Going Broody

[cheer10]

I never had a chicken go broody before, but I want to know what to do when one of my chickens do.

 

[HumbleAmerican]

I let them commit to it while setting eggs aside for her to set on. I mark the eggs with a sharpie (I don’t remove broody from flock, she’s on her own) and after 3 nights I swap the clutch of eggs I set aside under her and mark the start.

When they are due to hatch, keep an eye out so you can intervene (fire up incubator if you have one) just in case momma decides to use babies as a snack.

Past that I don’t even put out starter feed anymore. Momma hen takes care of everything.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Depends - do you want to hatch or not?

 

[kcan2]

Broody chicken jail! When they just won't snap out of it, a wire pet cage raised up on a couple of bricks allows airflow under the hen's body to cool her down faster. I lined the bottom of mine with hardware cloth secured with cable ties, and a puppy pad to switch out as it gets soiled. Provide access to food and water. From my experience, the sooner you catch her, the shorter the jail stay duration will be. Sometimes I put a friend in with her for a while, to keep her company.