Broody pullet? What should I do?

[Ridgerunner]

If she is still laying eggs, she is not broody. When they go truly broody, they quit laying. That's because an egg that is laid after she starts incubating the others won't hatch. She will have to take the chicks off the nest for food and water before that egg has enough time to hatch.

With the temperatures you mentioned, if she really went broody, I'd give her eggs. It's not the best time of year for hatching and raising chicks, but she should be able to handle it.

 

[bobbieschicks]

No she's sleeping on the roost. Maybe she is just hanging there longer and pushing bigger stuff out. Her egg today didn't appear bigger. She's not broody yet so I'm glad.

 

[pepperkorn67]

Hahaha. My Barred Rocks especially Kung Pao who was "mother hen" since she was 2 days old to all her sisters.

I found wearing my fingerless gloves eases MY fears. She's so adorable growling at me. I'm wondering if I can make her go broody in the Spring by putting her own feeder and water supply. I'll make her a special brooding box! She's been so great at looking after everyone I really feel like she's earned the right to raise her own chicks.

 

[donrae]

A lot of hens just like to hang out in the nest box and don't like to be messed with. That's what it sounds like to me. If she's broody, she doesn't leave the nest but once or twice a day, and always sleeps on it. And quits laying. She's just messing with you.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Yesterday she laid her egg late in the late part of the day and then got down and ran around a bit. So I quickly gathered her egg. She didn't try to get back in the nest box or act weird. She seemed normal. I saw she left a bunch of fluffy feathers in the nest box.

Today she laid another egg and I saw it under her this morning, but when I tried to get it from her earlier she growled at me. She won't move off the nest and has hunkered down on it. I don't think she's moved off the nest all day I'm worried because her water is outside in the run and the door to the coop closes at 6:15pm - there's both layer pellets and grower feed inside the coop.

I'll check later tonight and see where she is when the lights go off - if she gets down and goes up on the roost I'll steal away her egg.

If she stays there in the external nest box will she be warm enough? It's supposed to get down to 30Fs tonight. It's plenty warm in the coop right now because it was up in the upper 60Fs today and it's holding heat pretty good. But the boxes aren't insulated with anything. She's sitting on one egg and a whole bunch of straw. She does feel pretty warm to touch - yeah I got that close and almost got a chunk of my skin taken away. She's growling pretty good over that one little egg.

Is a new broody young pullet smart enough to take care of her own needs? Or do I have to intervene by forcing her down to eat and drink?

 

[bobbieschicks]

She was still in the nest box after the lights went out. I snuck out there and found her huddled down trying to sleep in the nest box. If she gets down tomorrow - I'll mark the egg and let her give it a go. We're warm enough lately - I think she should be okay. It's kind of exciting to have her go broody and scary at the same time.

 

[StarLover21]

Chicks!!!!

 

[bobbieschicks]

HAHA! I'm glad you're happy about that Starlover - I'm not sure I'm happy about it. But I'll let her take it as far as she can - it may be cool to watch how a chicken handles incubating and hatching her egg since we've never seen that before. And raising a chick by herself would be cool to watch. I just don't want to lose Smokey.

She was out there hunkered down again this morning. I'll try to watch her today to see if she gets off the nest or not. I only have the 2 layers right now - her and my WL Snow White. But I have 4 or 6 more chickens that could start laying. AC is close to laying, she's 25 weeks old. The LOs are 16 weeks old, they are eating the oyster shell and peeking into the nest boxes. The silkies are 16 weeks old and oblivious to laying at this point as far as I can tell.

So looks like I'll need to get that little broody coop ready - I didn't plan to do that until spring. But if she is insistent on hatching her egg - then I want to give her a safe place to do that in her own little coop.

 

[bobbieschicks]

She hasn't gotten down yet. I'm getting worried about her.

 

[bobbieschicks]

I never saw her get off the nest - she seems to be in the same position as she was in earlier today. I took a handful of food to her and she scarfed it down. I tried to get her to drink from a water bowl, but she wouldn't. Should I take her off the nest and put her at the water dish? I don't care if she stays broody or not - but I don't want her to die of dehydration or loss of food. What should I do?