possible hen going broody

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the510flock

In the Brooder
6 Years
Dec 29, 2013
32
1
31
Richmond, Ca
So i noticed today that one of my 8mo old black langshan hens is almost completely bald on her underside and have come to the conclusion that she may becoming broody! Theres no sign of irritation where the skin is bare and its only may so i dont think shes molting. I would be really excited if she hatched a clutch of eggs!! What can i do to help her when she does go broody finally? Im a first time backyard chicken owner so i have so many questions! Will she leave the eggs to eat and get water?should i seperate her from my 6 other hens and rooster?is it possible halfway into the process for her to abandon the eggs?when should i stop collecting eggs so she has enough to sit on?

Im so excited because i just decided not to buy an incubator but still really want sum baby chicks so im keeping my fingers crossed!
 
the510flock said:
So i noticed today that one of my 8mo old black langshan hens is almost completely bald on her underside and have come to the conclusion that she may becoming broody! Theres no sign of irritation where the skin is bare and its only may so i dont think shes molting. I would be really excited if she hatched a clutch of eggs!! What can i do to help her when she does go broody finally? Im a first time backyard chicken owner so i have so many questions! Will she leave the eggs to eat and get water?should i seperate her from my 6 other hens and rooster?is it possible halfway into the process for her to abandon the eggs?when should i stop collecting eggs so she has enough to sit on?

Im so excited because i just decided not to buy an incubator but still really want sum baby chicks so im keeping my fingers crossed!
Click to expand...
I'm a first-time backyard chicken mama, too! This page has valuable info for you:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/08/caring-for-broody-hens-facilitating-egg.html

Hope this helps out some!
 
That article is great. Kathy is very very good. But some of that is opinion. We all have our opinions based on our experiences and exposures. My opinion does not totally agree with Kathy’s on everything. I’ll base some of my comments the article, so some of them may not make sense if someone hasn’t read it.

I’ve never lost a chick when the hen was raising them with the flock with total access, except the one time a two week old chick killed its hatch-mate while the broody watched. That could have happened whether they were isolated or not. At that time they were isolated. I have lost a couple of chicks when the chicks got into an area where the broody could not protect them, like a grow-out pen of 8 week olds through a crack in a gate. I’m sure others have lost chicks to other adult flock members when the broody had access, but I haven’t seen it. I much prefer the broody to raise the chicks with the flock so she handles integration. There is nothing wrong with isolating a broody with her chicks, but there are risks in doing that too. Make very sure they are isolated and can’t get away from Mama’s protection. They are very vulnerable when she is locked up but they can get through the fence.

A hen builds up a lot of fat when she is laying eggs, mostly in what is called a fat pad in her pelvic region. Anybody that has butchered a hen when she was laying will know what I’m talking about. That’s available for her use when she goes broody. They will lose a lot of weight while broody, but for the first month or so, that’s mostly fat put there for that purpose. It doesn’t hurt them to be broody for a month or so, but I strongly believe if you are not going to give her fertile eggs or just-hatched chicks you need to break her. That raised wire-bottom cage is the method I use. It doesn’t help them in any way to just sit there using up reserves.

Another warning about a broody. A poultry specialist once said that roost mites kill more broody hens than anything else. Roost mites come out at night in the dark and run away from light. The broody is just sitting there as a target. I think you need to check her for roost mites at night just to make sure she is OK. That same specialist said treating with Sevin will not harm the eggs or broody at all.

If you do isolate a broody, definitely put the nest near the ground. But I’ve seen a broody hen get her chick out of a ten foot high hayloft. Mama says jump and they do, then hop up and run to her. I don’t worry if a hen is hatching in a nest a few feet off the ground. But there is a secret to that. Don’t use small nests and have a decent lip on the nest. The higher lip is manly to keep eggs and chicks from being scratched out or bumped out.

It’s pretty common for the first chicks that hatch to climb up on the hen’s back. If she is in a small nest, the broody is likely to be sitting near the edge. The chick can fall out of the nest if the hen is close to the edge. My nests are 16” x 16” with lips about 5” high. I’ve never had a chick fall out of those. I once had a hen hatch in a cat litter bucket, bucket not bin. The top was 9-1/2” x 11-1/2”. Several chicks fell out of that. That nest is no longer in my coop.

