Old Fashioned Broody Hen Hatch A Long and Informational Thread

[fisherlady]

w.

The loss is on her shoulders/where the wings start, at the area of where the tail starts and on her head. No way she is pulling them out herself, as most of the areas she would not be able to reach. I don't think it is Ricky, as her head and tail area are not the area of over mating, at least I don't think so. He has always been very good to her and I just don't think that could be from mating as she was not like this just two days ago.( I didn't really check her out yesterday as again the weather was terrible.) It just seems like way to many for over mating in only two days time.

These areas I expect to see from mating feather loss... the roosters will often hold onto the back of the hen's neck for balance and in the process of trying to get their feet balanced on the hens back they often break feathers near the base of the tail also. One rooster to one hen will most likely result in feather loss even if the rooster is a gentle fellow.

 

[help4me]

Thanks for the response. I had looked around this site and saw that could be the case, and I know 1 to 1 is not the ideal situation, but seeing she had not yet ever moulted, it seemed hard to believe she would lose that many in just 24 hours, he would of had to be very busy.

They free range from morning till dusk, and usually right around the house. 12 acres and they want to be in our house, silly chickens think they are dogs! I am home all day and have not seen him on her very much. I don't know if I am hoping it is that or a moult.

I hate to think she is getting that much action, and yet if that is the case then if she does go broody she could actually get rewarded for all her hard work. Hmm... These are my daughters chickens that we hatch last year, and she sooo badly wants them to have chicks of their own, even though we have 4 of their eggs in the incubator.

 

[help4me]

A silly question, but I keep changing the spelling as I have seen it both molting and moulting, so which is the correct spelling?

 

[bumpercarr]

Thanks for the response. I had looked around this site and saw that could be the case, and I know 1 to 1 is not the ideal situation, but seeing she had not yet ever moulted, it seemed hard to believe she would lose that many in just 24 hours, he would of had to be very busy.

They free range from morning till dusk, and usually right around the house. 12 acres and they want to be in our house, silly chickens think they are dogs! I am home all day and have not seen him on her very much. I don't know if I am hoping it is that or a moult.

I hate to think she is getting that much action, and yet if that is the case then if she does go broody she could actually get rewarded for all her hard work. Hmm... These are my daughters chickens that we hatch last year, and she sooo badly wants them to have chicks of their own, even though we have 4 of their eggs in the incubator.

It is amazing to me that only one day of overbreeding can cause huge feather loss. I noticed it last year with mine....

 

[help4me]

It is amazing to me that only one day of overbreeding can cause huge feather loss. I noticed it last year with mine....

Thank you so much. I guess since I pretty much see them all day long, and he hardly ever tries, I was more concerned the eggs we have would not be fertile. He must do things in secret.

I keep trying to find a thread with how to tell the difference between over breeding and molting/moulting.

 

[TeaChick]

Here's a photo of some chick I just met.

Lol and too cute

 

[TeaChick]

My broody laid her own clutch of eggs, she started sitting on them all day thweeks ago yesterday,but she was getting up more than once a day until Friday.
When can I expect these eggs to start hatching?

 

[bumpercarr]

My broody laid her own clutch of eggs, she started sitting on them all day thweeks ago yesterday,but she was getting up more than once a day until Friday.
When can I expect these eggs to start hatching?

Probably tonight or tomorrow. I would think no later than Friday, maybe if you've had some cold weather.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Hi,

Please forgive me if this has already been addressed, and if so, could someone send me to the proper link this thread is so long. I have a very broody Lavender Orpington. I will try to keep this whole story short.

My question is, she has gone broody twice in the last 3 or 4 months. The first time I let her run her course even though she was NOT sitting on anything. Silly Collette. The second time I stopped her after a few days when I realized she was broody again. (hey she is our only egg layer) So, every since she started laying again we have been collecting and rotating out her eggs to get some for her to actually sit on. (We only have one hen and one rooster.) So, now that we decided that we would actually let her try to hatch some, today I noticed she just started moulting. This is her first moult she will be 1 on May17TH. If she does go broody again, should we let her sit on some eggs while she is moulting? I don't know if molting is stressful for them, or just an ugly time for them.

If it is stressful I don't want to stress her any more, but if she herself puts herself in broody mode, then would it be harmful to grant her her wishes?

While fall is a very common time for hens to molt, they can actually molt anytime of the year. Molting is usually done on a regular basis, but that basis, from my understanding, is tied to the chicken's age and genetics with some "early and slow" molters at 8 months or so, and some "late and fast" molters at 18 months or so depending upon the breed and genes. After the first molt, the bird will molt in a regular periodic pattern, usually annually, unless some other factor comes into play such as brooding.

Hens usually molt profusely after brooding...while watching the mess my hens' feathers become with the process of brooding and having chicks run (and poo) through their feathers, I've come to believe it is Nature's way of helping the hen clean up. (Seriously, if I had had to use my hair as a spit up cloth with my babies, I would have considered shaving it too.) Molting also rejuvenates their bodies after the long days of brooding (so have plenty of high protein feed for her, 20% protein pellet is good). I also have several hens that do a light molt before they brood...I believe due to the shift in hormones in preparation for the brood...a mini boost for their system before the long days of brooding.

I have seen broodiness prolonged in hens that were very determined to hatch chicks...somehow they know they haven't succeeded and will continue trying until they do going in and out of broodiness until they finally produce success (ie I give in and set some eggs under them or fosters).

One final word on molting...be sure she is molting and not having a problem with feather lice or mites. Also, molting can be caused due to an environmental stress, often a change in lighting or feed, or even a dramatic change in weather pattern...in my area we all had heavy molters from young to old this fall as our weather patterns varied so dramatically.

Several good articles on molting:
http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2011/12/molting-what-is-it-and-how-to-manage-it.html

Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Thank you so much. I guess since I pretty much see them all day long, and he hardly ever tries, I was more concerned the eggs we have would not be fertile. He must do things in secret.

I keep trying to find a thread with how to tell the difference between over breeding and molting/moulting.

You should see a difference in the pattern of feather loss.

Molting begins at the head, then neck, then breast then body then wings then tail.
http://msucares.com/poultry/management/poultry_feathers.html

Over-mated hens typically show baldness on their back from the male treading and often a bald spot at the back of the head where the rooster has grabbed hold...however it stays in that pattern and does not progress through the stages of a molt, ie primary wing feathers.

Lady of McCamley