Broody, sneaky Serama

[ddpittman]

We have a Serama who refuses to lay in the coop, and sneaks off to lay, then goes broody. The first time, we found her in a planter bucket after she didn't come home one night. She had 7 eggs. Then, she began laying under the tarp covering the hay bales, but we found her eggs before she could brood them. THEN, she started laying in an overturned planter bucket filled with straw, right by the run. I figured, great, problem solved. Not so fast. I knew she was sneaking off, but I couldn't find her nest. Then, like before, she didn't come home at night. We found her under our storage trailer, wedged between the concrete block, and floorboards, in the insulation.

If you enlarge the photo, you can see her black tipped tail feathers. My 8 y/o son had to crawl under the trailer, and pull her off, pecking him viciously all the while, and gather the 7 eggs she again had laid!

So, how do we trick this chicken into laying in our run/coop? Although her eggs are small, they are tasty, and we hate to lose them since she is actually a decent layer. She is also my daughter's favorite chicken, and it is only a matter of time before a predator finds her at night when she goes broody.

Thanks for your help. Here is a picture of Rapunzel.

 

[Ameraucanas]

Cute! You could try keeping her locked up for a day or two, so that she has to lay in the coop, or you can look at this website, it might be helpful! https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-get-a-chicken-to-lay-in-the-nestbox

 

[nchls school]

Like yours, my serama lay in the oddest places; often in places the other hens can't get to. That might be your answer. Provide a few nest sites that the others won't/can't use. The picture below is of a serama frizzle nesting in a cereal bowl who hatched two of three eggs this morning. I've also noticed that the serama are more apt to go for high nest sites. So between high and small maybe that would help get your hen laying in the coop.




I've also noticed that the serama change nest sites when all the eggs are collected, but leaving just one egg in the nest ends with the hen going broody. Good luck. The hens I don't want brooding I have put in a large cage without a nest box; so far I'm getting eggs and no broodiness.

 

[ddpittman]

Thanks! Big help!

 

[ddpittman]

Great tips. Yes, Rapunzel completely loses interest once you take her off the nest, and take all the eggs out. Thanks so much.

 

[hashworld]

Dear ddpittman,

You have a very cute pic there- the kids and the plucky serama look adorable! I think the tips provided by Ameraucanas and nchls school are great.

Looks like your serama is desperate to become a mother, especially since she has already laid four or more clutches of eggs. As you know, Seramas have great motherly instinct and make good mothers. Just curious if you would be able to give her a small batch to hatch. You may lose the eggs for a while but if you are lucky and you get pullets, they could add to the egg supply. Of course, there could be city rules and you wanting her to hatch in the first place,so this is just out of curiosity from my side.

Like others mentioned, adding some small fancy nesting sites, may be a small planter bucket with straws will satisfy her adventurous side. All the best!

 

[hashworld]

nchls school,

Your frizzle serama looks adorable. I think seramas know they are special and so, take more liberties with the owners

 

[NickyKnack]

Hello!

Welcome to BYC and the coop! There's a lot of great peeps here! Feel free to ask lots of questions. But most of all, make yourself at home. I'm so glad you decided to joined the BYC family. I look forward to seeing you around BYC.

 

[ddpittman]

I am sure you are right. We are incubating the eggs, because once you pull her off the nest, she completely loses interest. We tried to move her in the bucket last time, but she flew off and ignored the eggs.. Plus, I am not convinced that my young rooster, who is much larger than she is, is successfully fertilizing her. The act looks very awkward. Since we have this latest problem, I am thinking we should get a bantam rooster--especially if her eggs aren't fertile, and take your advice!

 

[N F C]

Thanks for joining us!