New Brahma Group: Blue Partridge x Partridge, Plus Dark

[Tlmcq]

My dark Brahma girls are growing up

 

[1muttsfan]

Pretty!

 

[speckledhen]

@Tlmcq very pretty. My single Dark girl, BJ, is the boss of the group. She is the most ratty-looking because she also seems to be Bash's favorite. And she can really protest his attentions in a big, deep voice, too.

 

[Tlmcq]

My roo, Trixster, has a lil Australorp that is his favorite. These 2 girls haven't been introduced into big guys coop yet. I'm waiting cuz we are building a big coop and moving Tuesday.

 

[speckledhen]

Bonnie is STILL broody! We cannot break her. This is her 3rd this year, did not let her have eggs so maybe she'd snap out of it, but she's gone through almost the entire cycle sitting on nothing, being thrown off her nest multiple times a day. I have a BR hen sitting on 5 Brahma eggs due Aug 9 and I may just give her two of those to get her to have a natural end to this madness!

 

[Pyxis]

Bonnie is STILL broody! We cannot break her. This is her 3rd this year, did not let her have eggs so maybe she'd snap out of it, but she's gone through almost the entire cycle sitting on nothing, being thrown off her nest multiple times a day. I have a BR hen sitting on 5 Brahma eggs due Aug 9 and I may just give her two of those to get her to have a natural end to this madness!

Have you tried the wire bottom cage method? I find that with especially broody breeds and very determined broodies, it's the only way to break them. Giving two eggs is a perfect solution too!

 

[speckledhen]

I don't have a wire bottom cage or anything to use that way. Just keep throwing her off the nest, sometimes putting her in the big dog kennel in the barn with no bedding, but she jumps at the door constantly to get out. Crazy girl's going to kill herself. But, one more week and Thea's eggs will hatch. I could just take two of those five and give to Bonnie right now, or wait a few more days and hope she snaps out of it.

 

[speckledhen]

I did it. I had removed Bonnie to the hospital cage earlier today so she would not be stuck back in the deep nestboxes in the Brahma pen. A little bit ago, I took two of Thea's eggs and placed them in front of Bonnie. You should have seen her face light up. Folks would never believe a chicken's face could have such an expression it if they had not seen it. She immediately rolled them both under her like she'd been waiting for them her entire life. And now, she looks completely serene. I hope she doesn't kill herself doing this. They are on Day 14 tomorrow, but at least she will have a natural ending to this spell she's under (again).

 

[1muttsfan]

For now

I have also tried to caging birds in the center of the coop in a wire cage, it does usually work but persistant broodies usually lapse again.

 

[speckledhen]

For now

I have also tried to caging birds in the center of the coop in a wire cage, it does usually work but persistant broodies usually lapse again.

At least this time, Bonnie has had more time off the nest and much more food/water than she did if she would have been actually sitting on eggs. I mean, I threw her out so many times, put her in the dog kennel with a bowl of food and water and she did roam around with the group when they would be allowed to free range quite a bit. So, hopefully, she is not as malnourished as a true sitting-on-eggs broody hen would be by now. Let's just hope she doesn't do this a fourth quarter, too!