Broody?

[mseely]

I have a buff orpington who recently I think has gone broody. She's been staying in her nesting box day after day, this started about 4 or 5 days ago. I added a rooster to my 8 hen flock about a month ago. He's of age to mate but he's a silkie, very docile and doesn't seem to want much to do with the hens. I live in Iowa so it's getting very cold here, from what I read it's an odd time for a hen to get broody. Everytime I go in the coop she puffs herself up and squawks. She seems to be twitching her tail feathers a lot so originally I thought she might have a bound egg. However that was crossed off the list once she took a large poo in my kitchen. Do you guys think this is broodiness? And if so what's the chance she hatches a fertilized egg? I believe the eggs are fertilized as I've noticed that some have the bullseye when cracked. I wouldn't mind having chicks but if she doesn't incubate them enough I would rather not have a half developed chick in my eggs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

She's broody.
It is unusual and I've had hens hatch chicks in November before. I have a few broody hens now but they have chicks.
Just mark all the eggs under her with the date and you don't have to worry about anything. She should be able to keep the chicks warm enough unless it gets down to the single digits.
If I have a hen with chicks in temps well below freezing, I hang a heat lamp above the feed and water so they can comfortably eat and drink when out of the nest for extended periods.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Yup! She's broody! It is odd for hens to go broody in the fall, but guess what! I've had two! Agree with the post above. She will be able to keep them warm, unless it gets extremely cold. She sounds pretty serious about sitting. Make sure she is staying on the nest at Night.

 

[poultry person]

Broody!

 

[mseely]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the response! Here's a picture of her, she seems pretty serious about sitting!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I have a buff orpington who recently I think has gone broody. She's been staying in her nesting box day after day, this started about 4 or 5 days ago..... I live in Iowa so it's getting very cold here, from what I read it's an odd time for a hen to get broody.... originally I thought she might have a bound egg. However that was crossed off the list once she took a large poo in my kitchen. Do you guys think this is broodiness?....

Contrary to what most people think a setting hen will sit tightly for 3 or 4 days before she comes off her nest to eat, drink, dust bath, and empty her bowels. When she does empty her bowels it is both a sight and a smell to remember. I included this to help the new chicken keeper to know what to look for when a hen starts sitting.

 

[Arya28]

We have a broody for the first time too- and not only that, it's a spitzhauben! We were a little nervous because it's getting cold. But we figure, she's supposed to be able to keep them warm. We gave her a little protected box to sit in, with some food and water next to her. We are going to see how they do! If she can keep them warm enough we will be very happy. We found this hen has been conspiring with the other hens to stash all of the eggs for about 4 days! We usually get 12-14 eggs a day, we started getting 7-10. We thought they cut back due to colder weather. Nope, turns out they are all (all 21 of them!) under our broody! Once we decided to let her go ahead with it, we put a couple others under her too. If there's an emergency, we will have a heat lamp ready in the garage, but we're hoping she'll be able to keep them warm and integrate them into the flock. Good luck with yours

And if anyone has any advice or experience with a hen keeping chicks warm in winter it would be great to hear!!

 

[Wendy Chartier]

I have a buff orpington who recently I think has gone broody. She's been staying in her nesting box day after day, this started about 4 or 5 days ago. I added a rooster to my 8 hen flock about a month ago. He's of age to mate but he's a silkie, very docile and doesn't seem to want much to do with the hens. I live in Iowa so it's getting very cold here, from what I read it's an odd time for a hen to get broody. Everytime I go in the coop she puffs herself up and squawks. She seems to be twitching her tail feathers a lot so originally I thought she might have a bound egg. However that was crossed off the list once she took a large poo in my kitchen. Do you guys think this is broodiness? And if so what's the chance she hatches a fertilized egg? I believe the eggs are fertilized as I've noticed that some have the bullseye when cracked. I wouldn't mind having chicks but if she doesn't incubate them enough I would rather not have a half developed chick in my eggs.

My buff is doing the same thing!