Need help, first time we have had a broody hen

[marilyn15]

Thanks for the very helpful information. She is still broody and we put an egg under her so we will see what happens....
And we did separate the Roo, mainly because ol' Romeo is giving our girls too much of a workout and our 2 EE's do not look so pretty anymore! We have another coop and it is perfect for him, we have 5 adult hens and 8 juvies that are about five months old so in time he will have more girlfriends

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Yep, sometimes my girls are broody the entire day and get all confused and don't want to lay on the eggs at night because they want to be on the perch with the rest. It seems some girls need a few days to get it right especially first time moms.
I have 9 broody right now and another 2 are thinking about it like yours is!!! OYYY! They have me exhausted! LOL

As far as your roo question, yes, it might be a good idea to separate to give the girls a break. Maybe part of the day or every other day, whichever works best. I have too many boys right now myself and I do separate at least some of the boys because the girls get so stressed out when they are overworked like that. I put my girls in their "playpen" during the day and then they are all in the coop together at night. They really look alot nicer and seem so much happier! They also filled out better too. I don't think they eat enough when they are stressed like that from always having a boy after them.

 

[marilyn15]

This is one of our cochin, which obviously is not too heavy to pick up, but not sure how friendly she would be with all that...
I will and so will my husband make sure she eats and drinks, but today she has been laying flat practically all day, strangest thing I had ever seen, but she is on an egg so we will see...


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[marilyn15]

Thanks for the response, I will see what happens and let nature take its course for now, and make sure she is well hydrated and eats. I am sure I will be back to ask many more questions!

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[NewToFarming]

You might want to put 2 or 3 under at the least. If she hatches a little chick from the egg, he or she will surely need buddies!!!!

 

[marilyn15]

I never knew they would steal eggs...too funny. We do not mind if she is broody, but I do worry about the heat, especially her going in the coop and sitting in there. The midwest heat and humidity are so bad I do not want her to suffer, but today she was out of the coop and free ranging with the other hens. So not sure what is going on. I prefer her not to be so hot in the coop so we will just see what happens.


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[marilyn15]

Yes, for sure, thanks for the reminder. She has 4 in her nest now, but we will make sure to add more tomorrow morning. I think the heat must be getting to her because she was off the nest today.

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[NewToFarming]

How long was she off? Some do for a 1/2 hour to an hour or so and others a few minutes tops! The eggs will be fine for that amount of time. Does she walk around all puffed out and clucking crazily at first? I think that is the funniest thing when they do that!
I make sure mine has water within reach in the nest for them. At least they can drink while on the nest and there is less of a risk to her for overheating. I just put a little bowl of water in with her.

 

[marilyn15]

Thanks for the info because she has consistently been back on the nest every morning, but when we let them free range in the afternoon, she does for a short time and stays close to the coop and run, so now she has 7 eggs under her, so we shall see. We put a fan in the coop and I will try the bowl of water because it has been so hot I do not want her to over heat. Thanks for the help and ideas.


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