Broody question

[mordarlar]

Hello all. This is my first time with a potential broody hen, well pullet actually.

She is approx 9 months and we had removed her because our young roo kept biting onto her crop while mating and she began to bleed. The weather where i am is pretty chilly but she had been spending the last few days in a lightly heated back storage room. While she was in iso she began to display what i thought was early broody behavior. She started excessively grooming her breast, gathering a pile of hay and just had an unusual type of posture while sitting. She had her head low, her body sort of spread out and a sort of zoned manner. The first time i stuck my hand into her cage she pecked at me which is pretty out of character but i figured it was from all the changes.

I decided to give her the eggs i had on hand. There were seven. She began shifting them all around and then began to set on them. She wasn't covering all of them but had the majority under her. I was thrilled. I left and came back a little later and she wasn't on the eggs anymore. I watched for a while and she just seemed unable to decide if she was going to set on the eggs or not. Is this normal?

She clearly is interested in setting on them and will do for a short amount of time. She occasionally gets up to move them around a bit and then returns to setting. Should i just leave her be and see what happens? Or should i remove the eggs?

Thanks for any help.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

How much time is she spending off of the eggs?


Could be she is just starting. I would date the eggs and let her decide what she is going to do - but I love me a broody

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I would have loved to have had a broody. Even though I have a breed that is leans towards boodiness none of them ever did. I had to resort to incubation and believe you me a broody can do it alot better and alot cheeper than incubating.

 

[mordarlar]

Quote:
Thank you for responding HorseFeatherz and ibeier2000

She is acting like she is trying to decide what she wants to do. I've pretty much lost hope that she's going to commit as she sat for several hours yesterday and then was up and about long enough for them to chill. I have left them in there for the time being. I suspect she knows the temp isn't right. I have her in a heated storage room in a cage and the floor stays a little chilly. I debated moving her up and placing a solid board beneath the cage. I might do that tomorrow and see if she becomes a little more determined. If so i'll switch out the eggs as i'm guessing these would no longer be viable.

 

[spartacus_63]

Not to be a spoiler, but lots of non-broody hens will display broody behavior like that. The problem with most is that they don't have the stamina for it. Some will only set for an hour, some will set for an entire day or maybe three, then loose interest.

I hope yours is a true broody.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Mine do not seem to care about outdoor temp. or season - I have a little bantam RIR/Rosecomb cross who hatched out eggs in Dec. She did it in an unheated coop, with night temps dipping into the negatives. I currently have a bantam cochin setting eggs also.


Some will "play broody" for a couple days but some do decide that the hormones to sit are stronger.


When my cochin Blondie first went broody - she would leave the eggs for hours and the eggs would chill. She drove me batty - I would scoop her up and plop her back onto her eggs. She seemed to know what she was doing, she did become a mom.

 

[mordarlar]

Quote:
I am beginning to have my doubts but i'm going to give her a little longer. Now that she has been sitting in the warmer room for a few days i don't want to remove her to the unheated coop until the weather warms so we have some time to see what she finally decides

 

[mordarlar]

Quote:
Thanks for sharing this. It helps to know that they can and do set in chillier spots.

Did your broody hatch the eggs she let chill or do you mean she hatched out a later clutch? I figured my pullets age might be causing her to sort of "feel things out".

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Blondie hatched the eggs she had allowed to chill. She was 24 weeks when she sat her first clutch - she had laid like.......6 eggs

 

[mordarlar]

Quote:

Excellent!!