Is it important to break a broody hen?

[isabelvenes]

This is the first time I’ve encountered a broody hen. Her name is FooFoo and she’s a Cochin. About 14 months old. Right now, she’s sitting on golf balls. We don’t have any fertilized eggs.

I’ve read about it being important to “break” broodiness, but as a natural process in the chicken’s lifespan, why is it so bad?

FooFoo is at the bottom of the pecking order and I am sort of relieved that she has something to do away from the flock for awhile. It would also be extremely hard for me to watch her sit in a ventilated crate for a few days, as many “breaking broodiness” articles suggest.

But, most of all, I want to do what’s best for her. Do I have to break her? Or can I let her sit on the nest?

thanks

 

[BlueBaby]

If you want to let her sit there, then you can either find some fertile egg's for her, or buy a couple of the day old chick's to slip under her at night. That way if she's allowed to sit there that long, then it wouldn't be for nothing.

 

[isabelvenes]

If you want to let her sit there, then you can either find some fertile egg's for her, or buy a couple of the day old chick's to slip under her at night. That way if she's allowed to sit there that long, then it wouldn't be for nothing.

If I do that, when the chicks are hatched, do I have to put them in a brooder and everything like normal? Or does she raise them?

 

[turkey girl 0964]

She raises them, they will snuggle under her fluffed up feathers and momma will teach them to eat and drink. If you want to get her some chicks give them to her at night after 2-3 weeks and slowly take out her golf balls one by one and give her some chicks. She should take them as her own.

 

[isabelvenes]

She raises them, they will snuggle under her fluffed up feathers and momma will teach them to eat and drink.

awww, so sweet. I may do that. What’s kept me from getting chicks this year has just been the amount of work they are. If I could leave it to FooFoo, that’d be great.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

I put my broodys in a large dog crate so that the other hens and roo can't get to them. All you have to do is give them water, food and a nice comfy nest or something that they feel safe in. Good luck!

 

[turkey girl 0964]

The problem with broodys if you are asking is that they don't lay eggs for a few weeks.

 

[aart]

It would also be extremely hard for me to watch her sit in a ventilated crate for a few days, as many “breaking broodiness” articles suggest.

She'd be fine, you would too.

If I do that, when the chicks are hatched, do I have to put them in a brooder and everything like normal? Or does she raise them?

Grafting day old chicks under a hen that's been broody for a couple weeks can be great.
But there's always the chance she won't accept them, then you're back to chicks in a brooder.
I find it harder to watch the broody wean the chicks, than a broody in a crate for a few days.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’ve read about it being important to “break” broodiness, but as a natural process in the chicken’s lifespan, why is it so bad?

The natural process in a hen's lifespan is that she lays a clutch of eggs, hatches them, raises the chicks, then does it again until the days get shorter in the fall. Then she stops laying and molts. Once better weather returns in the spring she starts this cycle again. We've domesticated them, did some selective breeding, provide good food year around, and interfered with their natural cycle in other ways. So we've taken over responsibility to manage some of that natural lifestyle.

Before they even start laying hens build up extra fat. This fat is what broody hens mostly live off of while they are broody so they can spend time on the nest instead of being out looking for food or water. Since they are not making a lot of trips off the nest they reduce their chances of leading a predator back to their nest. A broody hen will lose weight while she is broody, but it's fat put there for that purpose. No big deal.

But eventually that fat will run out. When that happens "most" hens will naturally break from being broody and start eating to replace that fat. Each hen is different so there is no set time they run out, but it's longer than the 21 day hatch period, often more than five weeks. So they naturally break from being broody before they hurt themselves. These hens don't lay eggs while they are broody or until they replace the fat they used. But "most" hens doesn't mean "all" hens. A few will remain broody even after that fat runs out and hurt themselves.

Those are the two reasons I think it's a good idea to break a hen from being broody if you are not going to let her hatch or raise chicks. One is purely practical, you may go a long time without her laying any eggs. The other, compare the cruelty of confining her for a few days to letting her starve herself to death.

 

[Colormeblue]

The problem with broodys if you are asking is that they don't lay eggs for a few weeks.

I have 6 hens around 8 months old. One turned broody, so I put her in a cage. It took 3 days, but she finally broke. The trouble is, it's been 4 days and she still hasn't laid. Is this normal?