So I have a broody sitting on eggs.....any advice?

[WhatAboutBob?]

I walked into the Coop yesterday and 1 of my GLWs was sitting on 3 eggs. So I chased her out and took the eggs away from her.... How does she repay me? Ha! She now sitting on either 4 or 5 eggs this afternoon. I have to admire her tenacity, so now I am a victim of “Chicken Math”.

She is still a pullet, so I have concerns and reservations. Skeptical on survival...any advice on anything to help out this misguided Pullet? I tried telling her she was crazy already, and it didn’t work.

 

[Poultry keeper12]

Hey,
Try putting her in ice cold water, for about fifteen minutes, hope this works
Best of luck.

 

[MaryZoe]

Fifteen minutes of ice cod water sounds awful to me! If its cold out where you are, sounds like a recipe for a sick hen as well. It is not easy to break a hen of her broodiness. If you can possibly let her hatch her chicks, I would suggest that. Why are you worried that she is just a pullet? If it is because broodiness is hard on her system, try bringing her extra treats to be sure that she eats and drinks plenty. Also, you do not need to allow her to hatch your own eggs. You can take the eggs out from under her every night and provide her wooden eggs while you collect your hens' eggs every day. Then, after 21 days, you can buy 2-3 day old chicks from the feed store (pullets!) and slip them under her at night. She'll most likely love them up and be a great mom.

 

[WhatAboutBob?]

Hey,
Try putting her in ice cold water, for about fifteen minutes, hope this works
Best of luck.

Thanks for that. I was looking maybe more in regards to supporting her nutritionally, etc...

 

[WhatAboutBob?]

Fifteen minutes of ice cod water sounds awful to me! If its cold out where you are, sounds like a recipe for a sick hen as well. It is not easy to break a hen of her broodiness. If you can possibly let her hatch her chicks, I would suggest that. Why are you worried that she is just a pullet? If it is because broodiness is hard on her system, try bringing her extra treats to be sure that she eats and drinks plenty. Also, you do not need to allow her to hatch your own eggs. You can take the eggs out from under her every night and provide her wooden eggs while you collect your hens' eggs every day. Then, after 21 days, you can buy 2-3 day old chicks from the feed store (pullets!) and slip them under her at night. She'll most likely love them up and be a great mom.

Yeah, I am not doing that ice water challenge. I would much rather her hatch the eggs she is set on, I have room for the new ones.

 

[Poultry keeper12]

Not the whole chicken under cold water, just her belly.
Best regards

 

[Poultry keeper12]

Yeah, I am not doing that ice water challenge. I would much rather her hatch the eggs she is set on, I have room for the new ones.

Yeah letting her hatch them would be better.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Build her her own safe broody coop and move her and her eggs in at dusk. Then just let her do her thing. Continue to feed and water her as you have been, she will only get off the nest once a day for approx. 1 hour. So don't let that worry you. In about 21 days you should have biddies. Good luck

 

[MaryZoe]

Yes. that is a legitimate concern. But since nature is calling her to brood, you might let it happen. If you have time and resources to cook up some eggs for her every couple of days, or give her some treats with apple cider vinegar and probiotics (yogurt), those extra nutrients will surely help her to keep up her energy levels. But be prepared if she is not the best mom. My young broodies switch nests often and forget which eggs they are brooding. They are likely to have low hatch rates (if I allow them to actually hatch their own and their sisters' eggs). That's why I have started to give them wooden eggs and then provide them chicks when they are expecting them.

 

[Kessel23]

I like to put my broody hens in a cat or dog cage so that they are left alone by the other hens. Put her in a smallish cage with the eggs, make sure she has food and water, and make sure the cage is big enough for her to get off the nest and poop. Broody hens only poop once or twice a day so when they do it is massive and stinky, you don't want that on her eggs. I also like to open up the cage once or twice a day to let her stretch her wings and this is when they usually prefer to poop. I put the hens in a separate area so that the other hens do not push her around and try to lay on top of her, this usually results in a broken egg sooner or later. Also, when the chicks hatch if the mom can not protect them from the other hens there is a high chance the other hens will kill and eat them like they would a mouse. I like to keep the moms and chicks separate from the main flock. And if you do let the mom keep the chicks with the flock I have realized that she will often abandon them once they reach 3 or 4 weeks.