Not Liking This Broody Business

[BellaBlueBell]

I have four bantam cochins, a year old. I never had a broody with other breeds, so this is new. She's relentless about getting in the nest. I've moved her out countless times, even at night at which time I blocked the nesting box. She is a puffball and growling incessantly. Today, I opened all the coop doors so she can't get too cozy and she's is not a happy hen. I have read that I can put her in broody jail - I have a large dog crate. But I'm also trying to integrate two 5 week old mille fleur into the flock and it seems just too much. Can I just ignore broody hens and let them figure it out?

 

[NatJ]

Can I just ignore broody hens and let them figure it out?

Broody hens to tend to quit eventually, if you just leave them alone and they do not have any fertile eggs.

But "eventually" can be a long time. I once had a hen stay broody for 6 or 7 weeks (it was long enough ago I don't remember the exact count, but it would have been long enough to hatch an ostrich egg.) She did not seem to have any problems from being broody that long.

I've read of a few hens that stayed broody and eventually died. Most hens will not do that, but of course there is no guarantee about your particular hen.

For broody hens that do die, cause of death would typically be starvation (if she doesn't eat enough) or parasites (if she has something like lice or mites, they can get badly out of control while she sits in the nest all the time, and eventually they suck enough blood to actually kill the chicken.) Or in hot weather, if the nest is in a coop that gets very hot, a broody could die from the heat. All of those are things you can watch for, rather than just being surprised one day.

I have read that I can put her in broody jail - I have a large dog crate. But I'm also trying to integrate two 5 week old mille fleur into the flock and it seems just too much.

The sooner she quits being broody, the sooner she will get back to laying eggs. But if you want to just leave her broody for now, you do have the option to break her broodiness later, after you are done integrating those chicks. Sometimes it is easier to do everything at once (integrate chicks with most of the flock while the broody is locked up in "jail") other times it is easier to do one thing at a time (if you have one crate and you want to use it for chicks first and broody-breaking later.)

I think it should be fine to leave her for now, and you can decide to break her at a later point if it seems like a good idea then.

 

[BellaBlueBell]

Thank you!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with NatJ. You can wait if you want to.

Before they even start laying a hen or pullet builds up excess fat, mostly in the pelvic area. I've butchered enough pullets, hens, cockerels, and roosters to easily see the difference. This excess fat is mostly what they live off of while broody. That way they can stay on the nest and take care of the eggs instead of spending a lot of time out looking for food and water.

Hens will come off of the nest to poop, eat, and drink. I had a hen that came off once a day for 15 minutes every morning, regular like clockwork. I had one that came off twice a day and stayed off more than an hour each time. I've had several that I never see off of the nest but they are coming off as they are not pooping in the nest.

While living off of that fat they will lose weight. That is not a problem. They are losing fat that was put there for that purpose. The vast majority of them will break from being broody once that excess fat is used up. How long does that fat last? It seems to vary by each hen. I've never had a hen break herself from being broody in less than 5 weeks. Some easily last 7 weeks.

Their combs generally turn pale also. A bright red comb and wattles tells a rooster she is laying so the eggs need to be fertilized. A pale comb tells him "don't bother". A pale comb does not mean she is sick.

A poultry science professor said that more broody hens die from roost mites than anything else. So after it is dark check her for roost mites and treat if necessary. If you need help with that let us know.

Something can always go wrong with any living animals, not just broody hens. That's just the way life works. I do not think you are putting her at excess risk by waiting to break her.

Good luck!