Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[5 Acre Rooster]

Broody 1 still looking like rock. Even stopped pecking me while feeding/watering her.
Now today I have a BO that had to be removed from duck laying area and newest duck egg was a few feet away. Doubt that the eggs are fertile though so might swap out with some eggs I am breeding. If she stays sitting. Nothing wrong with walking incubators for me

 

[Addie Tulane]

Sorry for butting in like this but I have a couple of questions I can't seem to find any answers to on the internet. I hope you can help me.

1. Can I put a dozen eggs in a nesting box and see if one of my chickens gets the hint to brood on them or do I have to wait for one to go broody on her own?

2. How long should I leave the eggs in the nesting box before I know for sure that I don't have a broody chicken?


P.S. I have no idea what I'm doing...

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Tabatha]

Sorry for butting in like this but I have a couple of questions I can't seem to find any answers to on the internet. I hope you can help me.

1. Can I put a dozen eggs in a nesting box and see if one of my chickens gets the hint to brood on them or do I have to wait for one to go broody on her own?

2. How long should I leave the eggs in the nesting box before I know for sure that I don't have a broody chicken?


P.S. I have no idea what I'm doing... Any help would be much appreciated!

I've hatched eggs that have sat on the counter for 13 days. Maybe try putting a few golf balls in there so you aren't wasting edible eggs? I don't know if you can make a broody, but I definitely know it's contagious. I got a broody in the middle of her brood, and then half my flock started brooding. Sorry I'm no help, but everyone on here I'm sure will have answers for you.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Sorry for butting in like this but I have a couple of questions I can't seem to find any answers to on the internet. I hope you can help me.

1. Can I put a dozen eggs in a nesting box and see if one of my chickens gets the hint to brood on them or do I have to wait for one to go broody on her own?

2. How long should I leave the eggs in the nesting box before I know for sure that I don't have a broody chicken?


P.S. I have no idea what I'm doing...

Any help would be much appreciated!

Oh goodness, don't feel bad for jumping in. This is a friendly thread. Nobody picks on the newbies for being new. So welcome to BYC, and broodies. Ask all the questions you want.

It can be hard to find information on broodies, as they are almost a thing of the past. Modern agriculture doesn't use them anymore, as brooding is very inefficient for reproduction. The hen stops laying while she broods and raises the chicks, so that's a few months of egg production lost. Most "layer breeds" have had that trait selected out of them, so the only place you see broody hens now is with breeders of dual purpose purebred chickens who want to preserve the original traits of the breed, or with chicken hobbiests who just find it charming and enjoyable to see a hen raising chicks and aren't in it for the money, or with people who are so far off the grid that they don't have electricity for an incubator (although those people rarely post online either).

What makes a hen go broody is quite individual, and often unpredictable. Some hens will never go broody, no matter what you do. It's just not hardwired into them. Some will brood anytime they see a round object, and don't care that the rock they're sitting on will never hatch. Most hens that have the capacity to go broody will do so in the early to late spring, and may brood once every year, or 2-3 times a year, or 1-3 times in their life, or every 1-2 months, or any other regular or random schedule. It's VERY individual. Some hens won't ever brood until another hen starts brooding, and others are unaffected by other broodies in the flock. Some won't start brooding until a reasonable number of eggs (or egg substitutes) are available in a desirable location, so removing eggs from the nest daily will prevent brooding in some hens, and providing eggs will stimulate brooding in some hens (not all, or even most, but it does work for some). Some hens will brood regardless of nest options, and others require the perfect circumstances (nest location, privacy, temperature, light schedule, eggs already in nest, everything) before brooding. Some hens will start to brood, kind of try it out, but will only continue if everything is right. Others will brood quite deeply for as long as it takes to hatch the eggs, and have to have their "brood broken" to prevent them from brooding forever. Some broodies take very good care of themselves, leaving the nest 1-2 times a day to eat, drink, poop, stretch, dustbathe, etc, and others will starve to death in the nest if someone doesn't feed them. There's quite a range, and anything can happen. But when everything works as it should, it is a wonderful and amazing process to be part of.

