Is she broody???

[chickens802]

I have a Cuckoo Maran born around July 1st, 2021, almost 7 months old now. She is laying. She has been sitting in the same nest box every time I go in the coop (3-5 times a day) for the past three days. I am new to this and I have hatched many eggs with an incubator but have never experienced a broody hen. I would love to hatch some eggs with a broody but was hoping to wait another month for warmer temps. I know that it is not up to me though! She doesn't cluck much when I near her to check for eggs but she does try to peck my hand very aggressively which is not usually her style. Is she broody? Is she too young to hatch chicks? Should I expect others to go broody now too? Any advise will be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Yardmom]

Any pullet or hen that has been laying eggs can become broody. If she is remaining on the nest all night and most of the day she is very likely broody. Decide if where she has chosen is a suitable nest site or not. If you move her she néeds to be shut so she can not get back to the original nest. If you move her bring the eggs she is currently setting on and then wait until she is settled before switching to the eggs you want to hatch. If you leave her with the flock mark the hatching eggs and check daily for anything that has been added. It is important to make sure all eggs to be hatched start at the same time.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I had breeder quality Marans which went broody often for me. (They became the foundation of my olive egger program with Barnevelder).

Seven months is not too young. She is fully sexually mature, laying eggs, so it sounds possible that she is contemplating going broody. If so, go ahead and encourage her by leaving eggs in her favorite nest. Mark them as your "dud" eggs as the poster above stated, you want her to settle first THEN place the eggs you want hatched at the same time to officially start. When she is in a full brood, she will sit on the eggs 24/7 going out only once, at most twice, for about 20 minutes, returning to the nest to once again sit and stare absently into space. (It's very "Zen.")

Don't worry about the weather if she has a cozy coop and run out of direct weather. I've had hens hatch chicks in the dead of winter, freezing ice-snow storms, wind chill down to below 20. The hen just sits a bit longer on them for the first 2 or 3 days. By day 4, they are up and scratching, running around in their little down coats, using momma as a warming hutch whenever they need a warm up. It literally blows your mind going from artificial hatching and incubating, to seeing these little chicks laugh at the cold. One year I had one set of chicks in the incubator and another hatched under a hen. The broody hatched chicks grew faster, feathered faster, and came to sexual maturity faster than the incubated chicks. I kid you not. Integration into the flock is a breeze as momma does all the work (provided you don't have any bullies in the flock...but a good rooster will put them in their place quickly protecting momma and chicks).

Hatching this time of year is PERFECT as they will hatch in March maturing during the lengthening days, which means they will come into lay by summer. I've had February broody hatched chicks (mixed breed) laying by 15 weeks. (I counted the calendar twice).

I agree too with the above poster that you will want to assess your nest situation now. Is it safe for the hen to brood in that box? Will other birds be constantly pressing into the box to lay eggs? I can now main coop brood with my chill flock that is all broody raised (for the last 5 years), but in transition from feed store birds to "natural, sustainable" birds, the flock did not understand the mechanics of the brooding hen and were constantly pestering her. If the nest is not a good place, choose a better one, or better yet, try to subdivide this nest to give her privacy. She just needs food/water close by and the ability to go poo when needed. Ideally she should also have a place to access the run for dust baths. She should be able to return however without confusing nests or having another hen sitting on her nest forcing her to another box. Some hens are dense this way so you have to isolate them to their nest. You only know on the first efforts, which is why you use "dud" eggs for the first few days until things are settled.

Let us know how it goes.
LofMc

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Oh...be forewarned that if you try to move her before she is in a full brood, she may not go broody....or she may reject the new nesting site. It's a bit tricky with a first time momma until you learn the hen and how dedicated they are. My Silkies would hatch a ping pong ball wherever it was laid. However some of my feed store standard hens were very dedicated to the nest they had chosen and broke brood if moved.

If you move, let her settle into a good brood, then at night move her to the new nest with the "dud" eggs. Let her settle. You may need to block her into that nest for several days until she is happy to return to that nest.

LofMc

 

[chickens802]

Thank you all so much for all the good info. BYC is so helpful! I am really starting to get excited know! Just one more question, right know she is sitting on one of the higher nesting boxes in the coop, about 4’ off the ground. When the chicks hatch will this be a problem for them to get down? I do have a lower nest box that is also the least popular only about a 1-2’ off the ground I could try moving her to but would that still be a problem for the chicks to get down out off? I have also see some brooder dog kennel setups on ground level that I think I could pull off.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you all so much for all the good info. BYC is so helpful! I am really starting to get excited know! Just one more question, right know she is sitting on one of the higher nesting boxes in the coop, about 4’ off the ground. When the chicks hatch will this be a problem for them to get down? I do have a lower nest box that is also the least popular only about a 1-2’ off the ground I could try moving her to but would that still be a problem for the chicks to get down out off? I have also see some brooder dog kennel setups on ground level that I think I could pull off.

