Pullet Broody!!!!!

[Chiko]

I have a Black Australorp hen who is 8 months old and went broody!

I have heard that hens under a year old shouldnt be let to go broody

She has been setting for about 9 days now and Is really serious about it she is not like my other sweet hens that let me pet them and take their eggs with no problems for candling. But she makes the loudest squack I've ever heard and just gets really upset with me

I candled her eggs and 3/7 are fertile should I leave her be? I hear very often that broody pullets often abandon the nest early and I don't have an Incubator to hatch her eggs if she does quit and no other hens are broody

what should I do thanks

 

[Ms.FuzzyButts]

If you can tell already that they are fertile... Leave them. You don't have a bator.. So no reason to take them away from her. If she leaves, it's bad, but she may not.

 

[DMSrabbit]

Tough call.. Odds are she will get off.. However; i would leave them under her, if she gets off, its only 3 eggs. But if she doesn't, you will have 3 new chicks (pending a good hatch), and you will get to watch how good her motherly instincts are...

I hope they hatch!!

 

[gryeyes]

I've had a broody BO and a broody Welsummer, both hatched out live chicks and raised 'em, and both were only 7 months old. They did NOT brood together; the Welsummer was younger than the BO.

 

[Chiko]

Awesome! thanks everyone

 

[Cavendish Chickens]

Here's what I would do.... Let her sit on them, and as she does make or purchase an incubator just in case she does stop sitting. That way you have a back up and don't lose the chicks. Good luck!

 

[pkw]

I had a 7 month old white orpington sit for a week then she just quit (so I put her eggs in the incubator which I was currently incubating eggs anyways) and I had a 7 month old partridge rock do the same thing. Then another partridge rock (again a 7 month old) started sitting and she was doing okay until one day I discovered her eggs were getting cool. I waited to see if she returned to her nest which she did so I moved her by herself along with her nest. I decided since I disturbed her to move her, her nest and eggs I would candle the eggs. None fertile. So I took some eggs I knew was fertile out of the incubator and placed under her. She is doing really good since I moved her by herself. If all goes well she will have 5 baby chicks January 18th. I would like to at least see her hatch one chick since she is being dedicated now.

I have never had a hen go broody before these 3 went broody.