Red Star Broody

[SmotherHen]

I have 4 Red Stars bought from Cackle N. and one named Lucy has gone very broody. I thought this was uncommon among sex link hens? I know it's not healthy for the chicks if they come from her eggs, so I have been slipping eggs under her from the purebreds hens. I have a purebred Barred Rock Rooster for breeding. Should I expect any problems with letting her try to raise eggs that aren't her own? She is content sitting on them. She's in an oversize nest box that i've attached a small dog pen to that holds her feed and water. She isn't interested in leaving the nest at all and I'm concerned she'll get dehydrated. I've tried wetting her beek with my finger to get her to drink. I can see her iris changing shape rapidly but she's not being defensive with me. Thank you!

 

[nuthatched]

Not uncommon, no. They just don't typically live that long.
Why do you think she can't produce healthy chicks?
Some birds are great moms, some aren't, it has little to do with breed.

 

[aart]

I have been slipping eggs under her from the purebreds hens

Give her as many eggs as you want her to hatch and that she can cover, all at once and mark them. Don't keep adding eggs.

She's in an oversize nest box that i've attached a small dog pen to that holds her feed and water. She isn't interested in leaving the nest at all and I'm concerned she'll get dehydrated.

So does this mean no other bird can get in to lay more eggs?
Got a pic of this set up?
Broodies usually leave the nest once a day to eat/drink/poop.

 

[SmotherHen]

Right, she is secluded. When she goes out in the yard they chase her and she doesn't have a chance to feed or drink. So I'm giving her food and water where the others can't take it from her. She has plenty of space to relieve herself as the cage has a tray bottom and covered in litter. i'm still concerned about her refusal of water. Keeping the water secluded will help me to judge her intake. thanks for your reply.

 

[SmotherHen]

Not uncommon, no. They just don't typically live that long.
Why do you think she can't produce healthy chicks?
Some birds are great moms, some aren't, it has little to do with breed.

when i've looked up Red Star hens on the net I found negative comments about letting them breed their own eggs.

 

[SmotherHen]

Give her as many eggs as you want her to hatch and that she can cover, all at once and mark them. Don't keep adding eggs.


So does this mean no other bird can get in to lay more eggs?
Got a pic of this set up?
Broodies usually leave the nest once a day to eat/drink/poop.

thank you aart for your advice re Don't keep adding eggs.

 

[nuthatched]

when i've looked up Red Star hens on the net I found negative comments about letting them breed their own eggs.

Her eggs are fine, all she is is a mixed breed with marketing.

 

[SmotherHen]

Give her as many eggs as you want her to hatch and that she can cover, all at once and mark them. Don't keep adding eggs.


So does this mean no other bird can get in to lay more eggs?
Got a pic of this set up?
Broodies usually leave the nest once a day to eat/drink/poop.

i opened the door today to let the other hen(s) go onto her nest and lay more eggs. she put up with it. one of the eggs fell by the wayside. it was unheated for about an hour. is that too long for the egg to be viable?

 

[Auntiejessi3]

i opened the door today to let the other hen(s) go onto her nest and lay more eggs. she put up with it. one of the eggs fell by the wayside. it was unheated for about an hour. is that too long for the egg to be viable?

Why did you do that after you went to the trouble to seclude her? Did you take the eggs they laid out? Either leave her with access to the flock or keep her secluded, don't keep changing it up.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have 4 Red Stars bought from Cackle N. and one named Lucy has gone very broody. I thought this was uncommon among sex link hens?

I could not find "Red Stars" on the Cackle Hatchery site. I was trying to get an idea of what type of Red Stars they are. Red Star is a marketing name, not a breed name. They should be red sex link hens but they may be commercial egg laying hybrids or they may be crosses between two standard breeds.

Any hen of any breed or cross can possibly go broody, but some are bred to hardly ever go broody. The Red Stars that are commercial hybrids can go broody but it is tremendously rare. They try to breed broodiness out of them. The Red Stars from standard breeds may or may not go broody. Part of that depends on which breeds they are made from. Many of these Red Stars are made from breeds that often do not go broody but many does not mean all.

Whether they are Red Sex links or Black Sex Links, them being sex links is related to down color only. There is nothing about them being sex links that affects how many eggs they lay, how big they grow, or whether or not they go broody. That depends on what traits they inherit from their parents.

I know it's not healthy for the chicks if they come from her eggs, so I have been slipping eggs under her from the purebreds hens.

I'm a bit confused about this. Is she still laying eggs while "very" broody? Still, that is what I do. When a hen goes broody she stops laying so I collect eggs for her to hatch from the hens that are laying.

I don't have a clue why it would be unhealthy for the chicks that hatch from her eggs? They will inherit traits from her and the rooster. They are normal chickens.

when i've looked up Red Star hens on the net I found negative comments about letting them breed their own eggs.

I don't know why someone would say something like that. I'm not sure what the context actually is for this comment. Regardless of breed or type, some broody hens make great mothers while some don't. It's an individual thing, not a breed thing. No matter what the type or breed or what the actual topic is you can find someone that will have something negative to say. I find that a lot of generalizations about behaviors of breed or type don't mean much. Each is an individual chicken and will do as she does.

I have a purebred Barred Rock Rooster for breeding. Should I expect any problems with letting her try to raise eggs that aren't her own?

Absolutely not. You can give her turkey or guinea eggs to hatch and she would probably hatch and raise them, let alone chicken eggs.

She is content sitting on them. She's in an oversize nest box that i've attached a small dog pen to that holds her feed and water. She isn't interested in leaving the nest at all and I'm concerned she'll get dehydrated. I've tried wetting her beek with my finger to get her to drink. I can see her iris changing shape rapidly but she's not being defensive with me. Thank you!

I had a broody hen that came off of the nest twice a day and spent over an hour off of the nest each time. I had one that came off once a day for 15 minutes every morning. I've had some that I never saw off of the nest but I knew they were coming off because they were not pooping in the nest. All these had great hatches.

Before a hen even starts laying eggs she stores up excess fat. Most of this is in a "fat pad" in her pelvic region but that fat can be spread around. This excess fat is what a hen mostly lives off of while she is broody. This way she can stay on the nest taking care of the eggs instead of having to go out often looking for food or water. As long as she has access to food and water she should be able to manage that.

I understand you have heard a lot of slander about red stars going broody. They often do not go broody. But if she is truly broody she should be like any other broody hen. Most broody hens are great, some not so much. But trust her and you will probably do fine.

Good luck!