My First BROODY! Need advice!

[stargazingmommy]

I have a broody. She was sitting on screws and power tools and just about took my hand off when I had to remove my drill from her tender loving care.
This is her 2nd broody. It's so much worse than the first time.
I've relocated her many times.
I've dumped her in a half iced over duck pool(honestly i didn't mean to).
I locked her in the coop so she couldn't get to her nest(but apparently I didnt close the coop door all the way and she found her way back to the metal.

I'm trying to decide if i want to give her a duck egg to sit, or slip a chick under her. It's older, like 3 weeks, but it's a banty so pretty small.
dunno yet

 

[chic-a-deee]

Well unfortunately no fluffy butts to adore. Miss broody got off her eggs & stayed off. They were ice cold when I checked.
Thats 5 chicks. I gave mamma hen mash, with vitamins in. Put wormer in the water so she didnt have to compete with parasites. Even now she has picked up really well. So, I think I must have really cheesed her off to abandon her eggs. Im glad shes off them cos even the mites were leaving her weakened body.
There will be a next time for sure.....Rooster is in da house. Thanks for all the replies & for sharing experiences....it really helps.
Silly hen only had 3 days to go before the eggs hatched anyway..

But like I said.....Im glad shes ok.

 

[SilkieCrazy123]

i wish i could do the same,every time ive had a rooster, they dont just cock-a -doodle in the morning, and at night, they do it about every 5 minutes.Plus, my room is right next to the garage.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Sorry,I missed a page, that's too bad but you'll know what to do next time.

 

[chic-a-deee]

OK...now I have another hen gone broody. She has been sitting way over 21 days.... the eggs are viable (I candled) & I put all the viable eggs back in the nest.
So, I went to check under her yesterday & found one squashed-flat chick. It may have been 1 or 2 days old. It is freezing cold here in Australia as well, so it may have
froze to death?? BUT I didnt hear anything?? No peeping?? No egg shells either?? So Im wondering if the mumma hen is a bit dumb when it comes to raising babies?
The eggs will most likely hatch at different times. The other hens lay in the same nest when mumma hen gets off, so I do have to check under the mumma hen every few
days. We were very disappointed. How can we avoid this?

 

[bobbieschicks]

OK...now I have another hen gone broody. She has been sitting way over 21 days.... the eggs are viable (I candled) & I put all the viable eggs back in the nest.
So, I went to check under her yesterday & found one squashed-flat chick. It may have been 1 or 2 days old. It is freezing cold here in Australia as well, so it may have
froze to death?? BUT I didnt hear anything?? No peeping?? No egg shells either?? So Im wondering if the mumma hen is a bit dumb when it comes to raising babies?
The eggs will most likely hatch at different times. The other hens lay in the same nest when mumma hen gets off, so I do have to check under the mumma hen every few
days. We were very disappointed. How can we avoid this?

Sorry about your bad experience with a broody. Some first time broodies don't take very good care of their babies or eggs, it's best to not let them have more then a second chance to be a good momma. Although sometimes they will learn from their experiences, I'm personally just not willing to let them continue their learning process at the loss of so many chicks.

Using a broody for me has worked great, I've had two first time pullets go broody this year - one has done it twice so far - and both experiences have been very positive. The only hard part for me was letting the broodies merge the babies into the flock - so far everyone has gotten along with a few squabbles and pecks. I have a mixed flock of large fowl and bantams of various ages, the oldest pullet is almost a year old.

I think the only real way to truly avoid a squished chick is hatch it in an incubator and brood it in a brooder by itself. Otherwise, there are so many variables with broody hatching that you just have to be willing to let happen what happens even if it's not a positive outcome.

In case it's someone else interferring with the hatch, you can try to control the environment by separating your broody from the flock. Try putting her into a small wire enclosure - like a dog crate - and providing her food/water in there up until the 3rd day after hatching. If it's cold you will want to make sure to check on the eggs and broody more often, a little cooling off isn't a problem, but a lot of cooling can be deadly to the developing chick.

Hope things go better for you. You can join our conversation on the broody hen hatch along and ask this same question there for more suggestions.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-and-informational-thread/11320#post_9210490

 

[chic-a-deee]

Thanks Bobbieschicks.

The same broody pecked & broke another egg & the chick may have been about 18days old. There was blood in the air sac, so I dont know what she
was thinking? This hen was the one I thought would be the better mamma cos of her gentle nature. So we were a tad disappointed with her.
I purchased a chick anyway....just one...lol. Its in the brooder right now & man it wants company. Its chirping its head off.....very loud.
I have 3 daughters that will keep it company anyway. But thanks for your links etc....all hens at the moment arent broody. So we are back to getting
eggs for breakfast

Thanks ^^

 

[bobbieschicks]

Thanks Bobbieschicks.

The same broody pecked & broke another egg & the chick may have been about 18days old.  There was blood in the air sac, so I dont know what she
was thinking?  This hen was the one I thought would be the better mamma cos of her gentle nature.  So we were a tad disappointed with her.
I purchased a chick anyway....just one...lol.  Its in the brooder right now & man it wants company. Its chirping its head off.....very loud.
I have 3 daughters that will keep it company anyway. But thanks for your links etc....all hens at the moment arent broody.  So we are back to getting
eggs for breakfast 

Thanks ^^

Awh. You could give it a little mirror to look in and a stuffed toy to snuggle with and that might help reduce its chirping. Also use a red heat lamp to help it sleep better.

 

[chic-a-deee]

Yeah, we got a lamp. Ended up putting her/him in the garage with the roo ( in a separate brooder!)

She/he is about 14weeks old now & the others are not tolerating her/him at all....she is in a separate part of the pen in full view of the others so she learns
her chickenly ways. I let her out with them while they are free ranging, but if Im not there they chase her & peck her.
I will keep it up for a while...not much more I can do.