Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[Vamvakas]

Uh, is it normal for a broody hen to not leave her nest for 3 days almost 4 days now without taking a dump/eating/drinking? In the past when I had broody hens they poop/eat/drink once a day, this BA hen is a fat girl and makes no movement at all. It's great that she's been on her eggs over 72 hours but my god when will she get rid of that load..

 

[Vamvakas]

Here are photos of my wire bottomed cages that I use to break broodies and also to keep birds clean before a show.

Why would you want to break a broody? This is a big insult to Europeans, forget the shows they will always come year after year.. Let the chicken do it's thing.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Uh, is it normal for a broody hen to not leave her nest for 3 days almost 4 days now without taking a dump/eating/drinking? In the past when I had broody hens they poop/eat/drink once a day, this BA hen is a fat girl and makes no movement at all. It's great that she's been on her eggs over 72 hours but my god when will she get rid of that load..

Perhaps she has hopped off briefly while you weren't looking.

 

[hellbender]

Uh, is it normal for a broody hen to not leave her nest for 3 days almost 4 days now without taking a dump/eating/drinking? In the past when I had broody hens they poop/eat/drink once a day, this BA hen is a fat girl and makes no movement at all. It's great that she's been on her eggs over 72 hours but my god when will she get rid of that load..

It's very common for hens to spend long periods on the nest. Don't worry about her and don't try to 'help' her.

I have three very intense broody NN's setting Australorp eggs. They know where the water and food is. When they feel it's time to move, nature will take it's course. Neither my hens nor yours are going to starve, die of thirst or have their insides explode...lol

 

[bnjrob]

Why would you want to break a broody? This is a big insult to Europeans, forget the shows they will always come year after year.. Let the chicken do it's thing.

If I didn't put broody hens in a breaker cage, I'd never get any eggs laid to even hatch cuz they are going broody all the time.

 

[Vamvakas]

If I didn't put broody hens in a breaker cage, I'd never get any eggs laid to even hatch cuz they are going broody all the time.

Oh, sorry I thought you only had 1-2 broody didn't realize all are going broody.

 

[hellbender]

Oh, sorry I thought you only had 1-2 broody didn't realize all are going broody.

So many of my NNs are trying to brood! I just let them peck me and collect the eggs. After a few days, perhaps a week, they get straightened out and then a whole new bunch starts up.

All you need is determination greater than theirs and wear long sleeves with very light (tight) gloves.

 

[gjensen]

So many of my NNs are trying to brood! I just let them peck me and collect the eggs. After a few days, perhaps a week, they get straightened out and then a whole new bunch starts up.

All you need is determination greater than theirs and wear long sleeves with very light (tight) gloves.

I know someone that does the same. Just ignores them, LOL.

I hope that I do not get a broody soon. I will because I said that. I will have an awful lot of young birds by the end of the week.

 

[desertmarcy]

Why would you want to break a broody? This is a big insult to Europeans, forget the shows they will always come year after year.. Let the chicken do it's thing.

There are a lot of reasons. They take up a nesting spot so the other chickens can't use it. They stop laying. I use an incubator, not a broody to hatch. They lose a lot of weight and condition when they are sitting and eating/drinking very little. In our extreme hot climate here, that can even put them at risk of dying.

Everybody manages their livestock in the best way for their own situation. I don't judge people who want to use a broody for hatching or go out of their way to find hatching eggs to put under a hen that wants to sit. I have no idea what you mean by insult to Europeans. This is no insult to anybody IMO, just a way of managing my flocks.

 

[bnjrob]

Quote:

There are a lot of reasons. They take up a nesting spot so the other chickens can't use it. They stop laying. I use an incubator, not a broody to hatch. They lose a lot of weight and condition when they are sitting and eating/drinking very little. In our extreme hot climate here, that can even put them at risk of dying.

Everybody manages their livestock in the best way for their own situation. I don't judge people who want to use a broody for hatching or go out of their way to find hatching eggs to put under a hen that wants to sit. I have no idea what you mean by insult to Europeans. This is no insult to anybody IMO, just a way of managing my flocks.

So true. Had one that wouldn't break last summer after several weeks - kept refusing to eat or drink. Lost her in the heat from dehydration.

Have had a couple get pressure sores on their breasts from the prolonged sitting - they kept scratching all the bedding out of the nest and laying on the wood bottom. Now I get plastic "grass" type nest pads to put on the bottom of the nests to help prevent that, because they do lose so much weight being broody.

A hen this year - I let her go for almost three weeks hoping she'd break. Finally put her in the cage and it took two weeks in the cage before she would stop heading right back to the nest whenever I let her out on a trial run after the first week in the cage. And everybody in that pen stops laying anytime one of them goes broody - seriously impairs my egg collecting and hatching.

I want to use broody hens at some point. But right now, I am still doing too much work on the flock to be willing to trust a broody to hatch and raise chicks. And I need/want more than just a handful of breeding hens. Not to mention that I prefer really early hatching because it gets so hot here quickly.