My hen will not leave her nest (of 1 fake egg)

[big bouncer]

All chickens stay broody for a different amount of time , some longer than others. She will eventually give up and leave the box when she is ready.so there is nothing to worry about.Have you tried blocking of the nesting box ? Try putting her water and feeder close to the box so she doesn't feel like she has to fully leave her 'nest':yiipchick  

She is a skiddish hen, and she gets poopy butt all the time. And we have other chicks growing to take her place... our current solution is to keep picking her up out of box and putting her with her normal rooster. Sound good?

 

[Teila]

Hi there big bouncer

If you are not going to give the hen fertile eggs to hatch, I definitely recommend breaking her from her broodiness for a couple of reasons:

1. Determined broodies will sometimes continue to sit way past 3 weeks and because they are not eating or drinking as much as usual, this can be detrimental to their overall health and condition. Some have been known to starve to death.

2. A nice, warm, stationary broody sitting on a nest is an open invitation to lice and mites.

I have found that continually removing broodies from the nest box rarely works and if it does, it takes a long time. Blocking her from the nest box can be effective but it can take a while to break her using this method. Also, both of these are a pain for you because you have to keep moving her or providing access for those hens who actually do need to lay.

I have found the quickest and easiest method of breaking a broody to be the crate method.

Basically, the broody is in a crate, raised slightly off the ground to allow air flow and cool those hormones down.

In the crate she has food, water and a roost, but nowhere to get comfortable as such. Some people leave their broody in the crate 24/7 but I usually just leave mine in there during the day then pop her on the roost with her flock mates overnight; ensuring I am up early and put her back in the crate before she can get to a nest in the morning.

Depending on the determination of the broody, she may need to be in the crate for anywhere from 2 to 4 or 5 days, but usually just 2-3 at most.

A benefit of breaking her quickly is that she will return to laying eggs sooner than if the process is dragged out over weeks.

 

[big bouncer]

And how do we introduce our 1 month old chicks to the big chickens? And when buffet is put down she fluffs all up and spreads wings and runs around and eats a lot and makes a big poop and then runs back in

 

[big bouncer]

We h

Hi there big bouncer

If you are not going to give the hen fertile eggs to hatch, I definitely recommend breaking her from her broodiness for a couple of reasons:

1. Determined broodies will sometimes continue to sit way past 3 weeks and because they are not eating or drinking as much as usual, this can be detrimental to their overall health and condition.  Some have been known to starve to death.

2. A nice, warm, stationary broody sitting on a nest is an open invitation to lice and mites.

I have found that continually removing broodies from the nest box rarely works and if it does, it takes a long time.  Blocking her from the nest box can be effective but it can take a while to break her using this method.  Also, both of these are a pain for you because you have to keep moving her or providing access for those hens who actually do need to lay.

I have found the quickest and easiest method of breaking a broody to be the crate method.

Basically, the broody is in a crate, raised slightly off the ground to allow air flow and cool those hormones down.

In the crate she has food, water and a roost, but nowhere to get comfortable as such.  Some people leave their broody in the crate 24/7 but I usually just leave mine in there during the day then pop her on the roost with her flock mates overnight; ensuring I am up early and put her back in the crate before she can get to a nest in the morning.

Depending on the determination of the broody, she may need to be in the crate for anywhere from 2 to 4 or 5 days, but usually just 2-3 at most.

A benefit of breaking her quickly is that she will return to laying eggs sooner than if the process is dragged out over weeks.

.
We do have another nest of actually eggs that TWO DIFFERENT hens have been laying eggs in. Inside a bag of peat moss that they pecked open which we moved into coop and took out all the eggs. It has been refilled with eggs courtesy of Babette the broody and juanita the odd. We might just put a couple of those in buffet's box of stupidity haha

 

[Teila]

We h
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We do have another nest of actually eggs that TWO DIFFERENT hens have been laying eggs in. Inside a bag of peat moss that they pecked open which we moved into coop and took out all the eggs. It has been refilled with eggs courtesy of Babette the broody and juanita the odd. We might just put a couple of those in buffet's box of stupidity haha

Yeah, if you have fertile eggs and the room for the chicks, why not give her a couple? She would probably be very happy about that.

With integrating youngsters to a flock, I usually wait until they are 10-12 weeks old and use the ‘look but not touch’ method of integration using wire or a crate etc so that they can get used to each other without the threat of injury. I keep them separated in this way for at least a week.

Does your flock free range?

I let the existing flock out for a free range while the newbies are locked in the coop and run. This gives the newbies the opportunity to explore and feel comfortable in what will be their new home without the threat of being picked on and also learn where all the good hiding spots are.

Same with free range, but reversed; I let the newbies wander around the garden while the existing flock are locked in. Granted, the existing flock have a good whinge about this but again, it gives the newbies chance to explore, get settled and find all the good hiding spots without being picked on.

I find that free ranging is a good opportunity to let everyone get to know each other .. space is a great tool when integrating.

