Question About Broody Hen

[Linda Jayne]

My RIR has gone broody but with no roosters, there is no point. I've read the pages on breaking a broody hen but I'm wondering....if I just let her go for the 21 days it takes,( continuing to collect the eggs each day from the others & take her out once a day to eat & drink) will she stop on her own after the appropriate time or do they continue to "nest" until they are either broken or have babies to care for?

I checked at my local feed store & they do sell eggs but cannot be sure they are fertile. I wouldn't mind having one more (just to give her the opportunity to be a momma) but as I understand it, once they go broody it becomes a regular thing? Would I just be better off stopping this now?

Thanks,
Linda

 

[chicmom]

I have the same situation right now...I've got a beautiful BCM hen, Fancy, and she's broody, and of course now I have no rooster. Soooo, I decided to let the broodiness run its course, and she was broody for OVER TWO MONTHS! It's a pain in the tushy! So, you can break that broodiness by putting your hen in a cage, with food and water only....NO BEDDING, for about 3-5 days. Stubborn hens will take more time.

Good luck! (I wish I would have found some eggs to put under her, but I have limited space.....)

Sharon

 

[Southernbelle]

I always let mine brood. If you don't give her eggs, she may quit after 3 weeks or she may keep going until she gets chicks - it all depends on the hen and how her hormones are wired. You could always have some eggs shipped to you or maybe check your local Craigslist for fertile eggs or let her sit on fake eggs for 3 weeks and tuck some feedstore chicks under her.

If you decide not to give her eggs, you should probably try to break her of being broody since brooding can be hard on them. You could give her ice cubes to sit on, block her access to the nest or put her in wire rabbit cage until she's gone back to normal.

She will probably go broody in the future whether you let her brood now or not. A broody RIR is rare, but not unheard of, so if she went broody once, she might again.

I love broody hens - nothing cuter than watching a mama hen with a few babies trailing after her!