Broody

[ChicKat]

i just got a broody hen! this is my first one! ahhh im excited. She is a Mix between an old english game hen and a serama. She is very small! her name is rosie. Here is a pic and a video of her!



Now the video!!


I am getting a couple of fertilized eggs. Silkie eggs cause they are small.... and i like silkies.... How many eggs do you think she can fit under her?

Pretty Rosie, cute video--- good luck getting your silkie hatch.

 

[ashandvine]

My broody is still just that. The previous owner thought that move might snap her out of it. Nope. So... to egg or not to egg?

Question: Will she lay eggs right now? If she does, I just leave them and they get fertilized by our roo... right??? 21 days later, peep peep?

 

[ashandvine]

Okay, another question or two:
How do the chicks get out of the nest box if they hatch??
Can I put a whole dozen under her?
Can I put any type (breed) in there? Can we say 'Ugly Duckling'?
Do I need to separate the roo from the group so he doesn't kill the chicks?
Do I put out special feed for them like I would chicks I have bought hatched?

 

[ChicKat]

My broody is still just that. The previous owner thought that move might snap her out of it. Nope. So... to egg or not to egg?

Question: Will she lay eggs right now? If she does, I just leave them and they get fertilized by our roo... right??? 21 days later, peep peep?

My understanding is that one of the indicators that a hen is broody is that she will stop laying eggs.

 

[ChicKat]

Okay, another question or two:
How do the chicks get out of the nest box if they hatch??
Can I put a whole dozen under her?
Can I put any type (breed) in there? Can we say 'Ugly Duckling'?
Do I need to separate the roo from the group so he doesn't kill the chicks?
Do I put out special feed for them like I would chicks I have bought hatched?

• Is your nest box on the ground? Mom will lead them out after all the eggs in her clutch are hatched that she thinks will hatch.
• How many you can put under her depends upon the size of the eggs and the size of the hen. She needs to be able to cover all of them and keep them all warm.
• Breed won't matter too much---but make sure that what you select will have the same length of time from starting incubation to hatching.
• It is best for a broody hen to have her own safe nest away from the rest of the flock including another chicken and the rooster
• Special feed is best for chicks--- yes, like the chick feed you have used before for other chicks.

 

[ashandvine]

Thank you ChicKat. I had someone recommend that I put her in a hooded cat pan so that its like a nest box only easier to take the lid off and I can put it on the ground. I have room for one on my shelf next to the built in nest boxes-- usually for feed, and I happen to have an unused pan, so I could have her up there and move it to the floor closer to hatch date. She IS broody. No eggs, 'growling,' nesting all day, doesn't move off nest when I reach in. She's an Ameraucana so hopefully she can cover a dozen since that is what I am buying. The rooster attacked me this morning-- I got his butt out the coop and shut the door to collect eggs and check on her. She might want some space from old pushy anyway, but WHY do they get separated? Safety of the chicks? He roosts with another hen at night while Broody Girl is on the nest. I know *I* want some space from him. Mom does all the work, huh? Nice. Any cockerels can be food Moving over to the mean rooster thread....

 

[ChicKat]

Ashandvine

Good luck with your hatch...such an exciting time! I think that the hen wants a nice safe place to hatch her babies. I hope that she likes the setup that you have.

 

[mariel37]

Oh my - you all are so helpful.

I have Lucy, a BO, who has been over-mated (Roo likes blondes?) her back had become bald and rough, so I put a saddle on her a week ago.

She has, on and off over the last few months, gotten really fluffy and very hoarse. I give her anti-biotics and or anti-bacterial and it usually goes away.

The last couple of weeks, she's doing it again - very fluffy, and very hoarse. We feared she was getting sick, so out came the medicines again.

The last couple of days she has gotten into a nesting box and stayed there all day, refusing water and food. When I went around to the back of the coop and opened the trap door, revealing her in the box, she gave me a growl and open beak that was humorous as well as alarming! Boy was she bit**y and verrrrry fluffy.

When I let all the chickens out (15 hens and one Roo - hens are 4 months to 1.5 years) to free-range four hours ago, she stayed inside. We leave the run's door open so they can come and go. A peek outside later and she was in the run giving herself a dust bath. Then a little later, she was right back in the box. She has switched between two boxes the last two days.

This is where we wonder if she's broody - so hence, I am here reading about it.

I gather eggs every day. We don't mind a couple more chicks ... it would just be another ring to the 20-ring circus we have around here. (8 horses, 10 rescue dogs, 16 chickens - and a well-coordinated logistics plan between dogs going outside and chickens free-ranging ...)

I just worry about her very hoarse voice. Doesn't sound like she is raspy in the chest when she breathes, no sneezing or coughing that I have observed. So ... experienced chicken lovers:

sounds broody? Or sick?

 

[ChicKat]

Hi mariel,

If only we could get into the chicken brain and KNOW if she is REALLY broody. I have one that I thought/think is broody. Today she got out a the confinement I had her in---and spent a LOT of time outside the nesting box. So maybe she wasn't/isn't broody. Tonight she is on the nest. She will sit---she will grouch, but she is continuing to lay eggs. Perhaps she thinks her clutch isn't quite big enough yet---so she is just adding to the count---then she will be seriously broody.

I hope that your hen isn't sick, and I hope that she produces some chicks for you. Good luck. --

OH -- if you are worried about your dogs with your chickens---check out the link on my page -- I was fearful of our dogs with the chickens when I first got the chickens---and it had to be dogs in while chickens out and chickens in while dogs out----but now I trust that the dogs wouldn't harm the chickens at all. A link to 'my page' in the BYC pages is down with my signature at the bottom..

 

[MiksMom]

My BO hen has been setting in the nest box for the last two days, only out for a quick minute. She had her egg and a plastic egg under her when I collected eggs last night. She didn't get nasty with me when I reached under her, but was all fluffed out like she was trying to keep her little egglets warm.

I have been offered some fertile eggs for hatching, but I wonder how long I should 'test' her broodiness before adding her adopted hatching eggs under her? Also, how many can she comfortably sit on then raise? She's a good size BO, but this would be her first hatch.

Is it necessary to enclose her separately (like make a cage within her coop enclosing her nest box and some additional floor space for feeder/waterer) than the rest of my ladies? I will def need to do that if she hatches, cuz the coop is elevated and not only do we keep the pop door open, but the 'front' door is also usually open. I did close the front door last night, to make sure nothing sneaked and got ahold of her in her nest. Guess maybe that was kinda silly actually, cuz the roosting hens have been just an easy of a target, I suppose with the doors usually open. :sigh: I had been trying to get away from opening doors 545am to keep the ladies quiet as so not to disturb the neighbors...

As my sister says, "TFR's?" (Thoughts, Feelings, Reactions) lol!