Getting down after they are hatched (and fluffed) could be a problem, depending on the intelligence of the chick. Mom will leave the nest at about day 2 or 3 with chicks in tow. Chicks bounce amazingly well, so if they have to they can hop down and follow mom. IF they are smart enough to do so...otherwise the scaredy ones cheep and cheep stranded.

You can set up some sort of little walk way to help them get down. Rolled chicken wire works. Or make a simple little ladder. That will get them down. Now will they go up? Oiy. Again depends on the chick. Some are smart enough to handle my long ramp to a 5 foot high broody hutch...others not so much. Smart moms take them all down into the dog crate I have below and grow the chicks out there. Smart moms and smart chicks make it up and down that ramp since day one. Dumb moms and dumb chicks have a train wreck of half the chicks stranded up and half stranded down.

Ideally, a dog crate at ground level is best, or a low 1 to 2 foot ramp, especially for first timers. But you never know who will be smart or dumb.

My experiences (after brooding for the last 7 years in tall hutch, low hutch, dog crates, main coop, and a few volunteered crazy places).

LofMc

 

[Ridgerunner]

My test to see if a hen is broody enough to deserve eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of in her normal sleeping location. There are several things that indicate she might be broody but I've had hens do all of those and not really deserve eggs. Someday that test may fail me but it hasn't yet.

As far as winter brooding you might find this thread interesting. It's the best documented winter hatching I've seen.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/947046/broody-in-michigan-winter

Some people worry if it's the hens first time being broody. I don't. I've had great success with first time broody hens, even young ones. I've had problems with broody hens the second time around when they did great the first time. If you really want a broody to hatch chicks and raise them I would not let that stop me.

I've seen a hen get her chicks out of a 10' high hay loft. She said jump and they did, bounced up, and ran to her. I've had them hatch in nests four feet off of the coop floor. One of those is in the photo below, the white one. That is a cat litter bucket that did give me a problem. The top was 7-1/2" x 11-1/2", the broody hen was sitting too close to the edge because of the size. When they hatch chicks often climb up on top of the hen while waiting for the later ones to hatch. Usually that's not a problem but in that nest the hen was so close to the edge that they missed the nest when they fell off of her. Four different times I picked a chick up off of the coop floor and put it back in the nest with her, probably the same chick for most of those. It fell four feet and did not get hurt. A relatively high nest doesn't bother me but a nest that is too small does.

I've never had a problem with a chick not leaving the nest when the hen told it to. If I did I'd most likely just pick it up and set it on the coop floor so it could go to the hen.

After they bring the chicks off of the nest mine never go back to the nest. I do not have any nests at ground level, my broody hens just take their chicks to bed on the coop floor. The first night or two it could be out in the middle but it usually doesn't take them long to figure out a corner is out of the way.

Some of us let our broody hens incubate, hatch, and raise the chicks with the flock. Others may isolate the broody for any of those stages. As mentioned above the eggs need to all start incubation at the same time. And you don't want any new eggs to show up in her nest. If you decide to let her hatch with the flock let us know, we can give more detailed suggestions. A photo of her nest could be very helpful.

If you decide to isolate her let us know that also. If you isolate her she needs to be locked with her nest, food, water, and a little room to go poop. It doesn't take a lot of room but she needs a bit. By instinct she should know to not poop in her nest and foul her eggs but she doesn't know that about food and water. You may be cleaning those out. Just let us know. Some people use a totally separated pen; some might fence off her nest in the coop. There are always different ways to do these things.

I've never put food or water near my broody hens. As they hatch with the flock they have the same access to food and water the rest do. I've seen a broody hen leave her nest for about 15 minutes once a day for her daily constitutional (food, water, poop). I had a hen that left her nest twice a day for over an hour each time. Some I never see off of her nest but I know she's coming off because she is not pooping in her nest. Each one is different in how they do it.

If she is truly broody and you break her from being broody there is an excellent chance that she will go broody again later. But that is just a chance, not a guarantee. And there is nothing that says it will be any more convenient to you if she does.

 

[629864]

My test to see if a hen is broody enough to deserve eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of in her normal sleeping location. There are several things that indicate she might be broody but I've had hens do all of those and not really deserve eggs. Someday that test may fail me but it hasn't yet.

