grrr... broody at 6-7 months old?!?

[warhorse]

I have a couple cuckoo Marans hens that may be 6-7 months old. They have been laying about a month and now one is broody.

I didn't know Marans were particularly broody or that one would go broody so young. Any ways to break up a broodie? (sigh) I guess the easist way is to order expensive fertile eggs and she will quit, huh?

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Yeah, that ought to do it!

Or you could do it the hard way. Here is a thread where I had to break my broody...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=119173

 

[warhorse]

Well, I tried a middle ground - I ordered some "not so expensive" fertile eggs for her. Today, she wouldn't even let the other hens on the nest and they laid on the ground. Wench had better set eggs once they come... (but, I'm dusting off the 'bator just in case)

 

[Kim_NC]

I had a Barred Rock do that last year, at the same age. I didn't have fertile eggs and didn't want to order any. Bought 3 chicks for her at TSC. One of them made it. She hasn't gone broody since...wish she would, this year I do have fertile eggs.

 

[Appytaz]

I have a silkie cross that is 6 months and found her all perched on a stack of hidden eggs! I knew they were laying and thought only 3 of the 4 were laying. Nope all 4 were - she just wasn't laying in the nest with her sisters!

 

[warhorse]

Well, I guess the easiest thing would have been to let her set some of the cuckoo Marans eggs... but I didn't want any more cuckoo Marans right now.

Hopefully she'll set some pretty blue eggs for me soon, though. I slipped the falsies under her today and set up another nest for the other hens.

 

[Lucky Ducky]

Try having 3 hens, that JUST started to lay, ALL going broody at the same time!!!

I was amazed. We got maybe 1 or 2 eggs from each one and BAM they went broody. All within 2 or 3 days of each other! The 1st one now has 4 babies, the 2nd has 4 and the poor 3rd one didn't hatch out any!!!

She refused to give it up and was getting scrawny so I gave her the 1 baby out of 2 eggs that I had in the incubator plus 4 others that we got from Horse and Hound feed store. She's sooooo happy to have babies of her "own"!!! Two older broodies hatched out 8 and 7. We were scrambling to find cages to put everyone into!!!