Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[Sydney Acres]

OK...my chickens are a little over a year old now. I have a buff orpington that seems to be broody. I thought she was going to sit tight when i would catch her in the same box all puffed up for a few days straight. Then yesterday i went to water them and she was not in the box anymore. While i was down there she jumped up in another box that had a few eggs in it from the day. She immediately laid down on them. Is it possible for her to stop being broody? I am really hoping that she was going to hatch some on her own as I just had a bad hatch in an incubator. Can anyone relate to this?

She may not be totally committed to being broody yet, or she may have gotten confused with multiple nestboxes available and returned to the wrong one after going to get some food.

You might be more successful at getting her to hold her brood by giving her some privacy, and less choices of nests. Also, you'll likely have a better hatch if other hens can't add eggs to the nest while she's brooding.

An ideal setup for most broodies is a quiet, private area, away from the activity of the coop, that is dark at night and dimly lit during the day, protected from the weather and drafts but with excellent ventilation, and is predator proof. Moving the broody at night is best, as chickens can't see at night so she is less likely to become distressed about the move, and when she wakes up in her new area she is more likely to stay. If she gets off the nest in the morning, give her a favorite treat, put a large wire cage over the nest (big enough that she can be out of the nest and move around a little so she doesn't trample the nest), and cover the cage with a sheet to dim the light further, but not so dark that she can't see at all. If she doesn't return to the nest within an hour, you may be able to shine a well-focused flashlight on the nest so that the only thing she sees well is the eggs, as the sight of eggs in a nest is very stimulating to a broody's brain, and helps them focus when they haven't yet committed to the brood. Just be very careful that it doesn't shine in her eyes, as that is very annoying to anyone!

Here is a link to the page on this thread where I've posted about moving a broody: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...n-hatch-a-long-and-informational-thread/20040. It's post #20048. If you read back even further there's lots of good information on this subject, as almost everything I know about this I've learned from this thread and put into practice (I know, it's a really long thread, no one has time to read it all!). Good luck.

 

[olgreenie]

WOW...Thanks for the info!

 

[Amy Foster]

if yall get coccidiosis which i deal with on every batch of hens just add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to all waterers for three days and it will go away i dont use any medicated feed and this is safe for chicks because unlike corid it acts by acidifying their crop which allows intestinal flora to flourish while providing an acidic environment that is unfavorable for coccidia growth note thst symptons will not go compketely away for a week or so but three days of vinegar WILL be enough to get your babies bsck on track i have done this with 100% sucess for many years and have never lost a peep to coccidiosis corid kills all good gut flora and causes chicks problems gettind their digestive track back in order hope to hear good news soon!

 

[bumpercarr]

if yall get coccidiosis which i deal with on every batch of hens just add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to all waterers for three days and it will go away i dont use any medicated feed and this is safe for chicks because unlike corid it acts by acidifying their crop which allows intestinal flora to flourish while providing an acidic environment that is unfavorable for coccidia growth note thst symptons will not go compketely away for a week or so but three days of vinegar WILL be enough to get your babies bsck on track i have done this with 100% sucess for many years and have never lost a peep to coccidiosis corid kills all good gut flora and causes chicks problems gettind their digestive track back in order hope to hear good news soon!

Thank you for the advice....I'm pretty sure that is what I have. I've already lost one chick, one is sick and one that was sick seems to be on the road to recovery. I suspect I'm going to lose the second sick one as well, it's pretty weak. I will certainly give it a try, I don't think anything that I do at this point can cause more harm. Mine aren't being brooded by a hen, they are being raised in a brooder....long story, but I will give it a try. Thanks so much!

 

[little]

what does a hen do to start this whole broody thing?do i leave a egg instead of collecting them each day?does she lay more than one a day?do i just let them stack up to 3 or4?

 

[fisherlady]

what does a hen do to start this whole broody thing?do i leave a egg instead of collecting them each day?does she lay more than one a day?do i just let them stack up to 3 or4?

The age a hen will go broody varies by individual... and some never do. I don't leave eggs in the nests to promote broodiness... I use golf balls for this instead (although I am still on the hunt for a decent ceramic egg for it).... you can leave a few golf balls in any nest you think would be good for a broody to use. But basically, it is a hormonal thing and there is very little real impact we can have on it. Broodies like warm areas (draft free) with dim lighting and not a lot of activity around. They will go broody in a favored nest box though... so again, there is not a definite guide for the perfect location.

Hens will lay about an egg every 24 to 25 hours for very 'eggy' breeds, and maybe one every other day or every third day for less production breeds. Some heritage breed hens are more prone to brooding after their 2nd year, some banty breeds will begin wanting to be broody at 8 months... the thing with birds is as soon as you think you have them figured out they will do something different. The only thing you can depend on is that they will do whatever suits them and not what we are hoping! LOL

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you for the advice....I'm pretty sure that is what I have. I've already lost one chick, one is sick and one that was sick seems to be on the road to recovery. I suspect I'm going to lose the second sick one as well, it's pretty weak. I will certainly give it a try, I don't think anything that I do at this point can cause more harm. Mine aren't being brooded by a hen, they are being raised in a brooder....long story, but I will give it a try. Thanks so much!

