NEW TO THIS: How to look after broody hen, thats fostering eggs lol

[Aniwani26]

Hi there. I live in town so we can't unfortunately have a rooster in town. So I went through the trader and brought some fertile eggs for my extremely clucky white Orp (aka white gurl). How do I care and look after her during the incubation time. I also have another black orp and a brown shaver, and they also look like they too will be broody soon. Eeek. At the mo they are all in the same chicky house. White gurl has the house to herself pretty much all day as the others roam around my garden. Should I seperate her? And does she need extras during the long haul of sitting, lol?

 

[lauralou]

She should come off the nest once a day to eat, drink, and do her business. However, some hens don't. So you may have to put her off the nest every day. I usually pull them off once a day to make sure they eat, whether they have enough sense to come off the nest on their own or not. But truthfully, I love to interfere in the brooding process. It's so much fun!

I like to give my broody girls moistened chick food. I put it in a plastic container, add water to it, and they really go crazy for it. They seem to eat much more then if I just let them eat whatever is in the feeders for the flock. Seems that they lose less weight that way.

As far as whether or not to separate her. Well, it depends. If you only have the 3 hens, and the other 2 spend most of their time in the garden, everything may be fine. I keep my broodies in separate broody houses, but the broody houses are in the chicken pen with the flock. My broody girls are tough, and the flock isn't very aggressive in general, so I haven't had any problem with that setup. You will have to evaluate the personalities of your particular hens. Normally a broody momma is plenty aggressive enough to protect her babies from the other hens.

Good luck with your hatch!

 

[mulia24]

firstly, how is the behavior of the mom? if she's tough girl, and *cruel*, she will be able to defend her babies (and herself), better if she's top hen, no one will try to mess with her. so no need to separate, but if she's not top hen, better move/separate her.

no she don't need any kind of extra, just like usual, notice the poop bomb

 

[SallyF]

Quote:
I love it... the poop bomb!