Regarding your two questions, yes, you can put eggs in a nestbox to see if a hen will take the hint. It doesn't always work, but it won't hurt, and there's nothing lost other than a few eggs. I personally wouldn't put in the full dozen. A first time broody shouldn't have that many eggs, as that's overwhelming for a new mom. I'd probably put in 6, or 8 at the most. I wouldn't use the eggs that I want her to hatch, as she may not brood, or she may set on them casually, causing the embryo to start developing, then die when she doesn't commit to the task full time. I would either start with eggs that you don't care about, or golf balls, or ceramic eggs (don't bother with the plastic eggs -- yes they're only 69 cents instead of $1.39 at my feed store, but they're junk -- one person on another thread posted that her hen actually picked up the plastic eggs and threw them out of the nest one time). I use good quality ceramic eggs that look and feel like the real thing, and they have lasted over 5 years so far. One of my friends uses real eggs that are from her layer birds (as opposed to her breeder birds) and then hard boils them after a week and feeds them to the flock -- she doesn't believe in wasting any egg, but doesn't personally want to eat an egg that has been incubated for 2-7 days. Whatever you use, you're using it to determine if a hen is willing to commit to a brood before you give her the eggs that you really want to hatch. Once she's been brooding for a few days, you can decide if you want to move her to a better location. If so, do it at night. If you read back on this thread for a few weeks there's a link in one of my posts for the details of how to move a broody hen. After moving her, if you decide to do that, give her another 2 days to be sure that she will continue the brood, then put the chosen eggs under her at night. (Please ask if you have questions about selecting eggs for brooding, or storing eggs prior to brooding, or any other details.)

I'm not sure I understand your second question. Are you asking how long you should leave the eggs in the box before you give up on inducing broodiness by that method? Or how long the eggs can stay in the nest before they go bad and lose the ability to hatch (or worse, explode)? Or do you think you might have a broody hen now and want to use the eggs to determine if your hen is in fact broody? Or maybe something else? Sorry, just not sure what you're asking.

Please post again to let us know how thing are going. What breed is your hen, and how old is she? What kind of housing do you have for her, and how many other birds do you have?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Sorry for butting in like this but I have a couple of questions I can't seem to find any answers to on the internet. I hope you can help me.

1. Can I put a dozen eggs in a nesting box and see if one of my chickens gets the hint to brood on them or do I have to wait for one to go broody on her own?

2. How long should I leave the eggs in the nesting box before I know for sure that I don't have a broody chicken?


P.S. I have no idea what I'm doing...

Any help would be much appreciated!

I'm glad you jumped in...Welcome to the Broody thread.

I agree with the other poster...broodiness is very individual and unique to the bird.

You can't entice just any hen to brood as it has to be in her genetic (and hormonal) make up to want to brood. You can entice a broody type hen whose hormones are easily kicked in to brood by providing a nesting box that is quiet, darker, and isolated, filled with cushy materials and sacrificial eggs or golf balls or ping pong balls. Leave at least 4 to 6 "eggs" as part of the process of those hormones kicking in is the actual clutch size...the pressure of multiple eggs presses against a spot on their breast bone that can release brooding hormones (if the bird is genetically predisposed to brood).

Body warmth is also another release trigger for hormones, so the nest should be in a cozy, draft free location. Some believe dim lighting also helps to release the hormones.

But, if she doesn't have those hormone levels, especially doesn't have the genetic make up to have those hormones present in the first place...no amount of eggs nor time will induce her to set.

And thus it boils down to breed types. For years, the commercial industry has been perfecting hens that lay well. Birds that brood are not laying, therefore the industry has selectively removed those birds that are inclined to brood from their breed lines. This means that if you have a typical commercial type laying breed (Red Sexlinks, Black Sexlinks, White Leghorns, etc.), it is highly unlikely your bird will have the genetic predisposition to have brooding hormone levels that will entice it to brood. However, it has been known to happen even with commercial layers...I personally have had 2 of the 3 Black Sexlinks I've owned go broody their first year, one every year.

