I think i have a broody?

[melissastraka]

After really wanting a broody for a while, I think I may have one.
When i was feeding today i couldnt find one of my orps. She is in the corner of the coop. I was worried that she was hurt so i went to pick her up and she growled at me! I mean really truly growled!!!! So, I left her be. Then tonight i went back to check and she is still there. This time i poked at her with a stick...I am not losing my arm to her

...and she did it again but this time her entire back area fluffed up...she meant buisness.

Is she broody or just in a bad mood???

 

[Sunny Side Up]

She sounds broody to me. Fussing & pecking at people who dare disturb the nest and staying on the nest at night are certain signs.

Are you going to let her set? With the eggs she might have under her or with eggs you give her? You could let her get good & settled with whatever she's got under her & swap the eggs after a few nights. Sometimes it takes a few days for a hen to commit to the job.

You may also want to fence off that corner to keep her in & other hens out. Give her enough room to get off the nest & poop, provide food & water for her to reach.

Let us know how she does. Buff O's are often good broody Mamas.

 

[melissastraka]

How long should i wait till i give her fertilized eggs? I have a couple of roos but i dont think they have been "doing their jobs" yet. They are only 5 months old. What do you think?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Especially since this is her first time setting, you should wait until she's been setting continually for 2-3 days before starting eggs under her. Hens have varying degrees of broody skills, some may look like they're off to a good job then leave the nest after only a couple of days. Perhaps you could use the next few days to secure the area around her and see if she sticks on the nest. If so, then try giving her the eggs.

I don't know how early the roos can fertilize eggs. I know they seem to mature earlier than the girls, they are more interested in mating before their female flock-mates are. You could try setting your eggs & candle them after a week to see if there's development.

 

[joanc]

I have a BO acting the same way. She's been like this now for about 2 weeks. Both DH and I have taken her out of the nest multiple times and brought her outside and put her down a couple hundred feet from the coop. As soon as she's on the ground she's heading back for the coop.

This afternoon I even held her outside for about 1/2 hour, put her down and she went back to the coop.

She is getting thinner and I get concerned about her eating and drinking, but I guess she's happier sitting on fake eggs and being grumpy.

I would let her sit on eggs IF ...I had a place to isolate her and chicks; ..... IF she would stay on the same nest (she always goes back to a different one each time we take her off-and she has 10 nests to choose from), ...IF I hadn't already ordered more chicks that are coming at the end of May!

I admit, though, I'd love to see a mama with chicks.

 

[Farm Frenzy]

I have a couple game birds that go broody all the time, which is why I got them. But I have a broody cage that I put them in. It is an absolute life saver. Before I had the cage the other girls were just laying on top of her, and she rolled them right under her. It made me craxy because then those eggs were way behind. I LOVE BROODIES!!!!

 

[melissastraka]

so, should I make her a "broody box" and take her out tomorrow night? I thought about putting a couple eggs under her which are on day 18 in the brooder....what do you think?

 

[speckledhen]

Not sure how much of a sense of time a hen has. If she hasn't sat on the eggs for at least a couple of weeks, she could become aggressive when babies start popping out in a couple of days. Hard to say, though. Are these my Barred EE eggs?

 

[melissastraka]

Well of course they are yours! I am so excited...I am about to candle for the last time before i put them down for the long haul of hatching! 2 of the B/B/S werent fertile and one was a quitter on day 14, 5 of the Barred EE's were one or the other but the rest are on their way! Char's and Nora's eggs are looking great and i cant wait till sunday. I think I will wait for Vicki's and EmptyNests eggs to come in and stick those under her if she is still sitting. So, What about a broody box Cyn?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I think it's best practice to move a broody as little as necessary. If she must be moved, try to bring along as much of her original nest as possible. If possible I will move her whole nest box, or slide cardboard under her & her nest and move them all together. And do it well after dark, so she's less aware of what's happening.

Of course, there are some broodies you could strap on a rocket to the moon and immediately after crash landing there would scoot into a crater to begin incubating some moon rocks. But those kinds of birds are few & far between.

If your broody won't be incubating eggs, she can be broken of her broody mood by placing her in a wire-bottomed cage, like a rabbit or parrot cage, up high on blocks or saw horses so air can flow up underneath. Give her food & water, but no nesting material. After 3-4 days, or when she begins to lay again, she can be returned to her flock.