Broody or not Broody?

[CoopVillano]

Mine is only staying on the nest for a couple hours a day but I put an egg in front of her and she did tuck it under. What do you recommend?

Well... I have minimal experience... but from what I've read, true "broodiness" is a much more dedicated and hyper-focused behavior... some hens even get violent, in an effort to protect the nest. My girl isn't displaying violence, but she does bristle her head and neck feathers and "growl" at me when I come out. But then she does allow me to pick her up and collect eggs. She eats and scratches for less than five minutes before heading back in. Another "sign" I can definitely attest to, comes from the fact that a broody hen isn't getting up to eliminate for hours at a time... the results are... big. stinky. poos.

 

[debid]

Mine is only staying on the nest for a couple hours a day but I put an egg in front of her and she did tuck it under. What do you recommend?

Wait and see if she goes broody. I have one hen that likes to gather clutches. She'll move eggs from other boxes and then lay hers with them. She spent a couple hours per day last spring doing this and I thought she might go broody. She didn't. We went away for a weekend and there were about 10 eggs in one box when we returned. Still, she only played at it. Maybe this year but not holding my breath.

 

[donrae]

Hi Rachel... I'm glad you brought that up... as far as I can tell, this hen IS staying in the nest box all night. Here is a cell phone image... you can see her bristling her feathers a bit... and that was accompanied by a weird "growl" to warn me off. In your experience... if Olive is indeed broody, would you predict that this behavior will establish a cycle? or will she just stay in this mode until I, either give her eggs to hatch, or try to forcibly change the behavior? She started this somewhere around the 10th of January... and she stopped laying her own eggs about 20 days ago. I'd like to take this opportunity to expand our flock, as long as she is willing to set... but it is a typical Minnesota winter... maybe I should wait? Your opinions and suggestions are appreciated...

Well, I'm an enabler so I'd say put some eggs under her. You'll need to have a sheltered area for the babies, access to food and water of course, but that hen will keep them warm and they'll feather out faster than any other chicks!
Or, if the weather's really horrible, you can either break her or just let her give up on her own, and wait til the weather's more cooperative.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Hummm... If you can get her to let you approach while she is still sitting on the nest, put an egg in front of her (Within easy beak distance). If she rolls it under herself, she's going broody. If she ignores it, far less likely for her to be broody right now.

I tried it and she pulled the egg under her! I don't know if I should be happy or not?

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

I tried it and she pulled the egg under her! I don't know if I should be happy or not?

I would be ecstatic and calling around for six hatching eggs from someone. But that's me... Decide which way you want it then either try and break her or get her some eggs. I am hoping my two banty gals go broody soon...

 

[CoopVillano]

OMG that is a beautiful hen!!

Thank you, Chick_In_The_Burbs! I'm new to "chicken keeping" and LOVE to photograph them, every chance I get. I've created a page with more photos and a summary of our chicken adventure, so far... if you're interested in viewing cute pics, take a look (some of the story is sad, so beware) : Villano Flock

 

[ChickyChooky]

Hi, CoopVillano,

So, your Broody-Brood is a Dark Brahma! I was wondering what she was! She's absolutely lovely! I love her pencilling! Gorgeous!

Actually, I've hopped in here because I wanted to try to offer some possible help after reading about your terrible mishaps between your dogs and chickens. I couldn't work out how to put a comment in there. There didn't appear to be a button or anything. Anyway,.....

I've had dogs all my life and a few different breeds, admittedly mainly small to medium size, but also a couple of larger ones like the Malamute and a Weimaraner so I've had quite a bit of experience during my 50 years. Other than when I was a child, this is the first time I've had chickens. So, I am a newbie. I've wanted them all my life but kept putting it off because I was unable to live in the countryside at the time. Just recently, now that my children have left the nest, I decided it was time.

