How to care for a broody hen

[chickenmama109]

hi my hen just went broody this is her first time and I’m still waiting to see if she will stay broody to put some eggs under her I’ve icubated eggs my self but have never hatched under a hen how do I care for her will she take care of the chicks her self thanks so much for your help

 

[KathryninQuebec]

Hi I just went through it for the first time last month. 2 of my bantam hens went broody a week apart. Some say to leave food and water a little ways off so they will get up and feed and poop away from the nest. My girls were not budging for anything. Some chickens will starve/dehydrate themselves to near death. I just put small ceramic egg cups of water and food that I replenished every day right within beak reach. They both hatched eggs. The first one wouldn't let me near to see what she had. In the end she had only 2 eggs and and egg cup (I wondered where it went lol). She only hatched 1 chick.
I knew when the second hen went broody she could have only possibly at the most had two eggs under her. I took the 5 eggs I had in the basket on the kitchen counter and shoved them under her that night. When she was done she had 5 chicks and one dud egg.
I ended up taking the one baby and giving it to the mom with 5 in the night. She took right to it even though it was a week older than her 5.
If she's a good Mum she will take care of the chicks. Just keep a close eye on her when they hatch and have a brooder ready in case she isn't. I put my Hen and chicks in the brooder once they were hatched for 2 days. I wanted to make sure to give all the eggs a chance. That way if she wasn't a good Mum all I would have to do is add a heat lamp and take Mum out.
I'm actually getting breeds this year that tend to raise their own. Never know when the lights are going to go out for long periods of time or forever! Nature is so cool and much easier!! Enjoy

 

[Keziah]

my nicest chicken wants to be broody, but we do not have a rooster, so we can not have chicks. We have a box where the eggs roll down box where the egg rolls down so the hen does not poop on the egg, and she looks so sad when her egg rolls down. I give her her egg back just because and she sits on it all day long i hope this is okay,

 

[Keziah]

i would just put a few eggs under her and incubate the rest yourself

 

[enoryz]

We have a hen that went broody so we decided to put eggs and try. She hatched6 out of 7 eggs this past weekend. She would get off every other day to eat drink and poop then go back on her nest. The first couple days we made sure she would go back on her nest and she did the rest. So exciting. I have another hen sitting on 15 eggs. We gonna try again.

 

[KathryninQuebec]

my nicest chicken wants to be broody, but we do not have a rooster, so we can not have chicks. We have a box where the eggs roll down box where the egg rolls down so the hen does not poop on the egg, and she looks so sad when her egg rolls down. I give her her egg back just because and she sits on it all day long i hope this is okay,

I don't think she is truly broody if she only sits for 1 day. Maybe she is but when she gets up to eat it rolls away?
Broody chicken tend to stay on eggs fertile or not until they get a chick. They don't know that it will take them 21 days. That is why you can get away with putting eggs that have been in incubation for a couple of weeks or even put chicks purchased from the coop at night after they have been broody for only a few days. If you are absolutely sure she is broody give her a proper nest and try giving her some chicks to raise

 

[chickenmama109]

Thanks so much for all of your help I’m a little worried about my other bigger breed chickens pushing her off the nest they will push her off to lay an egg and then she will get back on after a while will this be ok

 

[chuckachucka]

You will need to separate the hen if she is being disturbed on her nest. If she leaves the eggs too much they won' develop or will die during incubation. They could also be crushed by other hens coming and going.

Most people either section off the nest box if you have somewhere else for your other hens to lay, or move the broody hen to a secure location. I prefer to keep brooder in a separate small coop or hutch or inside the house in a crate. If you are going to move the broody hen, do it at night while she is asleep and be sure to carefully bring all her eggs with her. (Move the hen first, collect the eggs, push the eggs back under her when she is relocated).

After their nest is safe from intrusion, they need very little human intervention. Food and water outside the nest is best because if the food and water are right there next to them they tend not to get up to poop which can make a big mess on the nest and even ruin the eggs with bacteria. They will usually get up once a day every day, but will sometimes skip a day or get up twice a day if it is warm.

 

[chuckachucka]

As for the chicks, all you need to do if provide food and water for the hen and chicks once they hatch, within easy reach of the nest. They will make a mess of thsee so check and replace the food and water levels frequently. Keep water vessels shallow or put pebbles in the dish to prevent the chicks drowning.

It's best to keep the hen and chicks separate and secure from the other chickens for at least a week in their nest with a small amount of space for the hen to get up and walk around. Wherever you keep hen and chicks, be careful of chicks getting stuck in strange places or squeezing through small gaps in wire etc.

 

[chickenmama109]

Thanks for the info I do have a perfect brooder to put her in but i have three chicks that i incubated in there right know they are ready to go outside but im trying to do it slowly ive benn putting them in the coop while the flock free ranges and i close the coop door but i dont want them to mess with the broody hen should i put the chicks in the flock or should i keep them in the brooder for a little while longer thanks for your help