Help! Broody hen not eating!

[bobbi-j]

That's a good idea, thank you. I do sometimes have to fight red mites.

I haven't experienced it with my broodies, but I have read that a setting hen is a target for them.

 

[TCCL]

I came here today for the same issue you are having. Increasingly worried that my broody hen might not be eating enough...the thing is the eggs she’s on are not fertile. But that’s for another thread.

So yesterday I had fermented feed for the group and put a small bowl of it into the nesting box with her and am happy that she did eat it. I plan to give her more of the same today.

 

[bobbi-j]

I came here today for the same issue you are having. Increasingly worried that my broody hen might not be eating enough...the thing is the eggs she’s on are not fertile. But that’s for another thread.

So yesterday I had fermented feed for the group and put a small bowl of it into the nesting box with her and am happy that she did eat it. I plan to give her more of the same today.

Are you planning on giving her some chicks?

 

[Morrigan]

If I'm really worried about a broody, I will physically take her off the nest every couple of days, and place her aways from the nest to break their "trance" enough for them to stretch their legs, dust bathe, eat, drink and poop. Some hens are so in the zone, it takes a while to get them out of their trance, but they usually do, and all of my have then returned back to the nest of their own accord after 15 - 30 minutes.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I came here today for the same issue you are having. Increasingly worried that my broody hen might not be eating enough...the thing is the eggs she’s on are not fertile. But that’s for another thread.

So yesterday I had fermented feed for the group and put a small bowl of it into the nesting box with her and am happy that she did eat it. I plan to give her more of the same today.

If you aren't going to use her to hatch the best thing to do is to break them ASAP. Setting is draining.

 

[KDMdesigns]

I had a pullet around that age just go broody here also, I'm using her as an incubator for someone else's eggs. Why not especially since breaking them can be a challenge. She's got 6 Duck eggs and 3 chicken eggs(2 blue & 1 white-breeds I don't currently have) we'll see!! So exciting!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I had a pullet around that age just go broody here also, I'm using her as an incubator for someone else's eggs. Why not especially since breaking them can be a challenge. She's got 6 Duck eggs and 3 chicken eggs(2 blue & 1 white-breeds I don't currently have) we'll see!! So exciting!!

Breaking them is easy. Put them in a wire bottom crate slightly elevated off the ground for 3-5 days. It's actually pretty simple if you have it set up.

 

[KDMdesigns]

Breaking them is easy. Put them in a wire bottom crate slightly elevated off the ground for 3-5 days. It's actually pretty simple if you have it set up.

when you don't have the set, it is a challenge.. I embraced our broody since had made contact with interested party who wanted to hatch his duck eggs..

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

when you don't have the set, it is a challenge.. I embraced our broody since had made contact with interested party who wanted to hatch his duck eggs..

Just letting folks know it isn't hard to break them. I'm very glad you are putting yours to work. I have an assembly line of broodies all season long and am almost always breaking at least one a week and sometimes more so I always have a set up for them.

 

[Morrigan]

Some broodies can be broken simply by moving them off the nest several times a day, including putting them on the roost at dusk each night, and religiously collecting eggs. If a broody survives that treatment for a few days, I usually give in and get her eggs or foster chicks.