Admittedly, my dogs aren't as big as yours. I've actually trained mine to behave whilst around the chickens and they're both around 3 to 4 yrs old. I do still have to watch my oversized Chihuahua-X, Mofi, (my daughter's actually, but, initially, she couldn't take him with her and, then, she didn't want to separate them as they are like brothers).... Anyway, Mofi does show signs of excitement if a hen is startled and flaps away, but, a quick "No!" warning from me, and he backs down resisting the urge to give chase. My male Puffer Chinese Crested, Opi, who is a year younger, is excellent with the chickens. In fact, most of the flock don't take much notice of him now, except for some of the new additions. But, they'll get used to Opi. I'm so confident about him, I will leave him in the run whilst I get something from inside the house. Admittedly, this dog is extremely gentle and I do think he has very strong paternal instincts. He brought me a dead baby mouse once, whining his head off, and very, oh, so very gently dropped it into my hand. Looked at me. Whimpered again. Then, nudged the mouse with his nose a couple of times and looked at me, whimpering, as if to say, "Can you make her better?" He was so upset. My cats are very good mousers, so I believe he got it from them. I could be wrong. Maybe he played with it and frightened it to death. I don't know as I wasn't there.

Anyway, when the chickens first arrived, all Mofi wanted to do was chase them when he saw them through the run's fence, and, at first, Opi, did the same as he follows Mofi's lead. Naturally, I told them off and put Mofi inside the house. Then, I put a lead on an excited Opi and started walking Opi slowly around the run. Of course, the chickens were a little nervous about this strange animal. He made one or two attempts to lunge at the hens, but I, quickly, gave a little yank on the lead and shouted angrily, "NO!" He looked back at me each time. When he got really close to a chicken and didn't get excited, I would just say, "Goood boy!" and keep telling him how good he was behaving. Opi kept looking back at me, looking for reassurance that he was doing the right thing. I wouldn't recommend the next step for all dogs. Each one is different. Maybe just repeat the process for one or two days or more until you feel he/she is ready. Using treats, such as cheese or liver pieces, to reward them whilst they're inside the coop or near the chickens would really enforce the training. I was just lucky that I didn't need to. But, after the training, I would give Opi and Mofi some cheese as soon as we were inside the house just to reinforce the training.

Actually, I've started training them to do simple tricks like "shake hands" and "Hi! Five!" straight after seeing to the chooks in the morning. That way they associate the chickens with nice things. Of course, Opi is picking up the tricks much faster than Mofi! But, I think Mofi is a little stubborn as well, plus, I discovered he's left-handed as he keeps wanting to shake with his right paw! Lol!

With your dogs, you could also either take them for a walk or play with them, straight after seeing to your chickens. They'll get used to the routine and get excited when you see to your chickens because they will know what's coming next. They're probably a little jealous of the time you spend with the chickens. This will negate that.

So, the next step, was to take him off the lead and see how he behaved without the lead. One could use a longer lead and slacken it off, if you had a dog that was more difficult to train. Opi already knew what "Gentle" or "Settle" meant so I used the words over and over and watched him slowly walk around the chickens care sniffing at them. I think he was more startled than the chickens when they suddenly became startled by his getting too near them. Lol! Opi kept looking back at me for reassurance. The next thing, I know, he very carefully and slowly was walking around the chickens in order to not to startle them. Opi was, actually, tiptoeing around them! Lol!I couldn't believe how quickly he caught on! Opi was, in particular, fascinated by the 5 X baby Dark Barred Plymouth Rocks. One day, the BPRs were having great fun having a soil bath together. I was taking a video of them when, slowly, Opi's head comes into view and he goes right up to them and pauses a couple of inches away from one of them, sniffing one. The BPRs paused for a second, eyed him, and, as if saying, "Oh. It's only Opi!" returned to enjoying their soil bath! Opi closely watched them for a few moments, then, to my surprise, he, very slowly, as if in slow motion, backed away from them! I was so proud of him!

The reason that my dogs know what "Settle" means is because when Opi joined us, Mofi and Opi decided that bedtime was a great time to release some extra energy and start playing with one another on my bed whilst I'm trying to sleep! They wouldn't listen to me, so I put them in the kitchen for the night. The next night, I put them on the bed and settled myself to sleep. They, both, started playing again. I shouted, "NO! SETTLE! I'll put you in the kitchen if you start that again!" Boy! I've never seen two dogs react so quickly in all my life! Lol! Straight down on the spot in lying postion, head between their paws looking up at me as if to say, "OK. OK. We'll behave!" Lol!

