Official BYC Poll: What Do You Do With Broody Hens?

[BDutch]

Agreed but if you do it right there aren't normally any issues

What breed do you have?

 

[BDutch]

That explains. Cochins are one of the sweetest breeds.
But wouldn’t recommend this to do so with a more average breed/ chicken behaviour.

 

[Chookwagn]

That explains. Cochins are one of the sweetest breeds.
But wouldn’t recommend this to do so with a more average breed/ chicken behaviour.

I wouldn't try it with a first time broody until she has been tested

 

[katie_94]

For those who let their hens brood but have no roosters, how do you do it? This is the second time my Cuckoo Maran went broody. The first time I put her in broody jail and it was a success but my mom let my aunt borrow the cage so I have no immediate way to break her. I was thinking of letting her break herself this time. What days typically will they break themselves and how many days in will be considered bad? (i.e. she's starving, aching, etc). We live in FL so thankfully, it's getting warmer around 60-70 F around this time.

I will try and take her off the nest a few times but I have work and school and I can't rely on my parents to help. I collect the eggs everyday but I leave duds in there to prevent nesting box wars and I'd hate to take those out too but if I have to I will (at the cost of the girls screaming their heads off).

I have no plans of hatching new chicks so giving her fertile eggs is out of the question.

 

[katie_94]

thanks for the advice! i'll definitely try those out sometime. She was attacking the other girls and preventing them from using any of the nest boxes (she's also top of the pecking order) so i couldn't wait for my mom to get the cage back from my aunt so i have her confined with food and water since yesterday in the large space under the coop connected to the run and completely ventilated/predator and rain proof. not sure if it'll work since there's solid ground underneath. I put up some roosting bars.

She just laid an egg! I understand that after going broody they won't lay eggs for a while but this confused me.

 

[arwoon]

What do you mean by "breaking" them

 

[RubelliteRose]

Sadly, I currently have no broody hens. The one pullet I have who is "very likely" to go broody hasn't started laying yet. The other one I ordered this spring, didn't make it through her first night. But I also don't currently have a rooster capable of fertilizing eggs. Both of the boys I received this spring developed scissor beak and had to be culled. My current boy is only 12 weeks old and isn't interested in girls yet
Hopefully next year I will have both a broody hen and fertile eggs, so I will keep reading to see how everyone manages their broodies

 

[Chookwagn]

What breed do you have?

Cochin bantams and oegbs

 

[Sara S]

My hens haven’t gone broody really ever, but I also haven’t had chickens for a long long time

 

[Crazychickengirl2]

I just let them sit but take the eggs to eat