Pullet in nesting box all day?

[Sunny Side Up]

Some hens are easier to reprogram than others. All it takes for some is to lift them off the nest & set them down in the middle of the yard, especially if there is something tasty to occupy their attention there. Others need 2-4 days in a Broody Buster with a nice breeze blowing up underneath.

Is your broody the BO in your avatar?

 

[cluckcluck42]

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lmao!

 

[wannahavehens]

I have a broody sitting on a golf ball! Is there anything wrong with letting her sit it out?? It's been about 2 weeks now. She comes out once a day to eat, drink and take a dust bath, then right back in.

 

[Lucy4]

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Yup, that's her. She's a sweet girl. But at present, she's telling everyone off, including the other girls.

I was wondering why Bella (one of my ameraucanas) was trying to sit on Rosie when I went in there last night... now I know it's because Rosie was in there for hours and Bella needed box time.

I'm going to go put her in the yard now. Here goes nothin'...

 

[Stephanie-n-Hayden]

I have a 6 month old pullet who has been laying for a few weeks now and just became broody all of a sudden. I have been going in each day to collect her eggs and one day found her sitting on them. She wouldn't budge! She is all puffed up, but doesn't growl at anyone. I was starting to get worried because I hadn't seen her move, but I went out the other day with some left-overs from dinner and -whala- she sure did get up and run out into the pen to do some munchin! She stayed poofed out (but I read somewhere that they try to look bigger than what they are to keep others away). She pooped a REAL big white turd, ate a bit, and went right back to her nest. Did the same thing today. She won't get off the nest though (that I can see) unless she knows I have brought something yummy.

But here is a question - how many eggs do they normally lay on? I was guessing she had about 3 or 4 little banty eggs under her, but was shocked when she got up and I counted 13! And 7 of those were eggs from my RIR! Being a young banty, is she able to care for all of those eggs?

 

[PortageGirl]

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Yep, she'll take all comers! If she can cover them, she'll hatch them, and they don't care about the size of the chicks either. Chickens are equal opportunity momma's.

As far as letting a hen set on golf balls, she'll do it, and try to hatch them, well past the normal 21 days, but it really is rather pointless.

If there's no hope of hatching, why let her go through the stress and struggle of setting on golf balls? There IS stress involved, she'll go thirsty, hungry, get off once a day to eat and poo, but if you watch how they eat and act, you MUST know that it is not easy for her to reduce the whole days activities into 15 or so minutes. Why would you allow it when all you need to do is keep her away from a nest environment for a few days so her hormones reallign. Chickens are pretty simplistic that way.

totally up to you of course.

Broodies are good! I much prefer them to incubators, I think I have better chicks and a happier healthier flock by using them instead.

Just my choice of course!

 

[Rebel Rooster]

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I'm glad I wasn't drinking my coffee when I read this!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

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I've never let a hen set that long so I don't know how long one would set without something hatching. I know they can set for a loooong time because a few times I've had hens set for 3 weeks on eggs that didn't hatch & I then gave them fresh fertile eggs and they'd set another 3 weeks until those new ones hatched. If you're not going to have your hen hatch fertile eggs it would probably be best to break her broody spell by putting her in a wire-bottomed cage. It should take 2-4 days before she's back to her regular routine. And she may go broody again after another few weeks/months.

 

[fshinggrl]

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Funny.. we have two Rosies. My son named one of them.

 

[Lucy4]

Well, I haven't gotten a cage yet (hoping one comes my way via craigslist or freecycle), but in the meantime, I'm letting her free range in the yard to keep her out the nesting box. She's annoyed, and fluffs herself up whenever I come near her. But at least she's running around and eating instead of in the box. At night, I cover up the nesting box when she's back in the coop.

Any chance continuing to keep her in my yard might break her of the broodiness, rather than using the cage?