making a hen go broody

[Chikenux]

I am not understanding the bucket thing.

I do have a smaller dog crate. I think I could set it up so that, she would have a nest in the back, and a bit of space for food and water in the front. I thought about making it pretty dark, so that is good to know. I have the chicks coming in early April, so I am going to try getting her to go next week.

My chickens have always loved a new nest, and sometimes for no apparent reason, they will begin to lay in a new spot. So my plan is to set this up, and see if I can get them to lay there, and let the 'eggs' pile up by adding a golf ball a day to the pile. If I don't get a natural taker, I am going to lock a known broody hen in there. I have three hens that went broody last year.

I have twenty five chicks coming. So I really need two birds to go, or I need to sell half of them. Still debating.

Thanks for the input, I will report back to you also. I love a broody hen and chicks. I think you get healthier chicks, and none of the work.

Mrs K

I love being more self sustainable on the Homestead, specially with broody hens, they lay the eggs and hatch the chicks and the only thing I need to do is to separate them.

I will also give you an update on my chicken that I am trying to make broody in another small coop with golf balls, I just did it today and I just checked this evening and she is still not sitting on the golf balls, so I put 3 eggs in there mixed with the golf balls and see what happens tomorrow, maybe she needs a couple of days to settle down.

we will see!

Keep on Hatching!

 

[Pufna]

What happened with your project guys?

 

[Mrs. K]

nOT having any luck at all.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Been thinking about you and this experiment, wondering how it's going. That's been my experience but people need to try these things themselves. Don't give up, sometimes it might work. You just don't know until you try.

My guess is that if it does help, it's more likely to work later in the season when they re more likely to go broody anyway. I appreciate the feedback. So many times people start something like this and you never hear how it went.

 

[Mrs. K]

Well part of it is me. I did lock one up on a nest, for about 24 hours. Let her out late afternoon, with the idea of putting her back in there when they roosted, and something came up, and I didn't get back down there.

I have left a pile of fake eggs, and they are all laying there. But no natural takers. I too think, that later on I might have better luck, but later on is when this generally happens, so who is to know?

I have never had a broody before May, and mostly late May into June. Oh well, the grandkids will love having the chicks up at the house, where they can hold them and watch them.

Mrs K

 

[MGG]

I've had the best luck with broody-raised pullets. They go broody all the time.
I did shut my proven broody into her prefab broody coop (she's been broody and hatched three batches of chicks in it)
I let her live in just the dark coop for a few days, left any eggs she laid, then put a pile of eggs in her nest that she had been regularly laying in. When she went to lay the next day, I made sure to interrupt her and wave my hand in front of her (she's always cranky and broody growls at me when I bother her while laying).
And bam, she was broody.
It's like as soon as she has a pile of eggs under her and hears herself make that growl, it triggers her mind that it's time to have babies.
The hens she raised the past few times also are constantly broody. They're half BLRW (mama and the incredible proven broody who I can convince to set), and half Buff Brahma bantam.
My BLRW mama also accepted and raised chicks after only five days of being broody. She's the best.

 

[Mrs. K]

Mrs. Feathers raised chicks for me last summer after being broody a week. I have three current hens that went broody last summer, but Mrs. Feathers is the biggest. I do agree that hen raised chicks seem to be a bit more likely to go broody themselves.

So when you let her live in there a few days - did you let her out at all? Did you provide food and water in there, or just let her eat when you let her out. I did have that set up, a small dog crate, a towel over it, in a dark coop. Maybe I just did not stick to it long enough. I may ty and pen her up again.

Or did you just leave her in the darkened coop? So she can get off the nest, and walk around?

Mrs K

 

[Mrs. K]

ok - I have been pretty sure for quite a while that I had a hidden nest. My egg count was way off...but it was spring, things were just getting started, the weather has been miserable, yada, yada, yada. I looked in previous spots - nothing...but no eggs either.

Today - beautiful day... hung out with the birds, for a bit of sunshine, coffee and spring...sure enough, the pullet slipped in ...and disappeared.

I have a landing shelf, just below my nests, and some stuff stored underneath that... in a slit not 5 inches wide, she disappeared, and then I heard eggs rolling. A dozen eggs.

My point for the day - 12 eggs - in a dark corner- hidden away...yeah if anyone was inclined to go broody - they would have been there.

I got that closed up, and sat there in the sunshine to make sure they could not get back in there, and boy were several of them miffed, they tried and tried, went back to the old nests, didn't like them, clucked and carried on. Went out, back in, try again, chatter, chatter. A few feathers pulled, more chatter.

When I left three were in the proper nest boxes. Oh what a hobby.

Mrs K