More broody questions

[Chicken poppy]

Hi! Yeah. Okay. This is my last thread on broodies i PROMISE. I always loose the old broody threads and forget i had old ones, but i’ll stop after this, promise!

Anyway. I have some questions:

1. Complicated and long, stay with me: She has been broody 1 day longer than the eggs (we got the eggs at 8:00 at night the next day, so technically, 2 days.) so if you don’t count the day of her being on them 8:00 at night til now, it would be 7 days on the eggs, 8 tomorrow. If you do count it, it would be 8 days, 9 tomorrow. My question here is will she leave the nest? Asking because she went broody in the basement, on a chair! (Tall chair, to.) The chicks would fall off the chair, also, no way im letting her stay in a basement and let the little chicks wander down there. Its just weird and sad thats their first view of life. So i have to move her off the chair. I already moved the chair because of electrical people, and moved it to a different part of the basement room, and she was fine. However this time i would be moving her completely to a new nest. And she ONLY lays her eggs in the basement! Thats the pickle im having. I would probably just move her to a crate outdoors, and when the chicks hatch just open the crate, or keep the crate indoors and when they hatch move her outside!

^TL;DR: Will she most likely move if i move her off the chair she lays eggs in, and ONLY lays her eggs in, into a crate?

2. During this whole time, she has only pooped once! I really don’t think shes eating enough. Is this normal? It was massive, smelly, and just, yuck. But still, o feel like thats not even enough.

3. When should i candle? I don’t wanna bother her to much sense i would be moving her aswell, so any thoughts on that is appreciated!

4. Whats the odds of her being mean to chicks, or abandoning the nest?
Extra information: Shes some EE cross i guess, and shes large. Larger then standard anyway. Shes on super tiny Japanese bantam and Sebright eggs. I don’t know her exact size though, she lays about 2.30 OZ eggs.

I don’t expect anyone to answer all this, so so sorry its long! I just had to get it off my chest and im just curious if anyone has the answers to even just a few of these. Thanks so much in advance!

 

[azygous]

All your threads that you've ever made are all listed on your profile page. Just click on your user name and it takes you there. Then look for the "Find all threads" and click on it. There are all your threads, every single one.

 

[azygous]

The one thing about broodies is that they are all different in their own ways and unpredictable. So you, who know this hen, won't be able to predict what she will do, and we, who don't know her, can't possibly guess what she'll do.

Therefore, you need to make a decision about what is best for the hen and her chicks regardless of what you are worried she will do.

Moving her now before the chicks hatch would be less disruptive than after the chicks are here. Move her and hope for the best.

As far as eating and pooping, I've had broodies that would never get off the nest if I left them to decide for themselves. I choose the warmest part of the day and I haul the hen off the broody nest to eat, poop and dust bathe. By doing it during the warmest part of the day, she will be less likely to race right back to the nest for fear the eggs will get cold. Broodies know how to judge this, and they usually time getting off the nest with the warm part of the day.

 

[Chicken poppy]

The one thing about broodies is that they are all different in their own ways and unpredictable. So you, who know this hen, won't be able to predict what she will do, and we, who don't know her, can't possibly guess what she'll do.

Therefore, you need to make a decision about what is best for the hen and her chicks regardless of what you are worried she will do.

Moving her now before the chicks hatch would be less disruptive than after the chicks are here. Move her and hope for the best.

As far as eating and pooping, I've had broodies that would never get off the nest if I left them to decide for themselves. I choose the warmest part of the day and I haul the hen off the broody nest to eat, poop and dust bathe. By doing it during the warmest part of the day, she will be less likely to race right back to the nest for fear the eggs will get cold. Broodies know how to judge this, and they usually time getting off the nest with the warm part of the day.

I figured so, i was just hoping that it might be slightly predictable based off the breed and what she has done so far.

Would it be bad to leave her? Or should i just move her off? Im just worried she will abandon it as i have no incubator.

Thanks!

 

[Chicken poppy]

All your threads that you've ever made are all listed on your profile page. Just click on your user name and it takes you there. Then look for the "Find all threads" and click on it. There are all your threads, every single one.

Thank you!

 

[azygous]

You know your hen better than anyone, so this has to be your call.

Broodies are not very fussy about their nest being in a convenient place, but they do want the nest to be safe from anything that would hurt the chicks. So, let that be your criteria. If you feel she would be happier in the basement, then leave her there. Maybe stack some guard rails around the chair or make another nest on the floor and remove the chair from the room. Make the room safe for chicks to run around, and they should all be fine. When the chicks are a week or so old, the hen may be interested in moving them back with the flock.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

If it were me, I'd leave her be - but once they hatch, move her and babies to a crate or an enclosure (inside or out). Can you post a picture of her chair and environment? It would help for better advice. Do you have a run and coop with other chickens where they can go after hatch?

