK! See, none of them are using the nesting boxes. I think they are too big, which I told my husband but that is another story! They are using 2 corners of the coop. I have 5 hens and 1 rooster so sharing the 2 corners has not been an issue. I bought a manufactured hen box from the local feed and seed store and they are not using that one either. They remain in their corners.

You are right on. She is gathering every single egg that gets laid. My teenagers are great about going out and collecting the eggs throughout the day. However, none of the 3 are about to reach under her and pull them away. My thought now is to throw out the clutch underneath her which must be 12 or 15 by now (she is a bantam) because who knows which stage they are in. Then separate her into the corner area so she has her own space with food and water and then place new eggs underneath. What do you think of this plan? Will she begin a new 21 day countdown if I start over?

Thanks for your patience with a newbie!

 

[dretd]

Thanks MsK! See, none of them are using the nesting boxes. I think they are too big, which I told my husband but that is another story! They are using 2 corners of the coop. I have 5 hens and 1 rooster so sharing the 2 corners has not been an issue. I bought a manufactured hen box from the local feed and seed store and they are not using that one either. They remain in their corners.

You are right on. She is gathering every single egg that gets laid. My teenagers are great about going out and collecting the eggs throughout the day. However, none of the 3 are about to reach under her and pull them away. My thought now is to throw out the clutch underneath her which must be 12 or 15 by now (she is a bantam) because who knows which stage they are in. Then separate her into the corner area so she has her own space with food and water and then place new eggs underneath. What do you think of this plan? Will she begin a new 21 day countdown if I start over?

Thanks for your patience with a newbie!

Sounds like you are having quite an adventure!

All really good advice so far. I thought I would add a couple of other ideas for you.

I did not separate my broody from the rest of the flock and the more dominant girls would boot the broody and lay their eggs there as well as broody stealing eggs from the next nest box (I have 4-two above and two below). I recommend taking a pencil or marker and marking the original ones so that you can remove the ones that get laid on top each night.

Three times she got back on the wrong nest and when I discovered it at the end of the day the clutch was cold. I thought there was no way any would hatch but put her back on and kept going. She ended up hatching 3 chicks with 2 late quitters from the original dozen or so. I figure with the cold eggs that was really pretty amazing. She also stayed on the nest for 3 days. I took the eggs from under her at that time. It is possible that the late quitters were not quitters but just late because they were laid after she sat the clutch and maybe she was still on them because she knew one was still alive, but I wanted her to move along and one of the other eggs was sweating, so I didn't think it safe to let her sit any longer.

In all likelihood, if she is determined, she will be broody for as long as it takes to hatch a clutch. I have had to break broodies after over a month of sitting on infertile eggs and they were none too happy to get broken, either. You could just let her keep going and see what happens. You could also candle the eggs about 10 days in and remove any eggs that were infertile to reduce the number of eggs under her (that's what i did). After they hatch, wait a couple of days and either pitch the unhatched eggs or place them under your other broody and keep going.

Good luck with your broodies!