I also find that a water pistol comes in handy .. it is amazing how a squirt of water in front of them can cause a chicken to change her mind about picking on someone

There will probably still be bickering while the pecking order reestablishes itself when they are integrated, but it should not be quite as brutal.

Also, when they are integrated into the run and coop, for a couple of months I ensure that there is more than one source of water and food, just in case the newbies are being bullied away from either.

 

[big bouncer]

Does your flock free range?

I let the existing flock out for a free range while the newbies are locked in the coop and run.  This gives the newbies the opportunity to explore and feel comfortable in what will be their new home without the threat of being picked on and also learn where all the good hiding spots are.

Same with free range, but reversed;  I let the newbies wander around the garden while the existing flock are locked in.  Granted, the existing flock have a good whinge about this but again, it gives the newbies chance to explore, get settled and find all the good hiding spots without being picked on.

I find that free ranging is a good opportunity to let everyone get to know each other .. space is a great tool when integrating.

I also find that a water pistol comes in handy .. it is amazing how a squirt of water in front of them can cause a chicken to change her mind about picking on someone

There will probably still be bickering while the pecking order reestablishes itself when they are integrated, but it should not be quite as brutal.

Also, when they are integrated into the run and coop, for a couple of months I ensure that there is more than one source of water and food, just in case the newbies are being bullied away from either.

 

[big bouncer]

Yes they free range, but we have no run. We also have some pesky hawks. (2 red tails and some cooper's that migrate around but come in hunting groups of 4-13) don't tell anyone but for the cooper's i am buying a little reflective metal launcher in a 12 gauge variant. Nothing scares them away. Afraid they will take our little ones. Hopefully Bouncer will recognize his offspring and defend with his size as he is bigger than all the hawks. (Jersey giant roo) the chicks and hens have met a bit. We put the chicks in garage across from coop and put up a little chicken wire temporary fence and they looked at each other. Any tips on getting the chickens to know what chicks are theirs? Can they tell?

 

[big bouncer]

Do the hawks actually dodge the pellets or do they just swerve from reaction?

 

[Janice123456]

Your comment about how to integrate young chicken's in with the established flock is pretty much how I did mine. Free ranging separately and allowing the Young chicks to explore the coop and run by them self without the older chickens in the flock being there worked really well. I have a very big chicken coop. It's like a small Barn. I had enough room to make a separate area for my small chicks to grow up in the barn/coop .They could see the big chickens. It was right around the 12 to 16 weeks where I started putting them in together for a few hours every day to see if they would get along. After the chicks got in with the flock during the day I allowed them to roost in their area where they grew up for about another 2 to 3 weeks. Then when they were probably about 16 to 18 weeks I closed the door to the area where they were roosting and I put them right on the roost with the older chickens the established flock and there was some jostling on the roost I watched them for a few nights to see how things were and it took a little while for them to get along. The chicks are now 8 months old and they tend to run together when they free range and the older chickens stick together. But they Roost together at night peacefully. One of the older chickens will occasionally chase the chicks around. They've learned to run really fast to get away from her. Overall I think the most helpful thing integrating chicks into a flock was having that separate area in the shed where they could grow up seeing the older chickens in it. It was nice because it was safe in their own little spot and I didn't have to worry about anything going after them. The other thing I make sure is there was plenty of food stations and 3 areas where they could get their water. This way the older chickens could not keep the chicks away from water or food. Now that winter is here I have 2 heated water buckets and three feeding stations. To keep the boredom away I throw sunflower seeds in various areas on the run and coop during the day and they also get plenty of kale collard greens and some of my kitchen leftovers to keep them busy. When it's warm they get outside to free range but I have to be there to watch them because we have Hawks locally. They have leaves to dig in compost piles and my collard greens that are still standing. I did find out one of their favorite treats is oatmeal. So they get some oatmeal in the winter time nice and warm. This seems to work out pretty well they get a little free ranging the little chicken food and a little kitchen treats and nobody fights over food. They do get their treats in three dishes and I also disperse the greens all over the Run so there is nobody hogging the whole bunch. It seems so it worked out pretty well.
Boy would I love to be able to use a pellet launcher to get rid of hawks I live in a neighborhood where houses are pretty close together and it probably wouldn't be a good thing to do.

 

[big bouncer]

Your comment about how to integrate young chicken's in with the established flock is pretty much how I did mine. Free ranging separately and allowing the Young chicks to explore the coop and run by them self without the older chickens in the flock being there worked really well. I have a very big chicken coop. It's like a small Barn. I had enough room to make a separate area for my small chicks to grow up in the barn/coop .They could see the big chickens. It was right around the 12 to 16 weeks where I started putting them in together for a few hours every day to see if they would get along. After the chicks got in with the flock during the day I allowed them to roost in their area where they grew
Boy would I love to be able to use a pellet launcher to get rid of hawks I live in a neighborhood where houses are pretty close together and it probably wouldn't be a good thing to do.

Shooting things at hawks is illegal even in the country... i thought it was a duck