I have a separate "broody hut" where I place a broody hen with her eggs, inside a wooden nest box. I put a milk crate on its side facing the nest box, lay a couple of bricks on top of it, and trap her with the eggs so she can't abandon them right away. If she wants to sit down, she must sit on those eggs. Food and water go into the milk crate. After a couple of days, she no longer remembers where she was when she laid those eggs, and is happy and content to stay in her box. I remove the milk crate, and all is usually well until hatch. Only once has it failed, and that hen was angry at being moved. She crushed every single egg.

There's no way to know how she'll react to the move. If you feel you MUST move her, then trap her in a nest box like my setup until you're sure she'll stay there. As for being mean to the chicks, not likely, as long as she gets to sit them. But there's no way to tell until the magic date.

The poop you described and her appetite are absolutely normal. Broody hens will eat and drink very little for the 3 weeks they're sitting; and they'll only poop every few days, and then it's a big stinking blob.

As for candling eggs, it's good to do it anytime after 7 days. I usually do it at 7 days and 14 days just to check for duds or casualties.

FYI, I often steal the newly hatched chicks and raise them separately in a brooder. I put broody momma back in with her friends, and she quickly forgets the babies. She's more interested in getting a dust bath, catching up on gossip, and sleeping on a regular roost (aahhh the joy of your own bed!) I have had MUCH better survival rates by doing it this way. Then I integrate the chicks with the flock when they're about 6-7 weeks old. It's not nature's way, but it's less complicated for me with our setup.

Good luck!!!

 

[Chicken poppy]

If it were me, I'd leave her be - but once they hatch, move her and babies to a crate or an enclosure (inside or out). Can you post a picture of her chair and environment? It would help for better advice. Do you have a run and coop with other chickens where they can go after hatch?

I have a separate "broody hut" where I place a broody hen with her eggs, inside a wooden nest box. I put a milk crate on its side facing the nest box, lay a couple of bricks on top of it, and trap her with the eggs so she can't abandon them right away. If she wants to sit down, she must sit on those eggs. Food and water go into the milk crate. After a couple of days, she no longer remembers where she was when she laid those eggs, and is happy and content to stay in her box. I remove the milk crate, and all is usually well until hatch. Only once has it failed, and that hen was angry at being moved. She crushed every single egg.

There's no way to know how she'll react to the move. If you feel you MUST move her, then trap her in a nest box like my setup until you're sure she'll stay there. As for being mean to the chicks, not likely, as long as she gets to sit them. But there's no way to tell until the magic date.

The poop you described and her appetite are absolutely normal. Broody hens will eat and drink very little for the 3 weeks they're sitting; and they'll only poop every few days, and then it's a big stinking blob.

As for candling eggs, it's good to do it anytime after 7 days. I usually do it at 7 days and 14 days just to check for duds or casualties.

FYI, I often steal the newly hatched chicks and raise them separately in a brooder. I put broody momma back in with her friends, and she quickly forgets the babies. She's more interested in getting a dust bath, catching up on gossip, and sleeping on a regular roost (aahhh the joy of your own bed!) I have had MUCH better survival rates by doing it this way. Then I integrate the chicks with the flock when they're about 6-7 weeks old. It's not nature's way, but it's less complicated for me with our setup.

Good luck!!!

Okay! Thank you so much. I’ll get a picture of her setup.

Yes, i do. I have 2 other coop options that are her size. I have one huge coop, about the size of the garage i think. And she is friends with the chickens in there. She loves Rizo, but does not like Emily. (Just the pecking order i guess, they all have a triangle. Isbe hates Emily, Emily hates Rizo, Rizo is above Isbe. Though Rizo is the kindest and almost never, ever, ever bites another chicken. Its very rare) The problem with the huge coop: Its just one huge nesting box, no grass. I do have a inclosed yard though that she could wander.

Super glad about the poop! I was worried because some things were saying that they poop every few hours.

Thanks again!

 

[Chicken poppy]

You know your hen better than anyone, so this has to be your call.

Broodies are not very fussy about their nest being in a convenient place, but they do want the nest to be safe from anything that would hurt the chicks. So, let that be your criteria. If you feel she would be happier in the basement, then leave her there. Maybe stack some guard rails around the chair or make another nest on the floor and remove the chair from the room. Make the room safe for chicks to run around, and they should all be fine. When the chicks are a week or so old, the hen may be interested in moving them back with the flock.

Thank you! I think she would prefer the basement. I’ll probably leave her there til they hatch, or a while after they do.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Will she mix in the chicks by herself? I feel like Rizo and Isbe wouldn’t be great with baby chicks if she didn’t.