I think the larger nests also make it much less likely the eggs are going to get damaged when other hens lay with a broody. Other than the time the two broodies fought over the eggs, the only problems I’ve had with broken or punctured eggs has been when the shells were unusually thin. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but there is usually a reason. I’ve had broodies puncture their own eggs when they were isolated. I have certain nests I like for them to hatch in. If they go broody in a different nest, I have my nests set up so I can lock them in those with food, water, and bathroom room until they learn that nest is their new home. That’s when I’ve seen eggs only she could have punctured.

I don’t necessarily think a hen hatching with the flock is the hard way since I have to work less in feeding, watering, and cleaning, but there are potential problems. I do think having bigger nests, a couple of spare nests, and just more room in the coop and run help in that situation but you don’t get guarantees with living animals.

My test to see if a hen is broody and deserves being given eggs to hatch is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of roosting in her normal spot. I’ve got hens right now walking around acting broody, making broody sounds and fluffed up, but they are not spending a lot of time on the nests. I’ve had hens spend one night on the nests then quit. Some of them go all the way to full broody mode when they start but some of them are fairly delicate about going broody. The hormones don’t always kick in full broody mode. Given time they may go full broody mode or they may quit on their own, sometimes after a few weeks of indecision. Interfering with them when they are still undecided can sometimes break them.

Many people on this forum have multiple broodies work well together in hatching and raising chicks. A lot of times that works out great. But sometimes it does not work out great. One broody may kill the chicks as they hatch under the other broody. I’ve seen broodies fight over control of the eggs or chicks. Last year I had a hen go broody two days before another broody was due to hatch. They fought over the eggs and destroyed half of them, just about the time they started internal pip and peeping from inside the egg. Some people really enjoy multiple broodies working together but I no longer allow it. That is one time I’ll separate them. That’s why I have special nests set up for them to hatch in.

Like I said, that is a great article and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kathy. Her goals and set-up are different than mine and she has found a way that works best for her. She also has a very good reputation as a breeder. She is good. She has found a way that works for her and will work for a lot of other people. I agree with practically everything she said but I have had different experiences. I’m giving you my opinion, not saying my way is the only way or necessarily the best way for everyone. We are all unique.
 
Last edited:
Ridgerunner said:
That article is great. Kathy is very very good. But some of that is opinion. We all have our opinions based on our experiences and exposures. My opinion does not totally agree with Kathy’s on everything. I’ll base some of my comments the article, so some of them may not make sense if someone hasn’t read it.

I’ve never lost a chick when the hen was raising them with the flock with total access, except the one time a two week old chick killed its hatch-mate while the broody watched. That could have happened whether they were isolated or not. At that time they were isolated. I have lost a couple of chicks when the chicks got into an area where the broody could not protect them, like a grow-out pen of 8 week olds through a crack in a gate. I’m sure others have lost chicks to other adult flock members when the broody had access, but I haven’t seen it. I much prefer the broody to raise the chicks with the flock so she handles integration. There is nothing wrong with isolating a broody with her chicks, but there are risks in doing that too. Make very sure they are isolated and can’t get away from Mama’s protection. They are very vulnerable when she is locked up but they can get through the fence.

A hen builds up a lot of fat when she is laying eggs, mostly in what is called a fat pad in her pelvic region. Anybody that has butchered a hen when she was laying will know what I’m talking about. That’s available for her use when she goes broody. They will lose a lot of weight while broody, but for the first month or so, that’s mostly fat put there for that purpose. It doesn’t hurt them to be broody for a month or so, but I strongly believe if you are not going to give her fertile eggs or just-hatched chicks you need to break her. That raised wire-bottom cage is the method I use. It doesn’t help them in any way to just sit there using up reserves.

Another warning about a broody. A poultry specialist once said that roost mites kill more broody hens than anything else. Roost mites come out at night in the dark and run away from light. The broody is just sitting there as a target. I think you need to check her for roost mites at night just to make sure she is OK. That same specialist said treating with Sevin will not harm the eggs or broody at all.

