I think my hen went broody......I have some questions help?

[chickenlittle1980]

ok so after a few weeks of strange behavior from Spot. I found her tonight sitting on two eggs...I am pretty sure she was there all day. I made her move to see what she was sitting on. I did not let them free range today cause it was raining. I let my ducks play in the puddles in the backyard, they love the rain!

So could she just be sitting there? It was like almost 9 tonight when I was out there. I even moved the nesting box around with her in it.

If she is still sitting there tomarrow..... should I put food and water near her?


Will she keep laying while broody?

When I moved her she did not hess or make any noise she just looked at me like I had lost my mind .....(weeeeee joy ride

) so maybe she is just sitting there?

And after the 21 days what should I do if nothing has hatched?

If something does (my luck it will be all boys

) ....I want to bring it in the house to raise ..... how do I do that just reach out and grab?

If she gets off of them tomarrow to go play in the yard should I take them? I read some where that a true broody hen will not move!

 

[Soaring Chicks]

They will get off the nest to eat and drink and to go to the bathroom. You can tell if broody by her picking at you ,hissing,puffing up at you and by the smell of her fecal matter. It will be a larger amount them normal and smell to high heaven. Also if you take her off the nest and she runs right back to get and sits. If she is broody she will not lay anymore once she starts sitting on them. Best of luck to you and your hen.

 

[chickenlittle1980]

I have another one that has HUDGE poop! Also tonight (I was saddling up) I noticed she was missing some chest feather but she is not acting like the other one? hmmmm......

 

[chickenlittle1980]

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Each hen seems to have her own component of broody skills. Some have none, some make a half-hearted effort, and others are Super Moms. A lot of breeds designed for egg production have had their broody instincts selectively bred out of them. Others designed for appearance or size still retain those instincts.

A hen that has Gone Broody will want to stay on the nest all day & night, getting up only once a day to eat, drink, and expel a giant smelly poop. She will be fluffed or flattened out over the eggs, with a glazed look to her eyes (the Broody Buzz). She'll usually growl and/or peck at you when you reach towards her. She will have bare patches on her breast (broody patches).

You can leave her in the nest of her choosing, but other hens may come interrupt her and try to lay their eggs in her nest. This may upset or distract your broody, cause the eggs to break, cause there to be too many eggs for her to incubate, make it so there are chicks developing/hatching at different times. It's best if you can make a barricade around her, leaving enough room for her to get up for her daily coffee breaks, or move her to her own pen well after dark some night.

After 21 days of setting she should have chicks hatching. You can leave them with her to do an excellent job of brooding & tending to. Make your plans now for what you'll do with any unwanted roosters that result, you can raise them for your own table or give/sell them to someone else.

 

[gwill23]

This is my first time. However, I noticed that one of my hens was sitting all morning until the others came and ran her off. So I put a dog crate (cage type) in front of a nest box and put her in it with 14 eggs under her. I could tell which one she was though because anytime anyone came near her she would puff up and growl.

Now I took another hen (since I have 24 eggs my daughter's class is hatching), she is a very nice hen and likes to be held. I put her in a dog crate in the dark for 2 days and then moved her to the regular nest boxes with that cage in front and she doesn't get near as mean as the other, but she is sitting all day. The other will bite my finger off if I get too close to the eggs.

So in conclusion I guess I learned to protect the broodies from the other hens as they will bother them until they get off the nest. So just block her in with food and water and she will probably go full broody. That is what I would try anyway.

 

[chickenlittle1980]

I cheeked on her today about 1ish 12 ish... when I opened the back of the coop she sreemed at me After getting the other egss she got up and ran out to eat drink play whatever ... whie she was off the now 3 egss I ran and got a marker so I would notice any new ones... well I just re cheeked her and this time she screemed at me but did not move. if and when she moves.... should i just let her keep the new eggs that may be under her?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The eggs begin to develop when they receive the constant moist heat from the setting hen. If she had only begun to set 12 hours or so ago then it would be all right to leave these new eggs under her. If the other marked eggs have had a longer head start, I would remove any new eggs, including the ones from today. All her eggs should hatch within a 24-hour period in 3 weeks. After the 24 hours the hen will probably be ready to leave the nest and take all the chicks that have hatched for their first outing. Any remaining unhatched eggs will be left to go cold & any chicks inside will be left to die. It's easier to plan to have all the eggs hatch at once than to mess around with a staggered hatch.

 

[chickenlittle1980]

marked the 3 today. Last night there was only two... I looked again at like 8 when the sun went down she was all flat and stuff..... she just looked at me and I petted her and told her to think "all girls" I hope I get babies but I am not holding my breath. She is sitting on 3 brown eggs. If in 3 weeks I become a gradma at the tender age of 29 i will l bring her babies in.... I worry to much about leaveing them out there and somehting happening to them.... when I take them will she hate me? She is my fav hen i dont want her to hate me!

Since I marked 3 eggs today I should take any new ones tommarow right?
That is if she moves her fuzzy butt and goes and eats

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I would mark the newest 5 eggs ASAP, and then remove any new ones starting tomorrow. Better still would be to make a barricade around her, or move her at night to her own pen, so that the other hens don't continue to interrupt her by laying in her nest, so you don't keep bothering her checking for new eggs to remove each day.

Spend the next 21 days reading up on posts about how well the Mama hens can care for their own chicks so you don't feel compelled to take the chicks away and brood them yourself. They're just as likely to have a mishap under her care as under yours, probably less. Also steel yourself to not get attached to each hatched chick until you know for certain they're pullets you can keep, and make plans for all the unwanted cockerels that result.

I have a little bantam named Bling who has gone broody. She conveniently chose a spot in a little separate wire pen and was beginning to set some bantam eggs there. Tonight I removed the bantam eggs and replaced them with standard-sized eggs (I don't want to make more bantams right now) and expect them to hatch June 7 or 8. Let's see if our chicks hatch on the same day!