My First BROODY! Need advice!

[chic-a-deee]

I have just discovered one of my hens has gone broodie....
At first, we were missing one hen. Then discovered she was sitting on the nest, ALL DAY!!!

When we opened up the lid, she made the cutest little noises, & fluffed right out. I patted her for a little while,
& she didnt attack me at all, but my hens are used to being handled. I lifted her up to check underneath & YUP
she was sitting on them. We have 3 fake eggs, they are sort of ceramic, so when shes on them they heat up
like real ones (I originally got them for decorative purposes).

So, I would like one more chook, & one from our cute silky roo, would be a bonus. So what Ive done is left one
real egg in there to develope.....one major drawback is that I cant control the sex of the chook, so here's hoping
it wont be a roo. Ive put big blue crosses on all the eggs that have to be left alone (including the fake ones) for my
& my kids benefit of not picking up a half developed chick egg.

Now we just wait & see if that egg is also a fertilized one. Rocky goes about his manly business with the hens,
but its not very frequent. And of course Im not there to see it all the time lol.

Im sorry that alot of hens go crazy-broody & peck their carers, but Im so greatful my girl Daisy is happy for me to
check in on her & give her a pat. We will see how she is once she has a chick to look after 0.o

 

[chic-a-deee]

We are not allowed Roosters here either, but my silky roo was so gorgeous I had to have him (he's a silky & I got him from the animal welfare)
So what did I do??
I remodelled an old rabbit hutch & put it in the garage. Just before the sun goes down, I carry him into the garage to his cage. It has a perch in
it for him to roost. Works a treat. In the morning u can hardly hear him crowing & he's pretty loud. Ive had no complaints from the neighbours
so we are happy for the moment. Bearing in mind the neighbourhood itself is not a nice one, I think Im pretty lucky to be complaint free atm.

Good luck with it all. We were also lucky that our roo was very placid. He let u pick him up, pat him, & hold him on ur lap & falls alseep there.
We take him round to our local school for a show & tell session with my kids...he's such fun.

 

[QualityPolish]

Just about to say that Silkie Chickens can't count, they sit there until they hatch. If they could count they wouldn't be sitting there for eternity trying to hatch them. Let her sit for a few more days then just slip them under her at night.

 

[Looking4ewes]

Hi Folks,

I've been reading this thread with interest as I have my first broody hen right now. Luckily, I have some meat chicks coming next week, maybe I can slip her a couple? If so, what then? How do the chicks get to the feed and water? Stupid question, but I don't know how to set it up for success.

Thanks in advance,

 

[SilkieCrazy123]

In my experiance, the mother(my silkie) always shows them to the food and water, if you want to make sure everything goes well, do it yourself.

 

[raymondjames]

You need to give her 2-3 weeks of broodiness so she won't be suspicious. "Graft" chicks only at night. Also know that it is not good to graft after other chicks are hatch(ed/ing) because hens have been known to kill intruder chicks, but anything is possible.Watch carefully and be ready to interfere if things get intense. Some chicks will ignore their foster hen and leave her . It's probably a 60-40 70-30 chance that she'll accept them, so good outlook.

 

[SilkieCrazy123]

well, everybody has their own opinion, I myself would never be able to stand waiting so long. I would moniter the hen the next morning to see what she does with the chicks. And, i dont think a chicken could be suspicoius. She would be way too happy with her chicks.

 

[raymondjames]

Okay. Honestly, haven't tried it, but have heard numerous successes and occasional fatalities. Here's the broody article that grafted chicks (I heard other places that it is best to wait 2-3 wks).

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/broody-hens-1.html

 

[SilkieCrazy123]

that was an awesome article. So much info! Thanks a lot for posting the link.

 

[chic-a-deee]

I have had a broodie hen for about 6 days now. She sits in the nesting box & doesnt move. I havent seen her get out. I tried to tempt her with her favourite...grass. Picked a bit of grass & waved it in front of her & she didnt even flinch. 0.o I was surprised. They usually go bananas over grass. When I lift the nesting box lid, she makes a funny little noise (I think its cute) & then fluffs out all her feathers like a big FAT ball. She lets me stroke her & look under her at the eggs. She has two under her & 3 fake eggs. SOooo we do hava roo so there is a good chance their could be chicks. One thing tho, she doesnt seem to be getting up & eating.....grant it Im not watching her 24/7, but I see no sign of her when I peek outside. I did lift her up 2 days ago & put her on the ground, she ate hungrily & drank quickly. That looked like she was really hungry & thirsty. I have left a little plate of food & drink in front of her (up in the nesting box), so maybe she will have a drink. The other hens cant get into lay, so there hasnt been any eggs for 3 days. Im worried now about them becoming egg-bound?? BUTT, I got the old doghouse, & put it up on a sidetable in the run area, with a tray & straw....and YAY, someone was smart enough to lay an egg in there. So miss Broodie can have the entire nest box area to herself & the others get to go in the doghouse LOL

Do I have to worry about miss Broodie's welfare as far as eating & drinking is concerned??? I am lucky that she doesnt attack me when I go & check on her, I give her a lovely long pat. Such a cute little mama.