Some breeds are known for being very broody...Silkies, Cochins, Games, and depending upon the line, Orpingtons. Many Silkies brood almost constantly (annoyingly frequently as Henderson's Breed Chart states it). My Silkie will go broody every 3 to 4 months, almost like clock work. However, some have Silkies that never brood...but most will also confess their Silkie is "at it again" as that breed is predisposed overall to brood.

So, consider the type of birds you have and how likely it is for them to brood in the first place. You can always try to see if someone takes the hint, however, realize that leaving eggs out won't entice birds that simply don't have enough of the genes left to be inclined to brood. You should know within a week or so if anyone is so inclined...they will linger on the nest for hours, get puffy and growl at any who approach, pluck their breast feathers so that their bare skin is showing (to provide better heat transmission to the eggs).

Good luck (and here's Henderson's Chart to look up the overall likelihood that your particular breed may go broody).
Lady of McCamley

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

 

[bumpercarr]

Oh goodness, don't feel bad for jumping in. This is a friendly thread. Nobody picks on the newbies for being new. So welcome to BYC, and broodies. Ask all the questions you want.

It can be hard to find information on broodies, as they are almost a thing of the past. Modern agriculture doesn't use them anymore, as brooding is very inefficient for reproduction. The hen stops laying while she broods and raises the chicks, so that's a few months of egg production lost. Most "layer breeds" have had that trait selected out of them, so the only place you see broody hens now is with breeders of dual purpose purebred chickens who want to preserve the original traits of the breed, or with chicken hobbiests who just find it charming and enjoyable to see a hen raising chicks and aren't in it for the money, or with people who are so far off the grid that they don't have electricity for an incubator (although those people rarely post online either).

What makes a hen go broody is quite individual, and often unpredictable. Some hens will never go broody, no matter what you do. It's just not hardwired into them. Some will brood anytime they see a round object, and don't care that the rock they're sitting on will never hatch. Most hens that have the capacity to go broody will do so in the early to late spring, and may brood once every year, or 2-3 times a year, or 1-3 times in their life, or every 1-2 months, or any other regular or random schedule. It's VERY individual. Some hens won't ever brood until another hen starts brooding, and others are unaffected by other broodies in the flock. Some won't start brooding until a reasonable number of eggs (or egg substitutes) are available in a desirable location, so removing eggs from the nest daily will prevent brooding in some hens, and providing eggs will stimulate brooding in some hens (not all, or even most, but it does work for some). Some hens will brood regardless of nest options, and others require the perfect circumstances (nest location, privacy, temperature, light schedule, eggs already in nest, everything) before brooding. Some hens will start to brood, kind of try it out, but will only continue if everything is right. Others will brood quite deeply for as long as it takes to hatch the eggs, and have to have their "brood broken" to prevent them from brooding forever. Some broodies take very good care of themselves, leaving the nest 1-2 times a day to eat, drink, poop, stretch, dustbathe, etc, and others will starve to death in the nest if someone doesn't feed them. There's quite a range, and anything can happen. But when everything works as it should, it is a wonderful and amazing process to be part of.

