Broody sitting on eggs - how to solve my problem?

[MarlaMac]

I have a broody hen sitting on eggs. Yesterday one broke under her. While she was out dust bathing I cleaned the nest and candled the eggs. Yesterday they were 8 days under her.

1 had no development, threw it away
1 is questionable, marked it in pencil with a ? It had what looked like a blood spot and some veins, but it would move super freely when I turned the egg. Thinking I have a quitter. I will check in a couple of days and if no changes, toss it.
11 have growing chicks in them.

Here is my question. My broody hen will sometimes leave the clutch of eggs and go and sit in another box, either on a fake egg or if someone has laid, then that egg too. I tried removing the fake eggs and had a cluster in the coop this morning with rooster trying to tell the girls the boxes are still good laying areas, but them being confused at what to do so I put the fake eggs back out. When I did this, things settled down and the girls started to lay.

What should I do when the broody leaves her clutch to sit somewhere else? I am inclined to think she knows what she is doing and the eggs just might be too hot. It is already hot and muggy here in central texas. Feels like temp at 10 am was 87 with humidity at 63%; ambient temp was 82. I do have some frozen water bottles with a small fan blowing cool air in her direction.

Should I leave her be when she leaves the eggs, or should I continue to move her back to her clutch? I have moved her twice. Once yesterday, once today.

Thanks you for any advice you may have.

 

[Red Mangrove]

Always best to leave nature alone in my experience. Chickens usually know best what they're doing when it comes to chicken stuff

 

[K0k0shka]

I am inclined to think she knows what she is doing

That is no guarantee at all. People like to think nature knows best, the broody knows best, but in reality, chickens have been removed from nature for a very, very, very long time. The selection pressures on them have been for egg production, meat production, or looks, which has left some natural behaviors like brooding severely stunted and compromised. Just think about how many hens will go broody at all, and how many never will in their whole lives. If survival depended on them, most of them would go extinct! Not procreating is a death sentence for your species in nature. But domestic animals aren't being shaped by nature via the survival of the fittest, they are being shaped by humans, for human needs. And things get lost in that process, like the instincts to procreate in chickens.

Some broodies are excellent mothers, but some have no idea what they are doing. They feel an urge to do something, but they are missing the details, or the determination. If she is not returning to her nest, and you do want her to sit and hatch the chicks, separate her somewhere where she can't access other nests. Like a wire crate with food and water inside, or section off part of the coop for her, with food and water inside, where she only has her own nest to sit in. I've had a hen switch nests like that - she failed her job miserably and I had to finish her eggs off in the incubator. Then she failed as a mother once the chicks hatched, too. She just didn't have all the right instincts, she wanted it but didn't know what to do with it. I'm not letting her brood again.

 

[MarlaMac]

That is no guarantee at all. People like to think nature knows best, the broody knows best, but in reality, chickens have been removed from nature for a very, very, very long time. The selection pressures on them have been for egg production, meat production, or looks, which has left some natural behaviors like brooding severely stunted and compromised. Just think about how many hens will go broody at all, and how many never will in their whole lives. If survival depended on them, most of them would go extinct! Not procreating is a death sentence for your species in nature. But domestic animals aren't being shaped by nature via the survival of the fittest, they are being shaped by humans, for human needs. And things get lost in that process, like the instincts to procreate in chickens.

Some broodies are excellent mothers, but some have no idea what they are doing. They feel an urge to do something, but they are missing the details, or the determination. If she is not returning to her nest, and you do want her to sit and hatch the chicks, separate her somewhere where she can't access other nests. Like a wire crate with food and water inside, or section off part of the coop for her, with food and water inside, where she only has her own nest to sit in. I've had a hen switch nests like that - she failed her job miserably and I had to finish her eggs off in the incubator. Then she failed as a mother once the chicks hatched, too. She just didn't have all the right instincts, she wanted it but didn't know what to do with it. I'm not letting her brood again.

Thank you. This particular hen has been broody twice before and was an excellent mother. If it was another hen, I would question her instincts. When I move her back she will sit for the remainder of the day on the eggs.

I am wondering if she got bit by ants in that box because there were ants on the egg remains when I found it yesterday. I did have to gently wash some of the eggs off - damp wash cloth - to remove egg remnants. But the area was cleaned and I made sure ants were gone. Perhaps I should move her clutch to a new box?

I really am not inclined to section her off. Then have to reintroduce her/her chicks to the flock. She raised two other clutches in the coop with the flock before.

How warm is too warm for eggs under a broody?

Thank you.