If you do isolate a broody, definitely put the nest near the ground. But I’ve seen a broody hen get her chick out of a ten foot high hayloft. Mama says jump and they do, then hop up and run to her. I don’t worry if a hen is hatching in a nest a few feet off the ground. But there is a secret to that. Don’t use small nests and have a decent lip on the nest. The higher lip is manly to keep eggs and chicks from being scratched out or bumped out.

It’s pretty common for the first chicks that hatch to climb up on the hen’s back. If she is in a small nest, the broody is likely to be sitting near the edge. The chick can fall out of the nest if the hen is close to the edge. My nests are 16” x 16” with lips about 5” high. I’ve never had a chick fall out of those. I once had a hen hatch in a cat litter bucket, bucket not bin. The top was 9-1/2” x 11-1/2”. Several chicks fell out of that. That nest is no longer in my coop.

I think the larger nests also make it much less likely the eggs are going to get damaged when other hens lay with a broody. Other than the time the two broodies fought over the eggs, the only problems I’ve had with broken or punctured eggs has been when the shells were unusually thin. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but there is usually a reason. I’ve had broodies puncture their own eggs when they were isolated. I have certain nests I like for them to hatch in. If they go broody in a different nest, I have my nests set up so I can lock them in those with food, water, and bathroom room until they learn that nest is their new home. That’s when I’ve seen eggs only she could have punctured.

I don’t necessarily think a hen hatching with the flock is the hard way since I have to work less in feeding, watering, and cleaning, but there are potential problems. I do think having bigger nests, a couple of spare nests, and just more room in the coop and run help in that situation but you don’t get guarantees with living animals.

My test to see if a hen is broody and deserves being given eggs to hatch is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of roosting in her normal spot. I’ve got hens right now walking around acting broody, making broody sounds and fluffed up, but they are not spending a lot of time on the nests. I’ve had hens spend one night on the nests then quit. Some of them go all the way to full broody mode when they start but some of them are fairly delicate about going broody. The hormones don’t always kick in full broody mode. Given time they may go full broody mode or they may quit on their own, sometimes after a few weeks of indecision. Interfering with them when they are still undecided can sometimes break them.

Many people on this forum have multiple broodies work well together in hatching and raising chicks. A lot of times that works out great. But sometimes it does not work out great. One broody may kill the chicks as they hatch under the other broody. I’ve seen broodies fight over control of the eggs or chicks. Last year I had a hen go broody two days before another broody was due to hatch. They fought over the eggs and destroyed half of them, just about the time they started internal pip and peeping from inside the egg. Some people really enjoy multiple broodies working together but I no longer allow it. That is one time I’ll separate them. That’s why I have special nests set up for them to hatch in.

Like I said, that is a great article and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kathy. Her goals and set-up are different than mine and she has found a way that works best for her. She also has a very good reputation as a breeder. She is good. She has found a way that works for her and will work for a lot of other people. I agree with practically everything she said but I have had different experiences. I’m giving you my opinion, not saying my way is the only way or necessarily the best way for everyone. We are all unique.
Click to expand...


Thanks so much for a shedding a little better light on hatching with the flock or isolating!definitely helped open my mind so i can better decide what to do if she actually does go full broody. I really appreciate the feedback!!
 
I agree Ridgerunner.

Currently I have a dozen broodies with chicks. I separated a few, only because there are so many and the hens like to steal each others' babies. They did kill 3 chicks. But, most of them are raising the chicks with the flock. I am talking like over 50 chicks here.....

Here are 5 broodies (today) wanting to hatch from the same nest. *roll eyes*



3 more broodies sitting (this is today). Yes, one is Toni Turkey (my only turkey - she has no mate), sitting on chicken eggs.



This hen is a wonderful brood mama. She has 10 chicks here.





Lots more chicks here!









 
Sooo the hen i thought was going broody seems to not be committing to her nest... she seems to be acting normal so im not aure why part of her breast and belly are bare.ive pretty much lost hope for now :( and on another note, this morning i watched one of my hens struggle to get her egg out, going to the store for canned sardines tonight hoping it will help her a little so she doesnt become egg bound. Feeling a little upset :/
 
Can anyone tell me why my hen is still picking out her breast feathers??? Everything else is normal and shes clearly not going broody unless it takes them a month to decide whether or not theyre going to sit on a clutch of eggs. Help!
 

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