Placement of broody hen

[Golden Brahma 64]

Put her in that crate, make sure she has loads of hay.
It’ll stop the other hens from picking on her

 

[Hensndoes]

I put my broody in a store bought coop inside the main chickens run. The other chickens didn't care for her new behavior and harassed the crap out of her when she came out to try and eat. This proved to be a great setup as all the flock got used to seeing the babies so when I took down the broody coop (3 - 4 weeks after hatch) there was minimal issues

 

[lazy gardener]

I have a hen who's been flirting with broodiness. She's a huge fluffy butt Colombian Wyandotte. She stuck the nest last night. She's not doing the pancake or the broody cluck. And other gals are squeezing into the nest to lay eggs. If she sticks the nest tonight, I may tighten security in the broody pen, and move her there this weekend. If she still sticks, I'll give her a clutch of eggs. She would be able to cover a huge clutch.

 

[aart]

Sorry, but I'm gonna scold you.
I think your expectations are a bit out of order.....and a tad irresponsible.

You bought a hen that had been allowed to brood for a month before you took her,
and purportedly was not a good mother, leaving her chicks to fend for themselves 2 days after hatch. All was discussed here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-taking-care-of-her-babies.1242965/

First you need to integrate this bird and her friend into your flock
(unless you plan on keeping her separate from the flock),
make sure she's healthy and not beaten on by her new flock mates.

I certainly wouldn't immediately give her fertile eggs and expect her to hatch them out.
Let her settle into the new place (have you checked them over for external parasites?),
then see if she's still broody and set her up with eggs to hatch.

 

[Newfarmer36]

Sorry, but I'm gonna scold you.
I think your expectations are a bit out of order.....and a tad irresponsible.

You bought a hen that had been allowed to brood for a month before you took her,
and purportedly was not a good mother, leaving her chicks to fend for themselves 2 days after hatch. All was discussed here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-taking-care-of-her-babies.1242965/

First you need to integrate this bird and her friend into your flock
(unless you plan on keeping her separate from the flock),
make sure she's healthy and not beaten on by her new flock mates.

I certainly wouldn't immediately give her fertile eggs and expect her to hatch them out.
Let her settle into the new place (have you checked them over for external parasites?),
then see if she's still broody and set her up with eggs to hatch.

I'm sorry. she was paid for in advance so that's why I went ahead and brought her home. The lady I bought her from said that all hens are that way. So that's why I posted that one. I honestly didn't know. She's also the one that told me to put eggs under her. She doesn't have anything on her skin but I can take a stool sample to my vet and check her for parasites. I've had chickens since August and it seems that I haven't learned very much.

 

[aart]

I honestly didn't know. She's also the one that told me to put eggs under her.

Well, now you know.....so just treat her right, as a bird, not as an insta-broody.
Make sure she's really healthy and she may go broody again.

I honestly didn't know. She's also the one that told me to put eggs under her. She doesn't have anything on her skin but I can take a stool sample to my vet and check her for parasites.

That would be a good idea, get a sample from both birds(I assume they are separate from your other birds?) and make sure the vet tells you what species and how many of what ever they might find. If the number aren't high they may not need to be treated.



Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

 

[Newfarmer36]

Well, now you know.....so just treat her right, as a bird, not as an insta-broody.
Make sure she's really healthy and she may go broody again.

That would be a good idea, get a sample from both birds(I assume they are separate from your other birds?) and make sure the vet tells you what species and how many of what ever they might find. If the number aren't high they may not need to be treated.



Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Aart. I didn't mean to offend.

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

Aart. I didn't mean to offend.

You didn’t offend anyone. As you say you are new to keeping birds. We all learn from our mistakes. You bought that hen because she was broody ? Right ?
If you did then the only mistake you made was to put her in with your original flock. If she’s been sitting on those fertile eggs then you should keep her on them. Move her to that crate you have, put lots of fresh hay on the floor and she should be fine.

 

[Hensndoes]

This is where she is right now. Unfortunately , I don't have a dog house. The black one is the one that's broody.

I understand what it's like to be new so please don't take these questions personal or harsh. You have to learn somewhere sometime.

1st - you say the black one is broody? How long have those eggs been beside her? Where did they come from? Are they the fertile ones that were previously sat on? If so how long has she been off them? I ask because most broody hens would not let eggs sit so temptingly close without stealing them. Is she really broody? Or is she breaking due to stress?

Also- if she's been broody for a month and moved to your setup - is she really still sitting? Whats the significance of the eggs you are putting under her? Can you give her day old chicks instead? - if you try that you MUST do more research before you act.

Broody hens are a different animal. They are fierce but they are also taxing their system from not eating, drinking and exercising as normal. They will lose their reserves and it isn't healthy for them to stay in that state longer than necessary

There was a comment about letting the hens integrate into your flock first to settle pecking order - but I will respectfully disagree. I do not think it is all that important as long as when she does integrate you put effort into learning how to facilitate it - look but no touch for a while. One of my hen was almost at the top of the pecking order before she went broody. When she went broody she dropped to the very bottom and was ostracized for her new behavior. So in my experience- which will not always be everyone's- pecking order changes when you add or subtract birds and when existing birds go broody.

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

Aart. I didn't mean to offend.

I also don’t agree with that post that states to let your new hens integrate with your original flock. You bought this hen because she was broody. Let her hatch some eggs. Put her in that crate with fresh hay and wait three weeks till they hatch. In my opinion you did absolutely nothing wrong. Just know from now on to have your broodies in a separate place, even if one of your original flock hens go broody. Always keep broodies separate.
Good luck and keep us posted.
I have a broody at the moment too, just three weeks left. Hope everything goes good with yours