 

[K0k0shka]

It's like how with humans each pregnancy is different even for the same woman, it can be like that with thickens - each brood can be a little different. With some things, they learn from experience and get better with each new brood, but other things... they don't seem to learn the lesson, or something will change in the environment, or the hormone levels... So the experience can vary. Who knows what's going on in her little head. That inconsistency is also a byproduct of human breeding for other qualities. In nature, her line would die off if she made mistakes like that. Nature leaves no room for mistakes.

I really am not inclined to section her off. Then have to reintroduce her/her chicks to the flock. She raised two other clutches in the coop with the flock before.

I mean section her off within sight of the flock, so you wouldn't have to do reintroductions. Like get a large wire dog crate, with a nest, food, and water inside, and put it in the coop. Or run some chicken wire to block off a corner of the coop, and set her up there. When the chicks hatch, let her out to mingle with the flock. The flock will have seen her all along, seen the chicks hatch, so you wouldn't need introductions. That's what I've been doing lately - either section off part of the coop, or put the broody in a cage inside the coop. Once, because of that nest hopper I had, and the rest of the times, because the other hens would keep laying in the broody's nest and risk breaking her eggs. I haven't had to do any introductions, they all see each other every day. After the chicks hatch and dry off, I open the cage/divider and the hen is free to lead the babies out into the world.

 

[MarlaMac]

It's like how with humans each pregnancy is different even for the same woman, it can be like that with thickens - each brood can be a little different. With some things, they learn from experience and get better with each new brood, but other things... they don't seem to learn the lesson, or something will change in the environment, or the hormone levels... So the experience can vary. Who knows what's going on in her little head. That inconsistency is also a byproduct of human breeding for other qualities. In nature, her line would die off if she made mistakes like that. Nature leaves no room for mistakes.


I mean section her off within sight of the flock, so you wouldn't have to do reintroductions. Like get a large wire dog crate, with a nest, food, and water inside, and put it in the coop. Or run some chicken wire to block off a corner of the coop, and set her up there. When the chicks hatch, let her out to mingle with the flock. The flock will have seen her all along, seen the chicks hatch, so you wouldn't need introductions. That's what I've been doing lately - either section off part of the coop, or put the broody in a cage inside the coop. Once, because of that nest hopper I had, and the rest of the times, because the other hens would keep laying in the broody's nest and risk breaking her eggs. I haven't had to do any introductions, they all see each other every day. After the chicks hatch and dry off, I open the cage/divider and the hen is free to lead the babies out into the world.

That might be a possibility. So you don't let her out to dust bath, poop and eat? Do you provide all that in her space?

 

[Ursuline Chick]

I have done the same thing. Putting the broody and her eggs in her own area, with all being able to see each other and it has worked well for me. There is room for her to get off the nest and do what she needs to do. Her own private mini run.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Thank you. This particular hen has been broody twice before and was an excellent mother. If it was another hen, I would question her instincts. When I move her back she will sit for the remainder of the day on the eggs.

I am wondering if she got bit by ants in that box because there were ants on the egg remains when I found it yesterday. I did have to gently wash some of the eggs off - damp wash cloth - to remove egg remnants. But the area was cleaned and I made sure ants were gone. Perhaps I should move her clutch to a new box?

I really am not inclined to section her off. Then have to reintroduce her/her chicks to the flock. She raised two other clutches in the coop with the flock before.

How warm is too warm for eggs under a broody?

Thank you.

I don't think it has anything to do with the heat. I live in Central Texas also, and last year in July when we were smoking hot (107+ humidity) my broody hatch a clutch of chicks just fine. In the beginning I had to move her back to her nest a few times, but after that she was golden.

 

[K0k0shka]

That might be a possibility. So you don't let her out to dust bath, poop and eat? Do you provide all that in her space?

She has food and water inside, and I clean out her massive broody poop every day. She'll be fine if she doesn't dust bathe for a couple of weeks. Mine doesn't after the first week even if she's not caged anyway. Past the first week she gets super focused and doesn't leave the coop at all.

Here she is in her crate from this past spring. I made a nest for her in a box, which she didn't like, then I made another nest for her in a bucket on its side, but she didn't like that either, kept taking her eggs out and sitting on the floor. So I gave up.

She's in the middle of the coop so her friends can see her. The roost is above her, so I strapped a feed bag to the top of the cage so she wouldn't get pooped on. I also put clear plastic along the bottom of the cage walls, so the chicks wouldn't slip out.

Her chicks are 1 month old now and doing great. No problems being accepted by the flock, since the flock could see them in the cage before they ventured out.

 

[MarlaMac]

I don't think it has anything to do with the heat. I live in Central Texas also, and last year in July when we were smoking hot (107+ humidity) my broody hatch a clutch of chicks just fine. In the beginning I had to move her back to her nest a few times, but after that she was golden.

Yes, that was BRUTAL heat. Two of my hatch clutches in that heat.