Help.

[Suburban chick farmer 09]

I have a broody hen. The first week she was broody I would go in and toss her out of the nest box at lest 20 times a day but that didn't solve the problem. I don't have any roosters so I couldn't let her try to hatch any of the eggs my hens lay. I found someone close by with a rooster and got a few eggs and put them under the broody hen.

Will my hen know what to do (only around 24 weeks old)? If not, and she doesn't hatch any of the eggs, will it be okay to buy some day old chicks and stick them under her at night?

Thanks for any help.

 

[meriruka]

She'll know what to do. The only problem I've found with young broodies is sometimes they stop "brooding" too soon (I don't know if they get bored or don't have the stamina) and I'm left with half developed eggs that have to be incubated to finish. ....

 

[PurpleChicken]

Some people do by new chicks and throw them under a broody. Others, like myself, have learned to not try and break a broody, just let her do her thing, regardless of having a rooster or not.

 

[mulia24]

why don't you just take the eggs and lock her in a cage for a week? she will not broody anymore and you will have much eggs to eat as they can't be hatch cause infertile (you own no roost). then you can buy a rooster and loose that hen and let them "having their fun". now, your hen will lay fertile egg and you can just let her broody and sitting the eggs. (this is my experience 3 years ago)

 

[meriruka]

my silkies go broody all the time. If I let them hatch each time, I'd be overrun w/ chicks by now. I have a portable nest box, so when they get broody, I take the nest box out and make sure there there is nothing but open space in the coop as well as checking for eggs frequently & removing them. That usually does the trick in a few days.

 

[Suburban chick farmer 09]

Quote:
The eggs she is sitting on are fertile. I got them from someone with a rooster.

I can't go out and buy a rooster, their not allowed where I live.

Thanks for the suggestions though.

 

[Suburban chick farmer 09]

Quote:
Our nest boxes are checked and emptied several times a day so I don't think that was the problem. I think she just had it in her head to hatch some eggs. She sat in the box for 3 days with no eggs at all, even with me tossing her out every 30 minutes.