Broody Question Take Two

[nutmeg1980]

I tried asking this question here a few days ago, and no one seemed to understand what I was getting at, so here goes again....

I have a broody hen, no roosters. I know that there are ways to break a broody, but I would prefer to let her do her thing and quit when she's ready. Has anyone ever had any serious consequences from this? I take her off the next twice a day to make sure she eats and drinks at least a little bit.. I've heard that broodies can starve to death, but has anyone actually ever heard of this happening? Any ideas about how long she'll stick with it before she gives up?

Thanks!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
I have never heard of a broody starving ...
Some times hens can sit for months. Sometimes just a few days, or a few weeks. You can never tell!
Can you not order some hatching eggs for your gal' to sit on? Or maybe you could find some localy? Or if you don't want chicks, you can let her sit on golf balls.

Hope this helps!

 

[fldiver97]

Hi

what a coincidence......I got my Wheaten Marans from you this spring and guess what.....she went broody a few days ago. Also no roo here. I named her Amber. I am -gently- trying to break her from brooding. I worked well with my GLW a few months ago, she only tried for a few days and gave up after being placed on the roost for 2 nights in a row. Amber is a bit more determined....she is trying to incubate wooden eggs. I do take her off the nest 3-4 times during the day, take her to her favorite spot in the yard to eat/drink/poop and she actually hangs out and picks bugs in the grass for a few minutes before she goes back to the coop. I do check that her crop is filled and she looks OK. She is also friendly enough to eat out of my hand. So for now I will keep doing what I am doing.....roost at night, off the nest a few times a day, hand feed and make sure she looks/eats/drinks OK. Hopefully she will decide it's time to quit. If she goes too long or does not eat well I will take her off the nest and in a crate for a couple of days.
But she is doing very well, is friendly and a good layer.......Michaela

 

[Sama_Lama]

I have never experienced a broody hen but I think I might have one now. One of my 6 month old hens (the Delaware) is sitting on one of the other he's eggs. She has not begun to lay as far as I can tell and is certainly not laying on her own eggs if she has. Why would such a young hen have such a vested interest in laying on another hen's eggs? She only does it to the one hen's eggs, none of the other girls. Why?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
First of all that isn't a Delaware hen, that's a White Easter Egger Hen!

I don't know why she does that? Are her eggs a different color?

 

[Sama_Lama]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

Quote:
First of all that isn't a Delaware hen, that's a White Easter Egger Hen!

I don't know why she does that? Are her eggs a different color?

Say what?! It's an EE? darn feed store!! So she would lay the green eggs? She is nothing like my Americauna, heck I didn't even know EE came in white! So maybe they are her eggs then. I knew they couldn't possibly be because the Delawares lay brown eggs, if i'm not mistaken, and she was sitting on green ones. But I have an Americauna of the same age so I figured she was laying them. Maybe she isn't broody after all!​

 

[nutmeg1980]

Sounds like there's nothing too terrible about letting her be. I'll just make sure that she eats and drinks every day.... I'm glad to hear that the Wheaten is doing well, Michaela! Sounds like she's really happy at your house!!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
First of all that isn't a Delaware hen, that's a White Easter Egger Hen!

I don't know why she does that? Are her eggs a different color?

Say what?! It's an EE? darn feed store!! So she would lay the green eggs? She is nothing like my Americauna, heck I didn't even know EE came in white! So maybe they are her eggs then. I knew they couldn't possibly be because the Delawares lay brown eggs, if i'm not mistaken, and she was sitting on green ones. But I have an Americauna of the same age so I figured she was laying them. Maybe she isn't broody after all!

Yes, EE's come in a assorment of colors.

Yep, sounds like those are her eggs.

 

[joletabey]

I do know someone who lost a broody to starvation and dehydration- please be careful. Plus if the eggs don't hatch, she may just stay on them. She is going to lose weight even if you force her off to eat and drink. Really, it is not going to hurt her to break her of the broodiness, but she could suffer by sitting there for no reason, especially if you are experiencing anything of this heat wave.

 

[AZKat]

If you're going to let her sit, you should either get some day old chicks to graft onto her, or get some fertile eggs. Otherwise, she will sit for a very long time, and could end up in really poor condition. My broodys lose a ton of weight after 3 weeks hatching chicks, I don't want to think what they'd be like after a few months.