Can a chicken die from broodiness?

[Judy]

I had one stay broody for 4 months. I knew she was losing weight. I also knew she was getting up at least once a day, she would get up for a little while when I went out there in mid morning, eat and drink and poop and even peck and scratch for a little while. But she just wasn't getting enough food that way, and would not eat from my hand on the nest. I had a nice metal dog cage at the time but it did not stop her. Some are just harder to break than others. Finally the feed store got some chicks in and I solved it by buying a few and slipping them under her. Hatching eggs, or thinking they have when you give them chicks, is actually the only guaranteed way to break broodiness. I believe she would have died in another month or two.

Now I throw them off the nest when I go to the coop, which I make a point of doing 4 or 5 times a day when I have a broody who I don't want to give eggs to. If that doesn't work in a couple of weeks, I let her hatch eggs.

I haven't ever separated a broody from the others in the coop. I have a way I can do it, and have tried it, but it never works out that way. I'd have to modify my broody cage to really confine them. I've never had another hen kill a chick that I know of, though I know that can happen. I did have a broody kill her own once, though, as they hatched. That's why I chased the last one off the nest for two weeks. I'd have broken down and given her some eggs soon, anyway, if she hadn't given up on the broodiness.

I've never seen others go broody just because one is. Not saying it won't happen. JME.

On the frozen water, probably the simplest solution at least here is a heat lamp on the waterer. They say heated dog water bowls work well, too.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Yes, becoming a mama stops the broodiness, they sit on the chicks for a day or so while the rest hatch, then abandon any eggs left to care for the chicks. Or a good mama does, anyway. That's why you want to collect the eggs for her, then put them under her all at once, so they will hatch essentially all at the same time. You never know.

I'd try again if one sat on a nest full of duds, once more anyway. More likely one or two will hatch. If you know you have a broody you can collect the eggs yourself for a few days, on the kitchen counter, then put them under her all at once. (Hint: mark them with a Sharpie so you know which ones to remove when you check under her each day. Ask me how I know.) I always seem to lose some so I start with plenty, 10 the last time; she is a LF but not a very big girl. Two got broken, probably from their clumsiness, two weren't fertile, and one died in the shell after starting to develop, so I now have 5 chicks.

I've found you can get a little more weight on them if you can be there when they get off the nest to eat, just keep them chased off a little longer, or set them off and keep them off long enough for a decent meal. I've done this to one 2 or 3 times a day if I felt they were a bit thin. It's like everything else, some chickens accept this better than others.

I'm sure I've missed something important. Here's a great article on broodies:

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html

Don't miss that it has 5 parts, like I did for a while.

 

[Bandit]

My BO went broody and WOULD NOT stop so after a couple of months of taking her off the nest twice a day to eat and drink I finally gave in and bought her 4 newborn chicks which she was thrilled with and immediately became Mom instead of broody and raised them great! She started eating and drinking on her own right away. So that is one way to cure a broody!

 

[Lifesong Farm]

With the water if you have no way to keep it heated you could do what I do. Go out and break the ice or bring it in and melt it enough to dump. Then fill it up with hot water that way it will take longer to freeze. Do that in the a.m., afternoon and p.m. My chickens have taken to mobing me for the hot water. They just love it.

I have been filling everyones water with hot water around here and they all like it. Maybe it helps them wrm up a bit.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
The exact same thing happened to me except she never did ever hatch any just would sit but when she would leave the nest it would be for too long, she was a Silkie not the smartest chicken breed that's for sure, don't have anymore thank god.

AL

 

[sheilawagner]

We also had a buff orp, who refused to quit being broody even though she had no eggs under her for months. She was losing weight, so we decided to break her broodiness using all the various known methods. Didn't work.

So we had a batch of Cochin eggs which we set under her in a special dog crate, with food and water and put the crate in the guest room where it was warm, that way, she wouldn't expend so much energy keeping the eggs and herself warm in this wintry cold.

It worked. She hatched the chicks, they thrived, and she fed them, and showed them how to be chickens. After 2 days, we popped her back out with the adults and she's back to normal, eating and foraging again. We're so happy.

 

[spartacus_63]

Quote:
If they are good broody hens they will switch from hatching to rearing once the eggs hatch. I have had clutches that did not all hatch on the same day. I have had as long as seven days between first and last hatch. In that clutch, not all the eggs hatched. The hen's #1 priority appeared to be eggs until the seventh day. She then abandoned the eggs to care for her chicks. She did not ignore the early babies, but tended to them while setting. It was an obvious change and really something to witness. She did a great job of juggling the two tasks.

I would not put more eggs under a hen with a failed hatch. It is a long three weeks of setting and it IS hard on the hen. There is also no guarantee that she would not abandon the nest prior to the hatch of the second clutch.

One last note, even after the hatch is complete, the hens job is not finished. She spends the next several weeks providing for her chicks. The recovery from being broody takes several weeks. You can separate the chicks from the hen after hatch, but I do not.