Help please - advice on young Sussex going broody!

[PouleChick]

Hi again! For those of you that 'know' me you may remember I bought 3 girls to start my laying flock at Christmas and they have now been laying for nearly 2 months . Part B of my flock building was buying 2 older (1-2 years) done it before Silkies to let go broody and that is working out great - I have one mama with 4 chicks and 1 broody sitting on 7 eggs due a week today . The best laid plans and all that have started to go a bit pear shaped - Mabel my Sussex appears to be broody bless her she has only been laying for 7 or 8 weeks. We have a shelter in the run that has a nest box in it and that is where she always lays (the other 2 happily lay in the coop where we moved them to), I didn't think anything of her being in there a few times as I've not spent a huge amount of time there in the last few days but 2 nights ago I forgot to go back out to lock them up (they were refusing at 9 when I went down - too early apparently!) until late - I did a quick look and saw chickens so locked up and went to bed but didn't realise she was missing until my son came in panicked yesterday morning saying that she was gone! Luckily no issue overnight with predators! Last night I went down and carefully checked and she wasnt' there and was on the nest so I picked her up and carried her to the coop where she slept but straight back onto the nest this morning and been there all day. When I went to look at her she did the broody puff up thing at me. Not sure if she has laid an egg or not but she did yesterday and I found an extra hidden one then as well.

What should I do? I have no issues with her being a mummy if that is what she wants. Is she too young? Should I try to break her (I have a cage front where the nest is so can lock her out if need be)? Is it an issue allowing young ones to be mummies? I have a neighbour with an incubator so if there is an issue like leavign the nest I could have a plan B. not sure what is best!

 

[ChickenGirl555]

If you can have/want her to raise chicks, I would recommend waiting for a week and seeing if she stays broody. Usually, if they sit consistently for a week as a good broody, they will finish the job or get very close to finishing. I would take the incubator though, to be safe .

I wish I could let my broody girl, Nugget, raise chicks, but we still have some polish that aren't moved out of the brooder yet, and we haven't any fertile eggs! I'm very dissapointed since I've tried to break her yet she's still persistent. She would make a great broody !

 

[Sneebsey]

I relented and let one of my (EIGHT ) broody pullets sit; she's tight on them and it's day 14ish now, so hopefully she'll stick to it; if you've got the space, and a back-up plan in case she decides against being a teenage mum, then I say go for it. If she does well, then she'll be more likely to sit again next year, if she doesn't, then you know not to let her.

 

[PouleChick]

I'll definitely wait to make sure she is going to stay at it. I'm absolutely fine for her to have chicks just need to sort out the logistics of it!!

 

[PouleChick]

Hmmmm she was at the coop door with the others this morning running to get out for food so maybe she was just practising being broody!

Are there other reasons chickens would stay on a nest all day long?

 

[PouleChick]

I have 2 young hens (8 months) who have been "practicing"...it's getting a bit old honestly! Sit for 3 days then off. If I have to let them brood, then OK, but I'm tired of their teenage drama

That makes me feel better (I think ) at least I know it isn't totally weird - she must be nearly 7 months my girl so similar ages. I have enough teenage / tweenage drama with the human babies without getting it from the chooks as well . How long have yours been doing it?

 

[SMorrison7k]

No it was definitely her - we only have 5 chickens, one is a new mummy, 1 is a broody locked up and there is 3 ''layers" and we had 3 eggs today!

How strange! Definitely sounds like she is just practicing. Hopefully she takes care of herself in the process!
My flock is so big that I really don't know if my "practicing" girls are laying or not. I think one of them is starting to go truly Broody. But I'm out of spaces for Broody hens! I think my next bet is going to set up a dog kennel in my hay barn for her

 

[PouleChick]

She is eating drinking and pooing so all good. She also stopped laying eggs as of late last week so I'm goign to count her broody from then i think. I've reserved some Cream Legbar, marans and vorwerk eggs to pick up on Wednesday for her

 

[SMorrison7k]

She is eating drinking and pooing so all good. She also stopped laying eggs as of late last week so I'm goign to count her broody from then i think. I've reserved some Cream Legbar, marans and vorwerk eggs to pick up on Wednesday for her

Yay! Good luck!

 

[PouleChick]

Thank you! Vorwerks weren't on the list of birds I wanted but they are lovely looking and lay white / light pinky eggs and lots of mine are brown and in the future blue but thought it would be nice to have some more light ones!