Persistent broody issues

[aart]

Bes

And even when I tried to move her to a crate, didn't help.

Best to move them to a secure area before giving them fresh fertile eggs.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Bes

Best to move them to a secure area before giving them fresh fertile eggs.

How do you do that when you don't know when they are going to go broody?

 

[aart]

How do you do that when you don't know when they are going to go broody?

Well, I gather eggs every day, never leaving any in the nests overnight.

When I have a broody and want her to hatch I wait until she's been in the nest most the day and all night for 2-3 days.

Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.
Then I give her fresh fertile eggs and mark the calendar.

I like them separated by wire from the flock, it's just easier all around.
No having to mark eggs and remove any additions daily, no taking up a laying nest, no going back to the wrong nest after the daily constitutional.


I remove barrier about one week after hatch. The chicks are usually safe it's the broody who has to 'fight' her way back into the pecking order...which can be quick or take a few days.
Lots of space helps for re-integration.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Well, I gather eggs every day, never leaving any in the nests overnight.

When I have a broody and want her to hatch I wait until she's been in the nest most the day and all night for 2-3 days.

Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.
Then I give her fresh fertile eggs and mark the calendar.

I like them separated by wire from the flock, it's just easier all around.
No having to mark eggs and remove any additions daily, no taking up a laying nest, no going back to the wrong nest after the daily constitutional.


I remove barrier about one week after hatch. The chicks are usually safe it's the broody who has to 'fight' her way back into the pecking order...which can be quick or take a few days.
Lots of space helps for re-integration.

THANK YOU for detailing this out.... It helps me understand what I can do better. I've just been letting them sit on whatever eggs they find. I collect eggs mostly every day but usually in the evening. If there was a broody sitting on eggs, I didn't disturb her to get the eggs.

The Black Australorps have been problematic in this process, but they are all first time mothers too. I currently have 3 BA hens who are 'community raising' the day-old chicks that I gave them after they hatched a couple of their own chicks. The chicks they hatched were either killed by them (pecked to death) or died by accident/predator. (The one who died by predator was yesterday while they were out free ranging in the pasture. Not sure what predator it was...only that 1 chick was gone.)

Anyway, that leaves 2 broodies who have been sitting for 2+ weeks and 2 more who have 'appeared' to be broody in the past 2 days. Maybe I should put the 2 new ones in a crate and see what happens?

 

[aart]

Anyway, that leaves 2 broodies who have been sitting for 2+ weeks and 2 more who have 'appeared' to be broody in the past 2 days. Maybe I should put the 2 new ones in a crate and see what happens?

Not sure if you want the broodies to hatch out chicks..... or not.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Not sure if you want the broodies to hatch out chicks..... or not.

Yes, I would like some eggs hatched and raised by broody mamas. Not a ton....maybe 6 - 8. I'm just frustrated because I have all these broody hens so you'd think my odds would be good but then I walk into the coop to find dead chicks that have been killed literally right before or as they hatch.

 

[aart]

Yes, I would like some eggs hatched and raised by broody mamas. Not a ton....maybe 6 - 8. I'm just frustrated because I have all these broody hens so you'd think my odds would be good but then I walk into the coop to find dead chicks that have been killed literally right before or as they hatch.

Then you'll need place for a broody to hatch safely.....and some crates to break the other broodies. You decide who gets to do what.

 

[NatJ]

Then you'll need place for a broody to hatch safely.....and some crates to break the other broodies. You decide who gets to do what.

Sometimes I let the hens decide.

I move one to a safe place with a nest.
2-3 days later either she's sitting nicely on that nest and I can give her eggs, or she's been pacing back and forth constantly and is no longer broody.

If the hen is no longer broody, I let her out and the crate or pen with the nest is free for the next one.

But that way the ones that are easy to break, or refuse to move, get broken. The ones that are easy to move and stay broody can be the ones to sit on eggs.

 

[aart]

Sometimes I let the hens decide.

I move one to a safe place with a nest.
2-3 days later either she's sitting nicely on that nest and I can give her eggs, or she's been pacing back and forth constantly and is no longer broody.

If the hen is no longer broody, I let her out and the crate or pen with the nest is free for the next one.

But that way the ones that are easy to break, or refuse to move, get broken. The ones that are easy to move and stay broody can be the ones to sit on eggs.

Well, yeah, that's another good reason for the keeper to decide to set them up somewhere safe.

Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I am STILL having issues with newborn chicks getting killed. I don't know who is doing it or why. At this point, I only have ONE broody (buff Orpington) in my main coop who is sitting on eggs. They should be hatching any day now.... I checked her last night and no babies yet. I walked into the coop this morning and there's a dead chick on the coop floor.

If I try to move her into a crate I'm afraid she will flip out and abandon her eggs like the other broody did... But I can't keep letting chicks get killed.

Unfortunately I only have one incubator and it's in use right now on Day 2 so I can't use it for eggs which would be in lockdown.

I'm thinking about taking my dog crate and putting it in front of her nesting box. This would allow her to leave the nest box to eat and drink in the crate but the other chickens can't get to her eggs. I may have to get creative though because I don't think I can get the dog crate exactly RIGHT up against the nesting box. There may be a 6 in gap because of the landscaping timber that provides a roost and access to other nesting boxes above hers...

Still.... I don't know what else to do