Is Broodiness catching? All the hens in the coop went broody!!!

[pixie546]

Hey there fellow chicken-lovers! Its seem I have 3 maybe 4 broody hens in the same coop!!!

Here is some background on my chicken history. We started out with one leftover Polish hen (named Soupy) who lives in the spruce tree (storm took out her coop and foxes took the rest), added 7 chickens (2 roosters, 5 hens, but one died), added 7 silkies in a smaller separate coop, went on a hatching binge

and hatched ALL of the 19 eggs we incubated (crosses with the Easter-Egger Roosters and the 3 white Phoenix hens and 1 Sumatra cross hen). We ALSO decided to hatch 10 Silkie eggs and 8 of them hatched, AND 2 silkies went broody and shared the mama duties. We got 2 chicks out of that being our first broody experience.

Can you say 53 Chickens?!?!?!?!?!?!?

SO----- when one of the white Phoenix went broody we took her eggs. Too many chickens!! (Also they are flighty and their children are little monsters!) Well, we have been visited by fox

which took our favorite Polish hen Soupy one morning when she was waiting for the others to be let out (we USED to free range the first 2 flocks). They day before when the babies were having supervised pasture time, it came and of course got Soup's only baby from an egg of hers we found and incubated with the Silkies (Soupy had decided to join their flock so it was the CUTEST Silkie/Polish cross baby!) The reason I mention this is that we had saved 2 eggs from Soupy because she had finally stared laying in the coop and we wanted more of her babies. So we put those and 4 Silkie eggs under that white Phoenix, and she is HAPPY to set those eggs.

Well, 2 days later I went to get any extra eggs from under her per usual, and the black Sumatra cross was sitting on them! This went on for a whole day so I split the clutch between the 2 broody ladies. AND this morning the other 2 Phoenix hens were in there!!!! (As I write this I see one of the Phoenix out with the roos, whew!) So, I know it's spring and all, but does a hen get broody being around another broody hen? This is getiing ridiculous!!!!

Thanks!

 

[kannna]

OMG! That's all I can say.

 

[LarryPQ]

I have 8 as of this afternoon. I took pics, as the neighbors think I have started raising velociraptors.

 

[ranchhand]

I can't say 53. But adding and subtracting your numbers, (I finally had to do it on paper, step by step,

), I get 43.

I confess, I like numbers.


Last year I had one hen go broody. Next thing I knew, I had 7 broodies!

So far this year, the same ringleader is broody again. I'm waiting for the little thug to start winning the others over to the broody side - again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have 8 broodys so far this year in the chicken costume and one broody in a duck outfit.

 

[Elite Silkies]

Mine seem to have that domino effect. Just when I think I'll list an auction, they all go broody!

 

[pixie546]

I can't say 53. But adding and subtracting your numbers, (I finally had to do it on paper, step by step, tongue ), I get 43. big_smile

I know, I forgot to throw in the 7 Americanas and 3 Buff Orpingtion babies that we got at chick days at our feed store!!! *sheepish grin*

You gotta have SOME that will grow up to be hens, right?!

So if the 6 new eggs ALL hatch, with the 3 we lost to Mr. Fox

that will give us 56 birds! Whoo! But we decided when we bought the baby chicks that we would HAVE to eat some of the roosters out of our 19 little monsters. I mean velociraptors!

So maybe broodies ARE like dominoes. That's what it seems to me! At least the Silkies are done being broody for a little while.​

 

[ScotianChick]

I've noticed that if I have a broody in the nest, the girls getting ready to lay eggs in the nest box next to them will make the same screechy noises! Even if they aren't broody! They'll do all the actions too except if I take them of the nest they just casually walk away instead of turning into evil gremlins.

 

[shellyga]

I had one.. then three.. and now four of my nine Buff Orpingtons broody.. number four just started today (first night now) so we will see if she holds. Problem is.. all the popular upper nests are not occupied with broodies.. the lower nests have never been popular so we will see what the other five girls do. I haven't had an egg for two days so they will have to leave me a present soon.. question will be where

Shelly

 

[pixie546]

I went into the "broody coop" tonight to take away any eggs the other hen may be laying in the nest. I waited till night to avoid getting pecked!!!! I got one spare egg out of two of the broodies. The 6 we actually WANT to hatch are holding tight under our crazy screeching gremlin broody hens. I feel badly for the 3rd broody, she has no eggs, she was late to the party.

I checked the silkies coop--- the mama and 2 babies are fine---- and she is laying again!!!

But we have another potential broody--- Stella was not roosting tonight but sitting in a box. She had no eggs underneath, so I'll keep an eye on her.

Broodies are like teenage girls---- they just wanna cuz everyone else is!!!!