Broody or Not, that is the question..?

[rosemarythyme]

Yes Rose, she is pooping, the full crop was because she is a greedy bugger when it comes to corn or the leaves of my strawberry plants and my Son had unfortunately let her have a little too much corn !

Tell your son to keep corn (and other treats) to a minimum. It's tasty but also fattening, and fat chickens can struggle to lay.

 

[Taffy57]

doesnt sound broody to me, sounds more like its kinda using it as a convenient roost lol .. drop and egg while im at it type of behavior .. you cant figure some chickens lol .. but a true broody usually you just literally have to drag them off the nest and theyll jump right back on in a few minutes ... as far as eggs, alot of it is timing, ive seen them 'hold it' before for various reasons lol .. theyll run in and lay one and alittle later or next morning drop another one ...

Hi Modze, their favourite roost is the garden table & benches, where they all congregate for a mid morning wash & brush up after breakfast. Funny thing but none of them lay in the coop, they all use the same nest box in the dog transport cage ! Not really my idea of a desirable residence hahaha

 

[Taffy57]

Favourite roost

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[ElimAcres]

I gather my eggs during the evening chores. Last summer I had 9 hens lay 11 eggs. It happens.

 

[Ammo229]

Steve,

I am so intrigued with the story of your flock. Thanks for sharing a picture of them. Definitely keep us posted please.

I have a hen that I suspect has been broody for the past three days. Is there anything specific I need to do with no roosters in the flock and no desire to hatch chicks (if there were)?

I also have one male Pekin left after losing his mates to predators. They have always been with the chickens which was never a problem until now. I have one giant horny male Pekin chasing four chickens. Could this have anything to do with her broodiness, and does anyone know if it's safe to leave him with them? I'd hate for my duck to be left alone, and really prefer not to have any more ducks if given the option. The chicken's coop is up off the ground where they can get away from him at night and when they want to. His coop is a dog house on the ground. Both are now in a super reinforced coop so they are free to run as they wish, and they are let out on the yard during the day.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Amber

 

[aart]

I have one giant horny male Pekin chasing four chickens.

@Ammo229 get him away from the chickens, mating could be fatal......as duck shave penises(male chickens do not) female chickens are not built to handle penetration.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have a hen that I suspect has been broody for the past three days. Is there anything specific I need to do with no roosters in the flock and no desire to hatch chicks (if there were)?

I also have one male Pekin left after losing his mates to predators. They have always been with the chickens which was never a problem until now. I have one giant horny male Pekin chasing four chickens. Could this have anything to do with her broodiness, and does anyone know if it's safe to leave him with them?

For the broody hen:

Broody jail: Put her in an isolation cage with some food and water, in sight of the others (in the coop if it's not too hot or in/near the run is ideal). A wire cage elevated to air flow under her would be the best option, however I've used everything from a brooder to a dog exercise pen.

Keep her in the cage around the clock for about 2 days. At that time, if she's shows fewer signs of broodiness (puffing up, flattening down and growling, tik tik tik noise) you can let her out to test her. If she runs back to the nest at any point (usually they don't do it immediately, but maybe after 15 minutes, maybe an hour) then she's not yet sufficiently broken and needs to go back to the cage for another 24 hours. Then let her out and test her again. Repeat until she's no longer going to the nest box.

IF the isolation cage is not safe for overnight stay (i.e. sits outside the run) then put her on the roost at night, and retrieve her from the nest box the next morning and put her back in the cage. It may take a little longer this way but better than letting a predator get to her.

Regarding the duck, male ducks can injure and even kill hens as they have a penis (and roosters do not) so they can cause internal damage if they attempt to mate. Best to separate them completely. If you don't want more ducks, maybe he'd be ok if he could see the hens, even if he can't reach them.

 

[Ammo229]

Thank you so much for the advise! I have added a dog kennel under the coop for the broody hen and have separated him from the chickens. I'm so glad I asked!

 

[Ammo229]

@Ammo229 get him away from the chickens, mating could be fatal......as duck shave penises(male chickens do not) female chickens are not built to handle penetration.

Thank you so much for the advise! He has been separated. I'm so glad I asked!

 

[Taffy57]

Hi Amber,
Thanks for the kind comment and I see Aart & Rose have already answered your questions.
I did find a good video on YouTube explaining how to "break" a broody hen using a wire dog crate....

I unfortunately now have a problem of my own, a neighbour came over last weekend and complained about my rooster crowing early in the morning . Funny but young lads tearing up and down the street on dirt bikes (scramblers), doesn't seem to disturb him as much as my rooster !

Anyway I really dont want to get rid of my rooster "Rambo" as he is fantastic with the hens, he's really gentle yet also very protective and to watch him beak feeding them blueberries is hilarious. So I'm trying everything I know to try to quieten him down a little eg he now has a anti crow collar that doesn't totally stop the crowing, but does reduce how loud it is, he is also kept in darkness until a little later than 05.30 am. But I have a feeling that too few hens may be contributing to his crowing so I'm intending to double his harem to 8 from the current 4. Any advice any of you guys can offer would be great.

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