I'm so sorry to hear of your losses, and hope the other chick will pull through.

While I enthusiastically believe in the virtues of ACV (the raw, with the mother), and I consistently keep it in the water (non-metal container) as preventative for many conditions, I personally would not trust it solely for treatment of acute Coccidiosis, which is an overgrowth of Coccidia bacteria.

As preventative and very mild cases, generous helpings of yogurt, garlic and constant ACV in the water can prevent overgrowth and bring balance...but as with most herbals, it takes a prolonged treatment for benefit...at least 2 weeks, 1 month being better.

The only sure treatment I'm aware of for acute, severe Coccidiosis is Sulmet (Sulfamethazine Sodium) or Corid (Amprolium) in the water. If a moderate case, and chicks are eating, I've saved the day with medicated chick feed that contains Amprolium. I then follow up with good pro-biotics either in yogurt form or in a powder from the feed store.

I also clean and disinfect the soil/litter. Coccidia grow in the soil, and are always present, but it is an overgrowth in the body which causes disease. Little chicks slowly gain immunity (ie their healthy body will naturally keep the cocci bacteria in check), but once there is a severe overgrowth, herbals and probiotics generally will not be able to cure the animal...you will have to actually kill the overgrowth.
My experiences.
Lady of McCamley

 

[bumpercarr]

I'm so sorry to hear of your losses, and hope the other chick will pull through.

While I enthusiastically believe in the virtues of ACV (the raw, with the mother), and I consistently keep it in the water (non-metal container) as preventative for many conditions, I personally would not trust it solely for treatment of acute Coccidiosis, which is an overgrowth of Coccidia bacteria.

As preventative and very mild cases, generous helpings of yogurt, garlic and constant ACV in the water can prevent overgrowth and bring balance...but as with most herbals, it takes a prolonged treatment for benefit...at least 2 weeks, 1 month being better.

The only sure treatment I'm aware of for acute, severe Coccidiosis is Sulmet (Sulfamethazine Sodium) or Corid (Amprolium) in the water. If a moderate case, and chicks are eating, I've saved the day with medicated chick feed that contains Amprolium. I then follow up with good pro-biotics either in yogurt form or in a powder from the feed store.

I also clean and disinfect the soil/litter. Coccidia grow in the soil, and are always present, but it is an overgrowth in the body which causes disease. Little chicks slowly gain immunity (ie their healthy body will naturally keep the cocci bacteria in check), but once there is a severe overgrowth, herbals and probiotics generally will not be able to cure the animal...you will have to actually kill the overgrowth.
My experiences.
Lady of McCamley

Thanks so much for your sage advice. I've done all of the above. I fixed up a milk purge, put corid in the water and gave them a second waterer with probiotic and electrolytes in it (I can't figure out if I can mix them so I thought I'd be safe). They've been on the milk purge for 3 days now and are peeping like crazy so I think they are now hungry and will put them back on their feed this afternoon. I think that the two I lost were just too far into it for the Corid to work. I lost the second one, but the third that had milder symptoms seems to be on the road to recovery. I don't understand where this came from. They were in a new brooder (so there wasn't any "previous" problems in it), I clean litter, water and feed almost too religiously. I have them now on the medicated feed, although this is the first time I've used it, usually I just buy the non-medicated (won't do that again). Fortunately, the four that I have left are eating and drinking good, so I think that the two I lost may be the only two I lose. I hope so.

 

[TeaChick]

My sugar settled in after an hourof carrying on but no pics yet had my ultrasound today and am expecting on october tenth my bunnies are two and a half weeks old my ducklings are two weeks old and my incubator is ten days away so i have sooo much going on! have two children also so i am trying to get all my animals grown off before baby three arrives! after this i will probably take a year off from breeding chickens ate the rooster that attacked me everyday and will be ready to slow down soon but just for a while...i am the type of person who has to stay busy!!! ready to see some chick pics...they brighten my day!

Congrats on the baby, and bunnies, and chickens, and ... all. You sure are one busy chickie!!!
Here are some chick pics for you:


























I sneaked in a picture of puppies from several months ago. Just a little more cute.

 

[TeaChick]

The age a hen will go broody varies by individual... and some never do. I don't leave eggs in the nests to promote broodiness... I use golf balls for this instead (although I am still on the hunt for a decent ceramic egg for it).... you can leave a few golf balls in any nest you think would be good for a broody to use. But basically, it is a hormonal thing and there is very little real impact we can have on it. Broodies like warm areas (draft free) with dim lighting and not a lot of activity around. They will go broody in a favored nest box though... so again, there is not a definite guide for the perfect location.

Hens will lay about an egg every 24 to 25 hours for very 'eggy' breeds, and maybe one every other day or every third day for less production breeds. Some heritage breed hens are more prone to brooding after their 2nd year, some banty breeds will begin wanting to be broody at 8 months... the thing with birds is as soon as you think you have them figured out they will do something different. The only thing you can depend on is that they will do whatever suits them and not what we are hoping! LOL

This got me thinking.... What about blowing out an egg shell and filling it with plaster and then painting it to match the color of egg of the hen you're leaving them for? Or what about a balloon; I guess you'd have to sand off the pointy end so it's not as pointy, but.....it could work, right?
Just thinking out loud, I guess.