is it broody time?

[chickenbottom]

well i have come to the conclusion that i think clairese is going broody well i think she is. when i take her eggs she puffs up like a turkey and makes this weird sound like a purring cat but more pitchy and mean also when i show her her eggs she puffs like a turkey and lifts her wings and bows down and gives a high pitched shreak so is she broody or getting there because she does come off the nest for hours but if she shes her egg she will just continue on with her fit and if she shes one of the babies my two month olds she just goes crazy

 

[Daycare Mom]

sounds like she is broody to me.

 

[flakey chick]

Sounds like a broody, but not a good broody. She should come off the eggs for about 15 min to 1/2 hour once a day, not for hours.

 

[sandypaws]

for some of my banties it is ALWAYS broody time....

 

[scooter147]

Sandypaws, I hear you LOUD and CLEAR.
I have two bantams that are broody at least 11 months of the year.
The good news is these two never let me down, I will set some eggs towards the middle of March and I don't have to worry about a hatch rate. If there good egss they will hatch.

 

[Orpington Poultry]

Some bantams do love to be mommies. I have bunch now that are happy as if they had good sense sitting in the nest boxes. I don't leave eggs with them till the weather warm considerably. Instead I keep the brinsea hopping.

 

[chickenbottom]

well this is her first time so i dont expect her to be perfect she has only layed 17 eggs and its been around 20 days from the first one so i dont expect her to be 100% the first time she goes broody well now lol

 

[dancingbear]

I wouldn't let her set on eggs just yet. You don't have a roo anyway, do you? If you decide you want to let her brood at some point, do you know anybody you could get fertile eggs from?

If so, you could get a few wooden or ceramic eggs, (then, not now) and leave them in her nest. When she gets serious about brooding, she refuse to get off the nest at all, except for a break once or twice a day, 15-30 minutes. That's when she'll eat, drink, poo, and run around growling at all the other chickens for exercise. Once you're sure she's setting tight, you can mark the fertile eggs, let them warm up to room temp, around 70F (make sure you mark them, it's important) take out the fakes, put in the real ones.

A broody can do just fine, perfect, on her first brood, if you wait and make sure she's gone all the way broody first, before you give her any eggs. It sounds like your girl is still sort of teetering on th edge, not quite all the way there. I have an Australorp that does that, she'll act weird for 2 or 3 months before she'll actually brood. But then she does fine with it.

Craft supply stores have wooden eggs, and sometimes ceramic eggs.

 

[chickenbottom]

ya we dont have a rooster of that age yet um we do have a sorce for fertile eggs silkies easter eggers barred rocks and alot of other kinds and it doesnt really seem like she is gathering a clutch so we arnt worring about it to much right now

 

[dancingbear]

I don't know what you mean by "gathering a clutch". You collect your eggs daily, right? They don't usually gather them up. Some hens have been known to move eggs around, but I've never known one to gather them up.