Help!

[DatCrazyChickenLady]

One of my hens has gone seriously broody. I haven’t seen her leave her nest in several days and she pecks as hard as heck. We have decided to let her hatch naturally. Can someone tell me what we need to do, if anything?

 

[Poultry keeper12]

Make sure she has food and water, and the rest she does on her own.

 

[kklowell]

I'm a LONG way from having broody hens, but I'm curious... do you move the food and water closer to them wen they're on eggs?

 

[Morrigan]

There are two schools of thought on managing a broody hen. First, is to remove the hen to a separate brooding area where she can brood in quiet, undisturbed by the rest of the flock. The second, is to let her brood in place. The second is simpler, but will only work if you know your hen is good at returning to the same nest and you don't have other bully flock members who will make it difficult for her. If you plan on leaving her in place, the steps are.

1. Give her fertile eggs to sit on. Mark those eggs with an "X" or something.

2. Remove any new eggs added each day by other hens.

3. Check each morning and evening to make sure she's returned to right nest.

Wait 21 days.

When I first had broody hens I plunked food and water right in front of them. I've since learned that is a mistake. Determined hens will stay glued to the nest and end up going to the bathroom in their nests. If you leave the food and water in their normal spots, it will motivate the broodies to get off the nests to eat, drink, and do a bathroom trip once a day before returning to the nest.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Poultry keeper12]

I'm a LONG way from having broody hens, but I'm curious... do you move the food and water closer to them wen they're on eggs?

Yes you do move the food and water closer to the hen, make sure you are checking on her frequently, to make sure the other birds have not eaten the food.

 

[Morrigan]

Yes you do move the food and water closer to the hen, make sure you are checking on her frequently, to make sure the other birds have not eaten the food.

Closer is fine too, as long as it is not so close that they don't have to get out of their nests to get it.

 

[Talithahorse]

I leave my broody hens and let them do their thing. I don't move the food or water closer to them until they hatch the babies. Once the babies hatch I move her and her brood to a separate pen until the chicks can navigate my coop. I have one coop that is flat and those babies stay with the flock. Most of the mothers are VERY good at protecting them. My one coop is too steep for young babies so they go in the brooder pen until they are old enough to fend for themselves then reintegrated back into the flock.

 

[Talithahorse]

You also don't want to bring it too close as food brings its own friends. (Possums, rats, ants, bugs, etc.....)

 

[bobbi-j]

Depending on the broody, I either leave in place or move. Some can be very stubborn about staying in the nest they have chosen. If I leave them with the flock, I draw a circle around the eggs I want her to hatch, so I can remove any "donations" that have been left in the nest during the day. I draw the circle so I can see at a glance which are the broody's eggs

If I separate, I make sure she's in a big enough area that she has to get up off the nest to eat, drink, stretch her legs and poop. I don't put them in a cage or crate, as I want them to be able to come and go from the nest as they please.

Your hen looks pretty settled in. I'd leave her. My hen that liked to brood in the coop would take her babies out of the nest within 24 hours of hatching. She was fiercely protective and took great care of her babies.

 

[aggiemae]

I do not move the food and water closer to the hen until we have chicks. Early on I lift a bloody out of the box every morning. The hen needs to get off the nest to poop ( gigantic poos!) and stretch and even cool down a little. Unless it's very cold outside the eggs are fine for about half an hour. Our other hens usually pick up some of the slack when they go in to the box lay their eggs.