HOORAY! My Buff Orpington is finally broody and sitting on eggs! Now what to do to make sure she stays?

[Mygoose]

I have been trying to get a broody mama for some time, but it just didn't seem to work out with moving them. Now I have one, and don't have to move it, and I just want to make sure I don't need to do anything else to keep her sitting. (I'm kind of paranoid now after all that's happened)

 

[Muser]

Huge reply post incoming!

I have a broody mummy orp sat on 11 eggs right now, she's a big girl so covering them all is no issue, they are on day 16 so expecting chicks soon/next week It's her first time brooding and we tried to break her for the first week with no luck, so she's been brooding for a little longer than normal and to encourage her to remain, here's what I have done.

Firstly, I gave her her own quiet space, a mini coop within the same run so they still all see each other but barred off so she has space. My girls don't fight but I don't want her stressing everytime one of the others wanders past or wants to lay in the main coop.

She has her own water and food station and I often drop treats and nice snacks right next to her so the little princess doesn't even have to try and get up if she's not feeling it. She has room to stretch her legs with an attached mini run within my main run and I do tend to let her out with the others once a day ish if she looks like she wants to come out for a bit of a run and flap about

Giving her a lot of eggs made her want to stay more on the nest. A big clutch is more appealing I assume.

I placed her into this mini coop when she was trying to sit on eggs in the main coop and I gave her the hatching eggs one at a time and watched as she took each one and gently nuzzled it under her big ol' floofyness. The shuffle she did to make sure they are all covered is adorable. Then I left her there to do her thing. Candled the eggs on days 7 and 14 and all still growing/moving lovely. I didn't let her sit on the hatching eggs and then move her, I let he settle in the new coop first before giving eggies.

Hope she stays broody for you so you get chicks

Biscuit the broody Orp x Brahma

And a quick snap of the eggs when she was on break