Managing a broody hen?

[ironsightfarm]

IMO less stressful to break them if you're not going to hatch. Broodies can be behavioral nightmares for the rest of the flock, causing a lot of unrest. And for the broody herself, she'll put stress on her body in order to sit long enough to hatch, so I see no reason to do that to a hen when babies won't be forthcoming.

IF you're going to hatch, make sure to have a plans, plans, plans - if the mama doesn't take care of the chicks, are you prepared to brood them yourself? Do you have room for more chickens? What will you do with males?

We are able to brood if needed, have the room, and a plan for any cockrels - we've actually been waiting for a few pullets from the friend that would give us eggs, so I suppose we're just eliminating the middle man My biggest concern is something happening and her choosing to not sit on the eggs...

I've gotten a lot of good advice (as always!) - my biggest goal is to cause the least amount of stress for everyone involved, and I have a few options to do that now!

 

[aart]

My biggest concern is something happening and her choosing to not sit on the eggs...

If your hen is actually broody, and you want her to hatch some eggs, stop taking her out of the nest. Broody jail is for broodies you want to break of their broodiness.

Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.


When I have a broody I wait until she's been in the nest most the day and all night for 2-3 days...along with those other signs I posted.

Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.
Then I give her fresh fertile eggs and mark the calendar.

I like them separated by wire from the flock, it's just easier all around.
No having to mark eggs and remove any additions daily, no taking up a laying nest, no going back to the wrong nest after the daily constitutional.

I remove barrier about one week after hatch. The chicks are usually safe it's the broody who has to 'fight' her way back into the pecking order...which can be quick or take a few days.

Lots of space helps for re-integration.

 

[ironsightfarm]

Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

This describes her perfectly, minus the screeching pancake part hahaha

She's quiet on the nest, and allows me to handle her without issue. She's unbothered by the other flock members and they've been going about their business as usual.

I don't have my heart set on hatching eggs by any means, so that doesn't need to be the end goal! Having never dealt with a broody before, I've been unsure of how this all plays out - will it just go away on it's own, will the broodiness need to be "broken", or is the best option giving her eggs? For some reason this post was split into two postings, but on both threads I've gotten really great advice. As I expected, everyone has a different method that works best for them, so it sounds like it's going to be a matter of personal preference and how the broodiness is effecting both the hen and the flock?

 

[HERSHORTNESS]

I have a small separate run/coop that I will put my broodies in I want to break. They don't like the coop so they just roost outside. It takes just a few days from being separated from the nests. I cant block off my nesting boxes because i have 13 hens. But I've had 4 go broody at the same time.

 

[aart]

For some reason this post was split into two postings, but on both threads I've gotten really great advice.

You started two separate threads and they were merged into one.

 

[TwoShepherds]

If you want chicks and have the space and a plan for the males, it might be fun to let her hatch some. If chicks would be a hassle for you, why not just put her in broody jail? My silver-gray dorking has gone broody three times this summer. I won't have fertile eggs until my cockerel is older, and so it seems kinder to break her than to let her sit endlessly on eggs that won't hatch. Also she doesn't eat or drink well when she's broody. Right now, broody jail (dog crate) seems like the best choice. I'm always surprised by how quickly it works. Next year I may try letting her hatch some.

 

[ironsightfarm]

You started two separate threads and they were merged into one.

Not sure how that happened - I saw that they were merged into one earlier today

 

[ironsightfarm]

it seems kinder to break her than to let her sit endlessly on eggs that won't hatch

I never thought of it this way, just that being in "jail" would be a more stressful solution to a natural instinct - thank you for this perspective!

 

[JaeG]

If you want chicks and have the space and a plan for the males, it might be fun to let her hatch some. If chicks would be a hassle for you, why not just put her in broody jail? My silver-gray dorking has gone broody three times this summer. I won't have fertile eggs until my cockerel is older, and so it seems kinder to break her than to let her sit endlessly on eggs that won't hatch. Also she doesn't eat or drink well when she's broody. Right now, broody jail (dog crate) seems like the best choice. I'm always surprised by how quickly it works. Next year I may try letting her hatch some.

Before going broody they grow an incredible fat layer and that's what keeps them going while they sit. This thread is from the Meat bird forum so don't look if you are squeamish, but it does show how much fat they lay down to support themselves through being broody:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/butchered-first-chicken-is-this-normal.1382633/

I was amazed when I saw it. But as another member pointed out it can be a problem in some birds if they start to lay again before using up that fat as it can obstruct the passing of an egg.