I need help from the broody magicians of BYC!

[fluffycrow]

What say you, all mighty broody magician, @sourland ? Do these hens have any chance of being affected by your broody magic?

 

[CoopBoots]

They are such pretty birds. Do they free range most of the time? Also, could we see some pictures of your nest boxes? I don't have expert advice; I also chose a breed that tends to go broody like you and crossed my fingers, but I will say that my nest boxes are VERY dark and it seems to work for at least one of my girls. That and at least one nest with four fakes I don't remove so there is the appearance of a clutch around. Hopefully more of them will give it a try soon, I'm 1 out of 8 so far.

 

[fluffycrow]

They are such pretty birds. Do they free range most of the time? Also, could we see some pictures of your nest boxes? I don't have expert advice; I also chose a breed that tends to go broody like you and crossed my fingers, but I will say that my nest boxes are VERY dark and it seems to work for at least one of my girls. That and at least one nest with four fakes I don't remove so there is the appearance of a clutch around. Hopefully more of them will give it a try soon, I'm 1 out of 8 so far.

They are out most of the day, if the weather's good. This breed is know for being excellent at free ranging and flying, which is one of the reasons I got them. I've actually lost more of them to a predator while they were in their coop, in comparison to when they're out free ranging (I've lost none whilst being out). Can't take pictures right now, will try to in the next coming days, but they're in a dark corner of the coop and my camera doesn't like that. I can give you a good idea of how they are though. I took two large cardboard boxes and stacked them on top of each other. I cut a hole on the front of the upper box, and placed a couple of inches of dirt at the bottom of the nest. Then, I thick layer of straw/hay and it was done. They have two of these, one of which they use and love, and another one that's attached to the wall, that one is just a plastic crate

 

[aart]

Outside of Greece they'res not really anyone aware of these breeds existence, so they're not well documented.

You live in Greece?

 

[fluffycrow]

You live in Greece?

Yup

 

[aart]

Yup

Would really help to know that for better advice.

Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[fluffycrow]

Would really help to know that for better advice.

Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3422879

Just did it, thank you! I guess it's important right? People have already started having broodies here, I know of people who have broodies with 1 month old chicks on the ground, so the season has definitely started for us, and that's why I'm starting to lose hope for my current girls

 

[aart]

Broodies can be fickle and a crap shoot.
People who want broodies often don't get them.
People who don't want them often have too many.

I had 5 hens go broody last year, at one point there were 3 at the same time.
It was a PITA as I didn't want to hatch chicks.

Several years ago I had a broody I let hatch in March, then she went broody 7 more times.
I broke her over and over again, finally gave her away and she never went broody again.

 

[Chicken poppy]

So sorry to hear that, i’m going to tell you what helped mine become broody and maybe it can do the same for yours.

Good temps: mine did NOT like to go anywhere that was to hot or to cold and one of mine actually broke from the nest when it became to cold.

Favorite spots: The first step for me was developing a spot they like. They won’t go broody if they don’t like the nest, so try figuring out somewhere they might like. Even if it isn’t the darkest or the best looking to you, if they like it, thats all that matters. Mine have ALWAYS gone broody in their favorite spot and never anywhere else, even if those other spots were darker or easier to access.

Near food: Mine typically like to be near food and not super far away, especially for when they get off the nest to eat. Mine occasionally quit if food was to far.

Safe: All of mine went broody in a safe area, usually secluded, and typically not a popular nesting spot. (Though that can depend!) but a broody hen might leave if its to popular between the hens. If its to noisy and chaotic where the nests are, maybe thats the problem?

Clutch: Chickens know if the eggs are fake. Mine refused to touch a fake egg, and sometimes would karate fling it with their beak, so try using real eggs.

Breed: If all of this fails, it is probably your breed and you might want different chickens.

Best of luck! Mine didn’t go broody with their first year either and sometimes it takes a while for them to get started.

 

[Yardmom]

I have seen evidence of a genetic connections of broody or not broody hens Unfortunately in might be that your strain of the breed is not prone to broodiness. The only hint I have is, forget to pick eggs frequently. If the hormones are leaning towards broody it can tip them over the edge. It only works if they are already feeling the pull.