As for Mofi around the chickens, it's taking much longer. When Opi and I went into the chicken run, I would leave him outside the run so he could see us and the chickens. If he tried to lunge at the chickens through the fencing, I'd put him inside the house. Bit by bit, he stopped doing it and just watched. After a whole week of just watching us and the chickens inside the run, I put the lead on him, and walked him around the coop. He behaved quite well but I knew he wasn't Opi, so I didn't let him off the lead until I felt more confident myself about him. Mofi seemed to be more interested in the scratch that I had thrown around the run floor! Typical Chihuahua! They can be so greedy at times! My chooks have a treadle feeder which they use, but they are still chickens and I think it is only fair that they have something to scratch for! I'll be glad when I can let them roam my back yard but it is chicken proof yet. I've got to fence off my lemon tree, remove some plants that are toxic to chooks, and one side of the fence isn't quite tall enough to keep them in.

Anyway, I allow Mofi to come in with us into the run for only a short time each day, only because all he wants to do is eat the seeds! He just sniffs at a nearby hen and searches for more scratch. Really! Mofi! It's for the chickens! Not you! Lol! I do watch him as he does show a little excited gleam when a chook is startled by him, but he doesn't do anything after a warning "No!" from me. He's improving all the time. In fact, today, I didn't have to say anything even though he showed that little gleam in his eye. He controlled himself without checking with me.

If you wanted to, you could make your dogs feel important by training them somehow to guard the flock. Or, another way to make them feel important is you could train your dogs to carry feed in a bucket into the run for you. Then, they wouldn't attack the flock if they did get out. Anyway, you shouldn't have any problems now that you have put mesh and shadecloth across the top. I'm in the middle of doing that myself, but, mainly, to ensure they don't get into a neighbour's yard and to protect the smaller chickens from any large bird predators. My Light Sussex and Barred Plymouth Rock Hens, should be ok., but my Silkies and Polish flock might be another matter.

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Enjoy your chickens!

ChickyChooky

 

[CoopVillano]

Thank you, ChickyChooky... your suggestions are appreciated... and I enjoyed reading about your process! And yes, I have worked a bit with Louie, with the intention of showing him his "job". When I have him on-leash, he will sit outside the gate of the "chicken yard", and wait while I take care of the daily chores. However, off-leash is another story, and we are FAAAAAAAR from making any progress in that regard. The Siberian Husky part of his personality is very very strong... and since he has already experienced the "kill", I'm not sure we can ever trust him with them... at least not unsupervised and off-leash. Frankie, on the other hand, has proven to be a better "ranch dog". Before we covered the ranging area, one of the hens (Sadie) was flying over several times a day. More than once, I caught Frankie, calmly watching over her, from several meters away... and there were a couple of times when we were inside the house, and he seemed to be alerting me that something was wrong... when we went outside, Sadie was out, and had made her way quite far from the safety of the fence. That said... I'm not sure what he would do, if she were agitated or flitting around with wings flapping. It might trigger his prey drive... which is actually quite strong... he has been known to capture rabbits, baby bunnies and squirrels.

Hey I took a look at your photos... you have a beautiful flock! I'm quite envious of the sun and greenery... it's 5F here on the Minnesota prairie today!

T. Villano

 

[CoopVillano]

We have a 10 month old dark brahma who is very broody... she just started laying eggs in late November, and in the last couple of weeks has started typical brooding behavior. We do not have a rooster... so no fertilized eggs. My broody girl is really only leaving the nest box when I force her out. She has pulled out her belly feathers and lined the nest... she does allow the other hen (we only have two right now) to lay her egg, but then she kicks her out and settles in. I do collect the eggs every day, but she stays even when the nest is empty. Her body "flattens" out and she seems to be in a trance. I've been going out 4-5 times a day to evict her... just to make sure she eats and drinks. Of course, she goes right back in after a couple of minutes. And her belly and the eggs I take from under her are SO warm... I think she would be a very dedicated setter... so I'm looking into purchasing some hatching eggs for her to incubate. Anyone have a suggestion/experience to share? Advice is appreciated... Here is a photo of Miss Olive and Miss Sadie... yes, that's Miss-BroodyBrood in the foreground...

