First time dealing with a broody hen.

[oxfordethan]

Noodle has gone broody! I've had her for a little over a year now. Saturday morning i went to go check for eggs and found Noodle sitting on the nest. She fluffed her neck and tail feathers up and let out a nasty screech. At first i didn't know what to think as she normally lays her egg between 11:00a-2:00p. Dumplin' usually lays the early morning egg. Since then she has spent the last few days sitting on the nest and coming out about once a day.

Questions?:
-Should I leave an egg or two for her to sit on (mark them and only gather newly laid eggs)? Will the unfertilized eggs rot?
-or replace with an easter egg or golf ball?
-or just keep on taking "MY" eggs daily and wait for her to come out of the "Zombie Pancake" trance (How long does this last?)?
-or buy a few fertilized eggs and see what happens?

Thanks

 

[Gabrielle]

Alight,

-Should I leave an egg or two for her to sit on (mark them and only gather newly laid eggs)? Will the unfertilized eggs rot?
Your freshly laid eggs will last a week outside. After a week they are not fresh, and I'm not to sure if I would eat them.

-or replace with an easter egg or golf ball?
I always keep golf balls in the nest, it's probably the best thing to do if anything comes up. In your case, you might as well.

-or just keep on taking "MY" eggs daily and wait for her to come out of the "Zombie Pancake" trance (How long does this last?)?
You could do that, but they get nerves when the eggs are all gone. They can stay broody for as long as they want. Most cases last 2 weeks, but if you want her out of it, you can pick her up and put her in a bucket of cold water, it wakes them up and puts them back in reality.

-or buy a few fertilized eggs and see what happens?
That's always fun, and a great experience. I'd say you should try this, it's really fun and worth it!

 

[GoChick]

Broodies are so fun!
First question you should ask yourself is... do you want more chickens? if so, are you prepared to deal with the roosters? If you are, then you should find some hatching eggs or day-old chicks and put under her. there are more specific instructions - separate her, etc, but we can get into that after you decide if you want more chickens or not. A broodie is wonderful to raise chicks for you without you having to worry about temperature, etc. She'll teach the chicks how to forage, she'll protect them against the other chickens and she will help them integrate with the flock.

Let's say you DON'T want more chickens.
Then you should not wait for her to get out of the Zombie Pancake trance - it may take weeks, and it is hard on her!

If I don't want a broodie to raise chicks, then you need to "break her". you can do a search on "breaking a broodie", but here is what I do:
Basically, you want to keep her a little uncomfortable, in a place where she cannot nest. You also have to try and lower her body temperature.
I put the broodie in a wire cage, with wire floor - a rabbit or hamster cage works perfectly - I give her water and food, and put a fan in front of her. I let her out once or twice a day, but put her back in the cage - I do this for two or three days, and it works like a charm! there are some really hard to break broodies, who may need a week before finally giving up.

good luck!

 

[oxfordethan]

Ok. So I think I'm just gonna she what she does over the next couple days. Let her be until the weekend so I can observe more closely. She has a bit of pasty butt...might be a good time for a cool bath. I'll stick some Easter eggs in the nest to keep her nerves down until it's time to make her mad!

 

[oxfordethan]

Here's Noodle in the "broody pit". Wire cage sitting on top of a wheel barrow. Fan is off to the side, blowing underneath. We'll see if it works.

 

[GoChick]

Great setup!

Hopefully she'll get over it soon!

Keep us updated.

 

[angusshangus]

Broodies are so fun!
First question you should ask yourself is... do you want  more chickens? if so, are you prepared to deal with the roosters? If you are, then you should find some hatching eggs or day-old chicks and put under her. there are more specific instructions - separate her, etc, but we can get into that after you decide if you want more chickens or not. A broodie is wonderful to raise chicks for you without you having to worry about temperature, etc. She'll teach the chicks how to forage, she'll protect them against the other chickens and she will help them integrate with the flock.

Let's say you DON'T want more chickens.
Then you should not wait for her to get out of the Zombie Pancake trance - it may take weeks, and it is hard on her!

If I don't want a broodie to raise chicks, then you need to "break her". you can do a search on "breaking a broodie", but here is what I do:
Basically, you want to keep her a little uncomfortable, in a place where she cannot nest. You also have to try and lower her body temperature.
I put the broodie in a wire cage, with wire floor - a rabbit or hamster cage works perfectly - I give her water and food, and put a fan in front of her. I let her out once or twice a day, but put her back in the cage - I do this for two or three days, and it works like a charm! there are some really hard to break broodies, who may need a week before finally giving up. 

good luck!

My silkie has gone broodie! I'm trying your advice. Wire cage in my garage with food and water. The floor under the wire cage is cool. Hopefully this works!

Thx!

 

[oxfordethan]

Yesterday @ 5pm I went to go check to see if Dumplin' had laid any eggs since Noodle was still confined to the broody pit. I found her sitting on the nest! She's usually never on the nest past noon. Oh No! Both broody? I shooed her off of the nest and noticed she had laid a shell-less egg. Noodle had been confined for 2 days so I decided to see if I had broken her. So i let her out and me and the family went to my sister's birthday party. When we returned about 9pm i went out to go check on my 2 hens hoping i would find them on the roost where they should be. I found them both snuggled up in the same nest! So, this morning I went to go check on them again and they haven't moved. Noodle screeched at me and Dumplin' didn't do anything...didn't even move. I reached in to pet her and realized she had died! Last night when I looked in i saw Noodle fluff up and Dumplin' was being still so i shut the egg door and let them be. I look back now and think she may have already passed but I just didn't realize it. I don't know what happened! I did look her over real good and all I could find was a leathery egg shell stuck to her vent (probably from the gooey egg yesterday) and her vent was already crawling with maggots. Did the flies find her that quick? Am I mistaking the maggots for an internal parasite? Any thoughts on why i lost Dumplin'? Egg bound? Did the stress of Noodle being confined maybe contribute to her death? Did she maybe suffocate being all crammed in the same nest? IDK! Anyways, I won't try to correct broody behavior anymore. It's what they do. I'd rather them be broody then dead. Maybe a coincidence maybe not.

 

[GoChick]

I'm so, so sorry! This is so sad.
I think it would be very difficult for Noodle to smother Dumpling. I wonder if Dumpling was egg bound? That can kill a chicken really fast.

Getting broody is what chickens do, but remember they do it to hatch eggs. Maybe you could get some fertile eggs or day old chicks for her?

I'm really sorry, and of course you should do whatever you believe is best for your chickens, but I really don't think you separating Noodle had anything to do with what happened to Dumpling.

 

[AnimlCrakrAcres]

I am so sorry about Dumplin', I know how hard it is losing one of your babies. I also am faced with a first time broody hen and am not sure what to do. Elphaba is my small serama hen (about 1 pound) and has been sitting on three golf balls for about a week, and she eats and drinks very little despite me having the bowls right in front of her. I have only had her a few months and she has only laid a few eggs in the past so I wasn't sure why she suddenly went all broody, especially with 'fake' eggs. I don't have any fertilized eggs nor do I want any more chicks at this time but I may want chicks in the future. I moved her and took out the nest she was brooding in, and the next day she gathered more golf balls and made another nest elsewhere.
If I break her broody spell now, will that affect he being broody in the future?
Will she give up on her own and if so how long should I wait?
Should I try to syringe or hand feed her or at least make her drink water? She doesn't look like she's lost weight but with fluffy feathers I can't tell