Should I Let Her Hatch Eggs?

[DwayneNLiz]

Okay - have an immediate situation I need remedied. It is in three parts.

Part 1: As this thread shows, I have a hen that went broody a while back. I let her sit and then swapped three day-old chicks out for the egg at night. She'd sat consistently for three weeks, so I knew she was serious.

Well, today I go to get eggs around noon, and she's sitting on the nesting box. She acts all hissy at me, won't let me near her to get the eggs. I figure no biggie. Go back in and get on with life. Just went back out there - three-plus hours later. She's still on the eggs, acting mean toward me. I picked her up, swooped up the eggs, and put her back on the wooden egg we leave in there.

Part 2: Yesterday, I hatched out 11 chicks. So they're a day old - just right for the swap.

Part 3: (this is where the question comes) - Should I do a swap tonight? Mama isn't doing much caring for the other chicks now, as they're 5 or 6 weeks old and doing their own thing most of the time. So she would be available to care for the chick I stuff under her. If I do that and it succeeds, would the mama keep laying eggs? She actually laid one today. What I'm wanting to avoid is having her go broody another three weeks. So...better to give her a chick OR...pull her out of the coop and throw her out in the rain with the rest of the girls? I'm willing to do that and even close the coop so she can't get in until I want her in. It's easy to put a pile o' food outside that isn't in the weather.

HELP!

so this is the 2nd time she has been broody?
when a hen goes broody they stop laying, so that is someone else's egg under her
do the swap late tonight after she is asleep, or very early in the morning before she wakes up, i think the early morning thing is the best that way you can keep and eye on her to make sure she accepts the chicks and doesnt try to kill them

 

[danielkbrantley]

so this is the 2nd time she has been broody?
when a hen goes broody they stop laying, so that is someone else's egg under her
do the swap late tonight after she is asleep, or very early in the morning before she wakes up, i think the early morning thing is the best that way you can keep and eye on her to make sure she accepts the chicks and doesnt try to kill them

Then maybe she's not broody and is just mean. Hahaha... It was definitely her egg. She's my only green layer. Think she may have laid her last today in prep for brooding?

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Then maybe she's not broody and is just mean. Hahaha... It was definitely her egg. She's my only green layer. Think she may have laid her last today in prep for brooding?

maybe, then after they are done being broody they take a couple/few weeks to start laying again

 

[danielkbrantley]

maybe, then after they are done being broody they take a couple/few weeks to start laying again

Yeah. She didn't start laying again until a week or two ago. The month without those green eggs really made our cartons look dull! I'm going to go see if she's still on the nest. If she is, I'm going to toss her and the egg into the little dog kennel in the coop. If she's still on the egg when I get home tonight, I may stuff a chick under her. I just want the broodiness gone!

 

[danielkbrantley]

THIS JUST IN: Hen got out of nest and was dust bathing. I walked toward her to see if she would get defensive and crazy and she just walked away. So...crisis averted for now. Just seemed the perfect opportunity to knock out her broodiness as I'd just hatched out some chicks. So...gonna just pull her off the nest in the future.

Thanks for the help!

 

[BantyChooks]

Okay - have an immediate situation I need remedied. It is in three parts.

Part 1: As this thread shows, I have a hen that went broody a while back. I let her sit and then swapped three day-old chicks out for the egg at night. She'd sat consistently for three weeks, so I knew she was serious.

Well, today I go to get eggs around noon, and she's sitting on the nesting box. She acts all hissy at me, won't let me near her to get the eggs. I figure no biggie. Go back in and get on with life. Just went back out there - three-plus hours later. She's still on the eggs, acting mean toward me. I picked her up, swooped up the eggs, and put her back on the wooden egg we leave in there.

Part 2: Yesterday, I hatched out 11 chicks. So they're a day old - just right for the swap.

Part 3: (this is where the question comes) - Should I do a swap tonight? Mama isn't doing much caring for the other chicks now, as they're 5 or 6 weeks old and doing their own thing most of the time. So she would be available to care for the chick I stuff under her. If I do that and it succeeds, would the mama keep laying eggs? She actually laid one today. What I'm wanting to avoid is having her go broody another three weeks. So...better to give her a chick OR...pull her out of the coop and throw her out in the rain with the rest of the girls? I'm willing to do that and even close the coop so she can't get in until I want her in. It's easy to put a pile o' food outside that isn't in the weather.

HELP!

THIS JUST IN: Hen got out of nest and was dust bathing. I walked toward her to see if she would get defensive and crazy and she just walked away. So...crisis averted for now. Just seemed the perfect opportunity to knock out her broodiness as I'd just hatched out some chicks. So...gonna just pull her off the nest in the future.

Thanks for the help!

Great!!

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Yeah. She didn't start laying again until a week or two ago. The month without those green eggs really made our cartons look dull! I'm going to go see if she's still on the nest. If she is, I'm going to toss her and the egg into the little dog kennel in the coop. If she's still on the egg when I get home tonight, I may stuff a chick under her. I just want the broodiness gone!

You can always put frozen water bottle under them, or an elevated wire bottom cage to break the broodiness

 

[danielkbrantley]

You can always put frozen water bottle under them, or an elevated wire bottom cage to break the broodiness

I've heard of the elevated cage, but a frozen water bottle? HAHAHAHA!!! I like the sound of that. Seems entertaining in a humane way. Hahahahaha...

 

[DwayneNLiz]

I've heard of the elevated cage, but a frozen water bottle? HAHAHAHA!!! I like the sound of that. Seems entertaining in a humane way. Hahahahaha...

lol supposedly it works just gotta cool her underside lol

 

[danielkbrantley]

Okay, this hen is a brooding machine!

This morning, she was back on the nest and wouldn't get off. So...I took one of those solid ice packs you put in kids' lunch boxes and stuffed it under her. At lunch, I came home and she was on it like nothing was wrong. I put another under there and removed the warmed one. Came home after work and that thing was hot!

Now I've got to figure out if I should a) just get her some eggs to hatch out and sell the chicks - which seems like a hassle since she would attack me something fierce and be super sad afterward or b) sell her to someone who wants the broodiest creature ever.

I realize this decision comes down to me, but I thought I'd get your input, smarter-than-me chicken folks

Note: There are chicks that she's been raising that are about 6 or 7 weeks old now. They ignore her pretty much all the time, but if I get close to them, she'll bow up to protect them. If I take her, will the chicks be okay with the other adult hens? Don't want to leave them in peril.