Miss BroodyBrood ventured out on her own today for the first time in 25 days!

 

[ChickyChooky]

Thank you, ChickyChooky... your suggestions are appreciated... and I enjoyed reading about your process! And yes, I have worked a bit with Louie, with the intention of showing him his "job". When I have him on-leash, he will sit outside the gate of the "chicken yard", and wait while I take care of the daily chores. However, off-leash is another story, and we are FAAAAAAAR from making any progress in that regard. The Siberian Husky part of his personality is very very strong... and since he has already experienced the "kill", I'm not sure we can ever trust him with them... at least not unsupervised and off-leash. Frankie, on the other hand, has proven to be a better "ranch dog". Before we covered the ranging area, one of the hens (Sadie) was flying over several times a day. More than once, I caught Frankie, calmly watching over her, from several meters away... and there were a couple of times when we were inside the house, and he seemed to be alerting me that something was wrong... when we went outside, Sadie was out, and had made her way quite far from the safety of the fence. That said... I'm not sure what he would do, if she were agitated or flitting around with wings flapping. It might trigger his prey drive... which is actually quite strong... he has been known to capture rabbits, baby bunnies and squirrels.

Hey I took a look at your photos... you have a beautiful flock! I'm quite envious of the sun and greenery... it's 5F here on the Minnesota prairie today!

T. Villano

Hi, T. Villano!

Yep, the different dog breeds do instill different temperaments and reactions. Though it sounds as if Frankie has caught on quite well. And it certainly sounds as if you know what you're doing anyway! Still, you're wise to be cautious. But, it's certainly looking excellent if he's letting you know when somethings not quite right. Clever dog!

Thank you for your kind words about my flock! I think so too! Lol! I love your little flock! They're beautiful! The pencilling on BroodyBrood is gorgeous! You're envious of the sun and greenery! Well, yes, it is Summer over here in Adelaide suburbs, South Australia. 5 degreesF over there? Brrr! I don't like it when it starts a run over 34 degrees Celsius. Well, I hate it when it hits 38-40 degrees Celsius for a few days but, fortunately, (touch wood) we've been lucky this year here in Adelaide. Actually, I've got quite a small back yard and there isn't much grass at all. I've just got it covered in potted plants and found a groundcover that has decided to nearly cover everything! So, you'd hardly know that I had pots! Lol! I had a look at your website, T. L-o-v-e-l-y photos! Sorry to hear about Miss Mabel. Your Dominique looks like my Barred Plymouth Rock pullet, Zora. I had to find suitable homes for her four brothers before they started crowing. I have one neighbour who complained about Cuddles, my White Sussex Rooster, on the first day! My other neighbour shook his head in disbelief as he said that it didn't bother him and, he wasn't that loud anyway! But, we're not really allowed Roosters in the suburbs yet we have 4 houses in our area that have Roosters and they've been there for years! Just depends on the neighbour! So, I had to return him to my breeder friend. He was (is) such a sweetie. Book-Book, his partner, didn't used to make any exclamations when she laid an egg. He did it for her! Lol! Talk about being tuned into your partner! I felt so guilty having to take him away from Book-Book. At least, she's still talking (Book-Booking) to me! My heart went out to poor Zora (the BPR) the day after her brothers left. She kept "woop-woop" calling for them on and off during the following day! Fortunately, she appears to have adjusted ever since. One good thing, Zora doesn't peck my hand so hard any more when I give her treats because she's no long in competition with her boisterous brothers!

Ooh! You have a Faverolle! Lovely! I was thinking of getting one of those too! But, I think that I've got enough at the moment as it is! Lol! And they're only just about finishing sorting out their pecking order since the Polish chickens arrived. They weren't too happy about having their little lives and routine disrupted!

