My first broody hen

[littleprairieheartsfarm]

She's been sitting a little over 24 hours now.

I had no idea that the hens can hold sperm for two weeks! Wow. I guess I learn something new every day!

Then yes her eggs will be very much fertile right now, but since she is broody she shouldn’t be laying anymore. Do you have any other hens? They may lay in her nest or she will move to sit on the eggs that are laid elsewhere.

If you want to break her, then you need to use a wire kennel that is elevated with no bedding or anything for her to nest down in. The cool air on their bellies helps break the hormones telling her to set.

 

[nchls school]

It's been about 20 degrees F (-6 celcius). I have a heat lamp in the coop, but not sure that would be enough for chicks.

What if I brought the chicks inside after they hatch?

Another question I have is so right now she's sitting on an empty nest. How are any of the eggs she lays in the nest going to be fertile if she never leaves?

If a hen is brooding on a empty nest she will not lay any eggs while she is broody. You would have to give her fertile eggs to brood. Or am I missing something. I have not read all the posts on this subject

 

[Matilda Belle]

So just for clarification:

1. Broody hens don't lay any eggs when they are broody (even if on an empty nest).

2. When a rooster fertilizes the hen, his sperm will be inside the hen for up to 30 days.

Is this correct?

 

[nchls school]

Yes to both questions.

 

[aart]

Don't hatch in frigid temps....don't bring a broody inside to do so.
If she's only been sitting 24 hours, might be able to break her by tossing her out of nest every time you see her in there.

Are you sure she broody?
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, doesn't she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck 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.



If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.
My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.
Chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

 

[Cryss]

They can't be fertile if she's not getting out of the nest to make the eggs fertile.

Are you saying she's sitting on an empty nest? Not sure why you would want her to leave a nest that has eggs in it if you want her to hatch them. Once eggs are laid either they are fertile or they aren't. If it's an empty nest you need to break her now or she'll keep trying to break invisible eggs and could die of starvation.
Another thought. Are you sure she's broody? Could she be ill? If there are no eggs in the nest take her out like @aart described to see how she reacts.

 

[Cryss]

Oh wait! I'm not sure but I think I just figured out what you mean about not getting out of the nest to make the eggs fertile.
Are you thinking that now that she is broody she is ready for a rooster to fertilize her? I'm imagining you are equating it to like a dog in heat will accept a male dog breeding her.
Chickens aren't mammals. They reproduce a bit differently. A rooster can breed a hen every day, several times a day even. But she won't be broody. She will simply lay the eggs for you to collect and eat. If she were to go broody she actually would STOP laying eggs. Going broody doesn't mean she wants to be bred. It means she wants to sit on eggs that have already been laid. A broody hen will not want to be bred, wants nothing to do with a rooster. All she wants is to sit on eggs. She does not need to be broody to be fertilized. Being broody will stop her from wanting to be with a rooster.
Or am I still not understanding your concern?

 

[Matilda Belle]

She could die of starvation?

 

[sylviethecochin]

She could die of starvation?

Yes. Hens will sometimes brood themselves to death on nests. They don't count days and think, "oh, my chicks were due two days ago. They didn't hatch. Better give this up as a loss." So they keep setting, and eventually, they run out of resources. Most will quit before that happens. Some won't.

 

[Matilda Belle]

Yes. Hens will sometimes brood themselves to death on nests. They don't count days and think, "oh, my chicks were due two days ago. They didn't hatch. Better give this up as a loss." So they keep setting, and eventually, they run out of resources. Most will quit before that happens. Some won't.

Please tell me that's a rare occurrence. Now I'm worried.