New broody hen's don't know what they're doing, nor do I

[dlampkin]

I have 25 Rhode Island red's. Some have been laying for a month and the rest should start any day. 2 have gone broody. I would love for them to hatch some eggs. I marked 2 each that they were setting on so I would make sure I didn't collect them. They would get up to eat or drink and when they come back, they would sit on different eggs. So I'd mark those. But it seems that after they eat, they have no idea what eggs to sit on. I work during the day, so I can't collect them as they are laid by other hen's. So finally, I stopped and now collect them all... But I think thst they get upset when I take the eggs from underneath them... I can understand that, but don't know what to do... I have 6 nesting boxes, but the 30 will squabble over 4 of them. 2 of them rarely get used.

Any ideas? I've given up and think I'll just get an incubator and do it that way...

 

[ChickenGrass]

I think the best thing for you to do
Is move both broodys away from the coop to there own run
So they can't get new eggs as there is no there hens in there to lay eggs.
Goodluck

 

[ChickenGrass]

I also forgot to add
For eggs to hatch you need fertile eggs
And to have them you need a rooster
If you don't have a rooster you can always buy some hatching eggs

 

[stormyhorses98]

I have RIR's as well, saddly none of them have gone broody yet and they range in age from 5 months to almost 2 years, there have been times where I thought they were broody but they would only sit on them for about 8 hours before they got up again and they wouldn't get back on.

My suggestion would be to seperate the broody girls or block them off from the rest of the flock and nest boxes somehow. Be it put them in a totally different pen or make a pen within a pen to keep them in a smaller area where the other hens can't bug them and the other hens have to use the other nest boxes...

Good luck!!

 

[Pyxis]

Sounds to me like either moving them to a dedicated area (which may well break them from brooding, unfortunately) or blocking them in the nest boxes with something like chicken wire over the front is your best bet. With the second method, they are less likely to break, and you can let them out when you are home for their daily bathroom and food break, and then when they go back to the nests you block them up again. If they go to the wrong nest you can just simply pick them up and move them back into the one they are supposed to be in.

This article may also help.

 

[dlampkin]

Thanks for the replies... Yes, I have 2 roosters for the 30 hen's... I always wondered how a rooster is supposed to be able to "service" 12-15 hen's... After watching them for a while, I see... I can't believe the girls don't run from them when they come close...

 

[Jenna14Chicken]

Yes I agree with the others, seperate the ones that are broody so they can only get on their nest of the other broody hens nest. I wouldn't waste your money on a incubator when you have hens that can do it for you. All you need is a a seperate area for the broody ones,such as using a dog crate or cage. If you really wanted you could just make a small area like a little coop with feed and water and the nest for them and for future broodies.

 

[dlampkin]

Ok, thanks for the reply... I am going to build a smaller separate coop and run. I was going to use it in case I needed to isolate a bird or two if they were sick, but can use it for this too... I do pet them and talk to them and apologize that I have to take their eggs at least