Friend or Foe?

[bloom chicks]

I have a hen that has all the symptoms of being broody but wont sit for too long.... When she leaves the nest she does the call, she has plucked out her feathers, she is all puffed up when the others get too close...... I have had to put her eggs under another broody but they are a week apart..... Should I just put her in a dog crate in the coop and keep her there for a few day to see if that will help her stay on the eggs? She is making me crazy...

.... If she doesn't want the job then I wish she would get on with life... This has been going on for more then a week.... Any advice would greatly appreciated..... Thank you........

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've had a hen do something like that before. She walked around all fluffed up making that broody cluck. but she did not stay on the nest at night or much of the day for that matter. After about a week, she went back to normal. I guess the hormones that make them broody did not totally kick in.

During warm weather I've had a broody spend and hour or more off the eggs and socializing with her buddies a couple of times a day and they still hatched. During cooler weather, they spend a lot less time off the eggs. It's your call, but if she is spending the nights on the eggs and your days are warm in Florida, they might not be in that bad a shape.

If you feel you must try to move her, I suggest doing it at night. Fix up a nest where you can lock her in the nest and make it totally dark in the nest when she is locked in there. Leave her in total darkness the next day on the nest, then let her out the following morning. A broody can easily go that long on the nest. I did this once to a hen that was not as broody as I thought she should be before I gave her eggs. it seemed to kick her over the edge into full broodiness.

No guarantees, just wishes for good luck!

 

[bloom chicks]

Thank you so much..... I don't want to stress her out. but she acts like she wants to be a mom.... She would be my 5th broody this year. None of the other ones have behaved that way....... I wonder if it because she is the alpha hen.......