As far as winter brooding you might find this thread interesting. It's the best documented winter hatching I've seen.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/947046/broody-in-michigan-winter

Some people worry if it's the hens first time being broody. I don't. I've had great success with first time broody hens, even young ones. I've had problems with broody hens the second time around when they did great the first time. If you really want a broody to hatch chicks and raise them I would not let that stop me.

I've seen a hen get her chicks out of a 10' high hay loft. She said jump and they did, bounced up, and ran to her. I've had them hatch in nests four feet off of the coop floor. One of those is in the photo below, the white one. That is a cat litter bucket that did give me a problem. The top was 7-1/2" x 11-1/2", the broody hen was sitting too close to the edge because of the size. When they hatch chicks often climb up on top of the hen while waiting for the later ones to hatch. Usually that's not a problem but in that nest the hen was so close to the edge that they missed the nest when they fell off of her. Four different times I picked a chick up off of the coop floor and put it back in the nest with her, probably the same chick for most of those. It fell four feet and did not get hurt. A relatively high nest doesn't bother me but a nest that is too small does.

View attachment 2996748

I've never had a problem with a chick not leaving the nest when the hen told it to. If I did I'd most likely just pick it up and set it on the coop floor so it could go to the hen.

After they bring the chicks off of the nest mine never go back to the nest. I do not have any nests at ground level, my broody hens just take their chicks to bed on the coop floor. The first night or two it could be out in the middle but it usually doesn't take them long to figure out a corner is out of the way.

Some of us let our broody hens incubate, hatch, and raise the chicks with the flock. Others may isolate the broody for any of those stages. As mentioned above the eggs need to all start incubation at the same time. And you don't want any new eggs to show up in her nest. If you decide to let her hatch with the flock let us know, we can give more detailed suggestions. A photo of her nest could be very helpful.

If you decide to isolate her let us know that also. If you isolate her she needs to be locked with her nest, food, water, and a little room to go poop. It doesn't take a lot of room but she needs a bit. By instinct she should know to not poop in her nest and foul her eggs but she doesn't know that about food and water. You may be cleaning those out. Just let us know. Some people use a totally separated pen; some might fence off her nest in the coop. There are always different ways to do these things.

I've never put food or water near my broody hens. As they hatch with the flock they have the same access to food and water the rest do. I've seen a broody hen leave her nest for about 15 minutes once a day for her daily constitutional (food, water, poop). I had a hen that left her nest twice a day for over an hour each time. Some I never see off of her nest but I know she's coming off because she is not pooping in her nest. Each one is different in how they do it.

If she is truly broody and you break her from being broody there is an excellent chance that she will go broody again later. But that is just a chance, not a guarantee. And there is nothing that says it will be any more convenient to you if she does.

I can't even begin to tell you how helpful I've found your reply. I've really worried about the broody nesting up high and how the chicks will get down. I really want to let my hens do all of the incubating and try to stay out of the process as much as possible. I figure they have better instincts about hatching eggs than I do. Your experience has put my mind at ease. Thank you soooo much for your detailed and informative post!

 

[chickens802]

Thank you for sharing your expertise, it is greatly appreciated! I have a local breeder I could get some eggs from but not until the 1st week of March. Right now she is sitting on 3 fake eggs which she should still be sitting in March. If I put the real eggs under her in the 1st week of March will she sit on them for the full 21 days even though she would have already been sitting on the fake ones for almost that? Would it even be ok to do this? Is it bad for mommas health to be sitting that long?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Before a hen or pullet even starts to lay eggs she stores up excess fat. A lot of that is in a "Fat Pad" in the pelvic region but some is scattered around her body. I've butchered enough pullets, hens, cockerels, and roosters to clearly see the difference. This excess fat is mostly what a hen lives on while she is broody. That way she can incubate the eggs instead of needing to look for food.

Different pullets and hens store different amounts of fat. I've seen a broody hen come off of her nest for about 15 minutes each day to eat, drink, and poop. I saw one that came off twice a day for over an hour each time. Some I never see off of the nest but I know they are coming off because they don't poop in the nest. Depending on much fat they start with and how much they eat and drink when they are off of the nest they can be broody for quite a while without hurting themselves but how long that is will vary by hen. When they run out of that fat most hens will break from being broody but some may not.

I arbitrarily use five weeks as the limit. I don't have anything to back that up, it's just a number I chose. If a hen s not going to hatch within five weeks of going broody I break her from being broody. Would most be OK going 6 weeks? Probably, but I just set a limit for mine.