Concerned or confused!?!?

[Cyndi2019]

Hi I'm Cyndi. Thank you for adding me.I have a question. I have 7 chickens. 4 golden sexlink hens, 1 barredrock rooster, 1 slw rooster, and one slw hen.. My question is, they are all a year old now, and my slw hen has gone broody I believe.. She has been on and off the nest all night and all morning. Why does she also have her man ( Slw roo) laying on the nest too? And is that normal? He goes and sits with her as soon as she goes. I have never seen anything like this. Also will she be able to successfully hatch her family during the winter??? Havent been out to see if there is any or how many under her. Been watching her from my back window. Lol it is too cold for my bones RN.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Welcome to BYC!

If your rooster is helping her brood, then he's abnormal, but a good rooster. I'd keep him around. He may be just getting comfortable with the warm hen, or confused about whether she's laying an egg (I've had roosters that hung around until their favorite hens finished laying, then escorted them back to the flock. That is common behaviour.)

I'd wait a day or two until you're sure she's broody before getting your hopes up. Often, hens in winter just want to stay warm. Or she could be having some trouble laying an egg.

If she is broody, and you want chicks, congratulations.

I have had chickens successfully hatch chicks in winter (My most determined brooder, Psycho, actually set her first clutch at nine months of age, in mid-January, and hatched them all) so it's possible, if they have a good nesting site. However, if you want chicks, she'll need a bit of assistance from you.

Pick the eggs you want her to hatch. They should have a good, firm shell, and not be too old, or have been frozen at any point. I've hatched eggs that I pulled out of the refrigerator, but it's best if they're fresh. Label the eggs with numbers, and set them all at the same time. And shore up the sides of the nest with hay or straw. She could use a bit of help with insulating them from the cold. Check daily, and pull any eggs that you didn't put under her. Make sure that there isn't a possibility of her confusing "her" nest box with any other nest box.

And do have a plan for male chicks.

 

[Cyndi2019]

Welcome to BYC!

If your rooster is helping her brood, then he's abnormal, but a good rooster. I'd keep him around. He may be just getting comfortable with the warm hen, or confused about whether she's laying an egg (I've had roosters that hung around until their favorite hens finished laying, then escorted them back to the flock. That is common behaviour.)

I'd wait a day or two until you're sure she's broody before getting your hopes up. Often, hens in winter just want to stay warm. Or she could be having some trouble laying an egg.

If she is broody, and you want chicks, congratulations.

I have had chickens successfully hatch chicks in winter (My most determined brooder, Psycho, actually set her first clutch at nine months of age, in mid-January, and hatched them all) so it's possible, if they have a good nesting site. However, if you want chicks, she'll need a bit of assistance from you.

Pick the eggs you want her to hatch. They should have a good, firm shell, and not be too old, or have been frozen at any point. I've hatched eggs that I pulled out of the refrigerator, but it's best if they're fresh. Label the eggs with numbers, and set them all at the same time. And shore up the sides of the nest with hay or straw. She could use a bit of help with insulating them from the cold. Check daily, and pull any eggs that you didn't put under her. Make sure that there isn't a possibility of her confusing "her" nest box with any other nest box.

And do have a plan for male chicks.

Thank you for your help.. I've never seen anything like it.. Its like he goes with her everytime she goes in the nest.. I think its sweet but not sure if he's being sweet or protective..

 

[sylviethecochin]

Thank you for your help.. I've never seen anything like it.. Its like he goes with her everytime she goes in the nest.. I think its sweet but not sure if he's being sweet or protective..

I think they're the same thing, for roosters.

 

[Shadrach]

Hello Cyndi.
Welcome to BYC.
It sounds like your rooster is encouraging your hen to sit. It's perfectly normal.
You will probably find that if and once your hen settles the rooster will leave her to get on with it.

 

[aart]

How old are these birds and how long have you had them?

I would question if she's really broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, doesn't she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?
If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

I have let a broody sit in frigid weather, I will not do it again.