Oh! I couldn't believe it when I saw these advertised! Just one hour and 10 minutes drive away and I had four of these beautiful creatures, and made a new friend. A lovely lady, who owns a small hobby farm in Kapunda. They are even friendlier than my Silkies and I didn't even need taming because they love humans so much! Actually, I've got Sulky Silkies at the moment! I think they are quite put out that I introduced the White Crested Polish chickens! They didn't like having to sort out a new pecking order! They wouldn't let me stroke them when I was giving out treats after that! Today, was the first day, that two of them decided to forgive me! Lol! Probably, because the rearrangement in the pecking order dynamics are finally settling. Because I chose very quiet and docile breeds, it hasn't been very aggressive considering what I've seen on the Internet with other breeds. More like warning pecks and a lot of bluff! Anyway, I thought you might be interested in seeing my new additions: Frizzie, the 4 mth old White Crested Frizzle Black Polish pullet. I had to clip her crest back because you couldn't even see her beak! She must've been listening and smelling her food. Can you imagine! "I heard it fall somewhere here...." or "There's the excited food call from the others, now where.....?" Lol! Poor thing! I think that I'll have to clip some more back though. And, yes. It's a two man job! Anyway.... There's Cresta, the 3 mth old W/C Straight Feathered Black Polish pullet, who is clever enough to run to me for protection when she gets attacked and keeps running between my feet, peeping away at me. I'm so worried I'm going to step on her! Then, there's Cuckoo, the 3 mth old W/C Cuckoo Polish Pullet (Straight Feathered) and Silva, my 4 mth old W/C Blue Frizzle Rooster (Ssssh! I might have to keep him in the house when my neighbour is home! He'll be the one wearing the chicken diaper! Lol!) Well, I can try! Anyway, they both have very gentle personalities as well. Here come the photos!.....
Frizzie, before the crest was clipped: Yeah. That's a chicken! ... After:
Frizzie and Cuckoo:

Cuckoo:

Cresta: with Frizzie's crest in the way! Lol! Both enjoying yoghurt and CousCous!


Cresta and Honey (one of the pullets I got from the same breeder when I returned Cuddles, the Rooster)

I should've only got one but Magica and her sister, Honey, were the only two left and I didn't want to separate them. Actually, it was probably a good thing, as after I brought them home. Magica got a chest infection. The vet wasn't too sure of her chances of recovery as she was that ill, that she lay on her side at the vet's! My breeder friend was very upset. I knew that it wasn't her fault. Just one of those things! Well, the vet bill had already been spent, I might as well spend an extra $20AUD to try to save her! I had to dissolve the antibiotic powder in water, and force feed 3 syringefuls to her on the hour (the vet didn't suggest that though. 'Just let her drink it herself!' he said.) until she started drinking it herself about four hours later! Honey stayed with her for company during her recovery in my back room in a puppy run. She wasn't ill at all. Now, though Magica's not the largest or 2nd largest pullet, she's 2nd in charge to Book-Book! Would you believe it! In only one day of integration with the flock! (Gosh! This must be the longest post in Backyard Chickens' history! God! I'm bad! Lol!)
Magica: Honey: What plant? Lol! Good thing they're in a run! (At the moment .... dangerous thoughts of letting them free range in my backyard!..... Doooom! Maybe just short periods??

Magica learning to use the Treadle Feeder. And, no, you can't get the Treadle Feeders in blue! I just used a can of undercoat and paint spray!

The breeder told me that Magica and Honey were, originally, hatched from eggs that they had purchased under the promise that they were Silkies! Dooon't think so! I'm thinking that they may have been crossed with, maybe, Wyandottes as the breeder had no idea what the other breed might be! Except for the fact that they can both trill like Silkies, and Magica has a little feathering on her legs and a thin crest developing on her head, one would not know that there was any Silky in them!

Last one!: Silva, my W/C Blue Frizzle Polish Rooster (Sssh!). (He's) She's such a sweetie! So gentle and friendly!
Ya think he needs a haircut! Poor thing! Lol! Love his tail feathers! Lol!

You'll be relieved to hear, I'm signing off! Lol!
It's great to find a site where there are chicken lovers as mad as me! Lol! And, I've only had chickens for a few months! Groan!

ChookyChicky Lol!