Natural breeding thread

[Shadrach]

I've seen this a lot over the years of course with different roos and hens. I've seen Killay doing it with several hens since Christmas for example. But none of them have gone broody, yet. What sort of time frame do you have in mind?

I don't really have a time frame because I don't understand enough about how it works. One notices something and after a few more times of seeing the same thing one can't help wondering what it means and how it works.

 

[fluffycrow]

no chick here has been harmed by another bird here

This is where we might have had slightly different experiences, although I can’t be sure, and probably will never know, unless the same happens this year.

You might remember the trouble Galadriel (the Brahma cross) hen had last year, with one chick hatching with (what was probably) their intestines outside their body, and passing shortly after.

While I can’t know for sure, three are the most probable explanations as to why that happened: The chick could have been that way on its own, through some kind of developmental or genetic issue. As a first time broody, and still a pullet (at the time), mum was too overzealous and assisted the chick in hatching too early, causing the problem. What I consider to be most likely, however, given the blood on and around the area where the organs were protruding, as well as the fact that I found the chick below the nest, with a panicked mum still sitting, is that another group member interfered. At the top of my list is the head hen, who has attacked unclaimed (brooder) chicks before, which I can excuse. She was near the nest, presumably to wanting to get in and Galadriel was not one to stand her ground against higher-ranking older birds, at the time.

I did a lot of things wrong during that hatch, letting Galadriel sit in the favourite nest box as a lower-ranking member, not blocking off the nest during the hatching process, etc. Most of what happened was my fault. Still, I wonder if the other hen(s) really did mess with the chick, or if the failure of the hatch is completely on me.

That being said, both successful broody hatches of last summer, curtesy of the the bantam group, did monitored ranging time, and none of the chicks got attacked. The mothers were regularly targeted by the members of the Tsouloufati group, but never the chicks. So there’s definitely more to it

 

[BDutch]

no chick here has been harmed by another bird here

This is where we might have had slightly different experiences, although I can’t be sure, and probably will never know, unless the same happens this year.

My experiences lie somewhere in between. No casualties. But I did interfere a few times bc a hen pecked so hard that the chick in question shrieked very hard.

First time I had broodies I had 2 on one nest. When the third one wanted to join too a few days later , I gave her a few eggs in the nestbox beside the other two. This went well until a chick hatched in the first nest (Ini mini’s first hatch) and started to walk around while Ini mini and the other broody (Zo-e) were still busy hatching more eggs.
Pino in the other nest got annoyed/angry and pecked the chick real hard. Repeatedy. I decided to pick Pino up and moved her to the run in a cardboard box under a bench. It worked out just fine. Her chicks were about 5 days younger. After a week Ini mini and Zo-e who hatched 6 chicks got along just fine with Pino and her 2 chicks. Another week later they were one big family.

A few years later Black and Zo-e hatched 5 chicks. I had them separated in the second run. When I opened up after a week or so, Ini mini went over to interfere/eat from the chick-crumble and pecked the chicks real hard. I decided to separate longer until the chicks got stronger. Second time it went okay. Ini mini’s pecks were just to establish the pecking order this time.

 

[McChooky]

My dads hens disappeared when they went broody and surprised him with chicks so we never knew how many chickens he had. Our dog ran predators off so they were relatively safe except for hawks.

 

[hammyanne]

Hi all! I’m a mom to a newly broody Polish hen—I know, I’m surprised as well, but she’s determined. She actually showed signs of going broody at 6 months () but I nipped that in the bud for obvious reasons.

She’s now just over a year old and she’s always been my top hen. I’ve been monitoring her these last few days knowing that Polish don’t typically go broody, but today I gave her a few eggs to sit on and she’s been doing great so far.

My question is, how do I support her and set her up for success? She’s bossy as hell and my other birds actually prefer to roost in the covered run at night (not inside of the coop)—do I need to build a separate nesting area for her? I set some food and water close by and make sure she gets her fair share of treats.

Also a funny aside that I was completely unprepared for: my hen strains so much when she puffs up that she farts whenever I pet her. It kills me.

https://imgur.com/a/lpvBSq4

 

[BDutch]

do I need to build a separate nesting area for her?

She already chose a nestbox to sit.
You only need to make changes if this is not a good place for her to sit.

Give the other hens an extra nestbox to lay their eggs if that solves fuss or stress. If your run is covered and safe its no problem they sleep there. I wouldn’t like that bc in my coops its safer and easier to clean the poop.

If the chicks hatch you might need adjust a few things or relocate them if the nestbox area is not safe for chicks. Can you post a few pictures of your setup?

 

[hammyanne]

She already chose a nestbox to sit.
You only need to make changes if this is not a good place for her to sit.

Give the other hens an extra nestbox to lay their eggs if that solves fuss or stress. If your run is covered and safe its no problem they sleep there. I wouldn’t like that bc in my coops its safer and easier to clean the poop.

If the chicks hatch you might need adjust a few things or relocate them if the nestbox area is not safe for chicks. Can you post a few pictures of your setup?

Thank you! I was worried about her sitting in the wrong nest box when she comes back from relieving herself, but she seems parked in the correct one.

My coop is elevated with a ramp down into the run. The three nest boxes are on the ground level of the coop, with a small lip (maybe about 1” with the hemp bedding buffer on either side). The other gals have been using the other two nest boxes to lay so far.

 

[fluffycrow]

Congratulations on your broody!

She already sounds like a great broody, and hopefully a great mother. Having the head hen brood is very helpful; her being a bossy hen on top of that is even more helpful. Her chicks and brooding attempts are likely to go undisturbed by the lower-ranking hens.

Most hens and mature males are smart enough not to mess with a brooding/mother hen, much less a high ranking one. Your other hens choosing new nest sites is very encouraging.

Best way to support her right now is to follow her lead (she’s used to such treatment, after all ). So far she sounds like she’s got her routine down, the other hens won’t mess with her, and as mentioned in your previous post, quite protective of her nest.

Best of luck!

 

[OzarkNana]

Also a funny aside that I was completely unprepared for: my hen strains so much when she puffs up that she farts whenever I pet her. It kills me.

That's hilarious! The video you shared doesn't have sound, unfortunately. I'm not sure if you can reshare with sound? LOL

The only advice I'd offer (based on my first brood) is to keep treating the area for mites . I left my hen alone when treating the rest of the coop and didn't realize until the chicks came that mites had infested her nesting box. Lesson learned!

 

[hammyanne]

That's hilarious! The video you shared doesn't have sound, unfortunately. I'm not sure if you can reshare with sound? LOL

The only advice I'd offer (based on my first brood) is to keep treating the area for mites . I left my hen alone when treating the rest of the coop and didn't realize until the chicks came that mites had infested her nesting box. Lesson learned!

Thank you!! I’ll definitely keep an eye out for mites. Hahaha unfortunately I didn’t catch her farts in those videos but I’ll be vigilant with my next video of her!!

I gave her a piece of melon and checked on her a few hours later and she eaten a bit of it and then tried to tuck it underneath her over enthusiastic broody over here!

Since I haven’t actually seen her in the yard, should I worry that she’s not taking her self-care trips? It’s possible that she’s just taking her breaks in the run and then heading straight back to her nest, but I hope the poor girl is taking care of herself!