Regarding your two questions, yes, you can put eggs in a nestbox to see if a hen will take the hint. It doesn't always work, but it won't hurt, and there's nothing lost other than a few eggs. I personally wouldn't put in the full dozen. A first time broody shouldn't have that many eggs, as that's overwhelming for a new mom. I'd probably put in 6, or 8 at the most. I wouldn't use the eggs that I want her to hatch, as she may not brood, or she may set on them casually, causing the embryo to start developing, then die when she doesn't commit to the task full time. I would either start with eggs that you don't care about, or golf balls, or ceramic eggs (don't bother with the plastic eggs -- yes they're only 69 cents instead of $1.39 at my feed store, but they're junk -- one person on another thread posted that her hen actually picked up the plastic eggs and threw them out of the nest one time). I use good quality ceramic eggs that look and feel like the real thing, and they have lasted over 5 years so far. One of my friends uses real eggs that are from her layer birds (as opposed to her breeder birds) and then hard boils them after a week and feeds them to the flock -- she doesn't believe in wasting any egg, but doesn't personally want to eat an egg that has been incubated for 2-7 days. Whatever you use, you're using it to determine if a hen is willing to commit to a brood before you give her the eggs that you really want to hatch. Once she's been brooding for a few days, you can decide if you want to move her to a better location. If so, do it at night. If you read back on this thread for a few weeks there's a link in one of my posts for the details of how to move a broody hen. After moving her, if you decide to do that, give her another 2 days to be sure that she will continue the brood, then put the chosen eggs under her at night. (Please ask if you have questions about selecting eggs for brooding, or storing eggs prior to brooding, or any other details.)

I'm not sure I understand your second question. Are you asking how long you should leave the eggs in the box before you give up on inducing broodiness by that method? Or how long the eggs can stay in the nest before they go bad and lose the ability to hatch (or worse, explode)? Or do you think you might have a broody hen now and want to use the eggs to determine if your hen is in fact broody? Or maybe something else? Sorry, just not sure what you're asking.

Please post again to let us know how thing are going. What breed is your hen, and how old is she? What kind of housing do you have for her, and how many other birds do you have?

Sydney Acres you make me laugh! I just love the description of the making of a broody (or not....you know what I mean) These hens just want to keep us guessing!

 

[Manningjw]

Hope you all don't mind if I jump in with my own dilemma

.

One of my young chickens who started laying eggs last month is now broody! She started about 2 days before I put her in my "brooder buster" wire cage elevated off the ground with it's own food/water. I haven't really noticed any significant change in her behavior even while in the wire cage after several days. Anyone have other tricks? I have heard of dunking the broody in water or putting ice cubes under her - is that cruel and does it even work?

I am tempted to get some feed store chicks for her to raise but I already have 8 little easter eggers(my own mix breed) that her broody mother is raising right now and I would much rather just have eggs from her again. I no longer have a rooster so I don't have fertile eggs anymore.

Here my other broody:

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hope you all don't mind if I jump in with my own dilemma

.

One of my young chickens who started laying eggs last month is now broody! She started about 2 days before I put her in my "brooder buster" wire cage elevated off the ground with it's own food/water. I haven't really noticed any significant change in her behavior even while in the wire cage after several days. Anyone have other tricks? I have heard of dunking the broody in water or putting ice cubes under her - is that cruel and does it even work?

I am tempted to get some feed store chicks for her to raise but I already have 8 little easter eggers that her broody mother is raising right now and I would much rather just have eggs from her again.

Here my other broody:

You could try putting a couple of the EE's from the other hen with the new broody....if she is committed enough she'll probably take them in and mother them...they in turn are used to being with a broody so it should be an easy foster situation as long as the other hen can't come back and get her chicks causing a fight with the usurper.

Yes...you can dunk in ice water, or place ice cubes, and it may or may not work...and you can cause shock to the system if not done properly. However if you ever want this hen to brood in earnest ever again, I would try fostering. I view having a broody as a gift from God which frees me from heat lamps and having to brood chicks...you never know if a hen will brood regularly or brood once and never again. (I have several now that brooded for me last year, but are showing no signs of doing that again even though they hatched chicks last year).

My thoughts.
Lady of McCamley

 

[K Epp]

On a whom I candled my Silkie Broodirs eggs. Looks like she stole a few eggs. 8 eggs where developing nicely. 2 where chirping at me with internal pips. Way ahead of the others. I just emptied my incubator and already had the humidity up. I moved the two in there and left the hen with the others. I'm glad I found them I would hate for her to abandon 8 eggs.

 

[Lenka]

when do eggs start chirping????