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[centrarchid]

Reads like an artifact of mate guarding in a confined environment.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined! Where are you Cindi? You mention winter so you are north of the equator but there can be a lot of difference in winter in Louisiana versus Michigan. What is a warm winter day to someone in Calgary would be a really cold day to someone used to Louisiana winters. A lot of how you feel about it is what you are used to. Chickens can handle cold better than many of us.

My question is, they are all a year old now, and my slw hen has gone broody I believe.. She has been on and off the nest all night and all morning.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by on and off the nest all night and all morning. Do you have lights on all night? There are several different behaviors that indicate a hen might possibly be broody or thinking about it. When certain hormones kick in to a certain level a hen goes broody. But different hens have different levels of hormones when they start. With some hens those hormones hit like a truck, one minute they are not broody, the next they are. I've had a few hens show signs they might be going broody for a week or more before flipping over into full broody mode. I've had a lot that show signs of going broody for a week or more but they never do.

A broody hen will sometimes defend her nest, growling, fluffing up, and pecking if you stick your hand in there. Some don't. I've had plenty of hens just in the nest to lay an egg do that. To me that is not much of a sign.

A broody hen will usually walk around fluffed up and making a pucking sound when she is off the nest. That is a sign she is at least thinking about it but it does not show full hormone level. A hen that is full broody stops laying eggs. A broody on the nest often flattens out and seems to be in a trance. I've seen the same look with a hen that is just laying an egg, not broody at all. When you take a broody hen off the nest and put her on the coop floor (I toss her down, not a gentle set-down) she will usually but not always stay there, sort of flattened out before hopping up and running out to eat, drink, of poop or maybe immediately going back to the nest.

A broody hen will spend most of the day and all of the night on her nest if it is dark. I've seen broody hens leave their nest for about fifteen minutes once a day to eat, drink, poop, and maybe take a dust bath in colder weather. In hot weather I've seen a broody hen leave the nest twice a day for over an hour each time. Often I never see a broody off the nest but she is coming off since she does not poop in her nest and foul the eggs. I'm just not around at the right time. All these hens generally have good hatches.

Thing is, I've seen hens display many or most of these behaviors and never be worthy of hatching eggs. My test to see if I trust a hen with eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of in her normal sleeping place. That two consecutive night test has not failed me yet but as varied as individual chickens can be it could some day.

Why does she also have her man ( Slw roo) laying on the nest too? And is that normal?

Chickens display so many different behaviors I'm not sure what is normal. That's part of what makes chicken TV so much better than what you normally see on regular TV. Some roosters take a lot more interest in a hen laying eggs, incubating eggs, or raising chicks than others. For example, many of my roosters totally ignore a hen with baby chicks, but I've had some that take an active part in helping the hen raise her chicks. I've never seen a mature rooster attack baby chicks and would think that unnatural, but some people I trust say they have seen that behavior so maybe it's not. While I don't see a rooster sharing a nest with a broody hen as an everyday thing, I don't see it as a not normal thing either.

Also will she be able to successfully hatch her family during the winter???

Here is a link to Aart's thread where she did in Michigan. Her conclusion was "not again". But she showed that you can. How important is it to you? Winter is a lot different for me than it is for Aart. Down here I would not hesitate, though it was freezing this morning. In Michigan I'd think a little harder but would probably try just for the experience.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/947046/broody-in-michigan-winter

If you decide to let her try to hatch chicks, collect all the eggs you want her to hatch and start them at the same time. That is important. Since chicks grow so fast and she would need to cover the chicks for longer if your weather is really cold, I'd limit how many eggs I set.

If you allow her to hatch with the flock, before you start them mark them so you know which belong. Then check under her once a day after the others have laid and remove any that don't belong. As long as you remove them daily they are still good to eat. If you isolate her so she cannot get out or another chicken cannot get in you don't need to mark them or check under her.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

 

[Cyndi2019]

How old are these birds and how long have you had them?

I would question if she's really broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, doesn't she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?
If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

I have let a broody sit in frigid weather, I will not do it again.

Welcome to BYC!
Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!
View attachment 1653714

I'm located in east texas