First Broody Hen in Winter??

[Arya28]

So we think one of our Spitzhaubens is broody for the first time... she’s been like a statue sitting on the eggs since this morning. We don’t necessarily feel the need to break her from it, but how would that work in winter? Would we need to move her and the chicks into the garage with the heat lamp? Or would she be able to keep them warm enough? Our barn isn’t heated but it’s fairly draft-free. I’m in Pennsylvania and it is VERY VERY VERY cold right now!! Also, how do we make sure she still eats and drinks? Isn’t winter an odd time for a chicken to go broody??

 

[sylviethecochin]

Hello Pennsylvania! Yep, it's darned cold outside right now--five degrees, this morning at five.

To make her eat, just shove her off of the nest once a day. Or isolate her with feed and water. I often just put the feeder in front of my girls. So long as no-one's able to get in and mess up her nest while stealing food, I've never had any problems.

Due to factors such as rats and the fact that your garage is going to be warmer--I vote garage. I don't necessarily think they'd die in the barn, but it might be a little risky. I doubt the heat lamp would be necessary.

There's also a lot of reasons to decide against letting her go broody--she's never gone broody before? You have no idea how she's going to act. She may be one of those hens that abandons her chicks at four weeks--and they probably wouldn't make it through winter without your intervention if she did. Or she may be one of those girls who leaves the nest for two hours at a time--fine in summer, but not so great in winter. Dead eggs and a thin hen in winter do not a good combo make.

 

[Arya28]

Thank you!

I definitely understand what you’re saying... but we figure, we’re going to be brooding through the winter anyway, because we have eggs hatching in the incubator... and so if they weren’t warm enough or if she left them we could brood them. Or if she abandoned the eggs, we have an incubator... might as well see what happens, right?

 

[sylviethecochin]

Thank you!

I definitely understand what you’re saying... but we figure, we’re going to be brooding through the winter anyway, because we have eggs hatching in the incubator... and so if they weren’t warm enough or if she left them we could brood them. Or if she abandoned the eggs, we have an incubator... might as well see what happens, right?

Yep, fair enough (and honestly, exactly what I would do--though the thing I would do is often not the wise option.)

 

[ChickenGirl555]

Hello Pennsylvania! Yep, it's darned cold outside right now--five degrees, this morning at five.

To make her eat, just shove her off of the nest once a day. Or isolate her with feed and water. I often just put the feeder in front of my girls. So long as no-one's able to get in and mess up her nest while stealing food, I've never had any problems.

Due to factors such as rats and the fact that your garage is going to be warmer--I vote garage. I don't necessarily think they'd die in the barn, but it might be a little risky. I doubt the heat lamp would be necessary.

There's also a lot of reasons to decide against letting her go broody--she's never gone broody before? You have no idea how she's going to act. She may be one of those hens that abandons her chicks at four weeks--and they probably wouldn't make it through winter without your intervention if she did. Or she may be one of those girls who leaves the nest for two hours at a time--fine in summer, but not so great in winter. Dead eggs and a thin hen in winter do not a good combo make.

Hello, I was looking at this thread and stopped when I noticed you know a lot about natural hatches (broody mama raising chicks). I am going to wait for one of my pullets to go broody this spring (and stay broody for at least a week) and then slip some fertilized polish eggs under her, since I can't have/don't want a rooster. I have a silkie Cochin cross chick that is about 5-7 weeks old. She probably will not be the mother unless nobody else goes broody before her. Whoever completes the test of staying broody for a week first wins the fertilized eggs. We DO have Buff Orpingtons that are already 4 months, so if not the silkie Cochin cross chick, at least one of them will.

Ok now I feel like this is getting long, so what I'm asking is do you think the Buff Orpingtons would be able to go broody and be successful as a mom THIS SPRING/SUMMER. The orps will start laying eggs around Jan-Feb so is this possible? I don't have an incubator and will ONLY buy the eggs if they are broody for a week.

 

[pasuit]

Hello Pennsylvania! Yep, it's darned cold outside right now--five degrees, this morning at five.

To make her eat, just shove her off of the nest once a day. Or isolate her with feed and water. I often just put the feeder in front of my girls. So long as no-one's able to get in and mess up her nest while stealing food, I've never had any problems.

Due to factors such as rats and the fact that your garage is going to be warmer--I vote garage. I don't necessarily think they'd die in the barn, but it might be a little risky. I doubt the heat lamp would be necessary.

There's also a lot of reasons to decide against letting her go broody--she's never gone broody before? You have no idea how she's going to act. She may be one of those hens that abandons her chicks at four weeks--and they probably wouldn't make it through winter without your intervention if she did. Or she may be one of those girls who leaves the nest for two hours at a time--fine in summer, but not so great in winter. Dead eggs and a thin hen in winter do not a good combo make.

 

[Oolala]

It seems to me that having chicks in winter is not a natural process for chickens or any other birds or animals because there are so many problems with cold weather, not enough food etc. I have just three chickens more for the fun of having them and the perk of their eggs but I suppose if it is for monetary gain its different.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Hello, I was looking at this thread and stopped when I noticed you know a lot about natural hatches (broody mama raising chicks). I am going to wait for one of my pullets to go broody this spring (and stay broody for at least a week) and then slip some fertilized polish eggs under her, since I can't have/don't want a rooster. I have a silkie Cochin cross chick that is about 5-7 weeks old. She probably will not be the mother unless nobody else goes broody before her. Whoever completes the test of staying broody for a week first wins the fertilized eggs. We DO have Buff Orpingtons that are already 4 months, so if not the silkie Cochin cross chick, at least one of them will.

Ok now I feel like this is getting long, so what I'm asking is do you think the Buff Orpingtons would be able to go broody and be successful as a mom THIS SPRING/SUMMER. The orps will start laying eggs around Jan-Feb so is this possible? I don't have an incubator and will ONLY buy the eggs if they are broody for a week.

Apologies to the OP for hijacking your thread:

You know, I have never had Buff Orpingtons? Wanted them for the longest time when I was a kid, but never quite got around to getting them...

And now silver-laced orps are a thing, so they're on my list when the price goes down. ($30 for a straight run chick? Yeesh)

Anyway, a lady who raises chickens local to me has hatchery-line Buffs (from the local TSC, which gets its chicks from Ideal Poultry), and she said that one-in-four of hers (she had three broodies out of twelve) went broody at a year old to fourteen months old and hatched eggs. They were, apparently, successful.

I'd still put my hopes on the silkie/cochin. Sylvia went broody at seven months, and my silkies typically go broody at about fourteen months. (that's usually about early summer)

 

[pasuit]

Some very good advice. I'm in Oklahoma and our winters aren't usually severe but at least a few times in the winter it gets below freezing with an occasional ice or snow storm or two. Silkies are very broody and sometimes each time you take their eggs They start another nest. Having the same problem with a silkie and an Ameraucana now.

 

[sylviethecochin]

It seems to me that having chicks in winter is not a natural process for chickens or any other birds or animals because there are so many problems with cold weather, not enough food etc. I have just three chickens more for the fun of having them and the perk of their eggs but I suppose if it is for monetary gain its different.

You think we hatch eggs for monetary gain? Bwa-ha-ha!

Straight-runs at TSC can go for fifty cents apiece if you go at the right time--far less than letting a hen go broody will cost in eggs and feed! And if my hens are low in feed in winter--then I, as an animal owner, have a serious problem.

Nope, I'm a hobby-putterer, and I'm willing to bet the OP is as well. I just like watching a hen run around with chicks.