The Semi-Broody Broody: A Plea for Help

[ChickenChick46]

All mine are still way too young for this. But this experience you're having makes me hope my cochin is male.

Of course, I'm almost positive my d'Uccle is male, so if the cochin is a female and his broody, I'll just let her. More chicks? Sure, why not!

 

[TOMTE]

All mine are still way too young for this. But this experience you're having makes me hope my cochin is male.

Of course, I'm almost positive my d'Uccle is male, so if the cochin is a female and his broody, I'll just let her. More chicks? Sure, why not!

I wouldn't let her hatch any of her own eggs until she's been laying for a while, anyway. Young pullets' eggs are smaller and too cramped for chicks to develop properly inside, causing defects or death.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I guess I can't blame them. I'm guessing they do have cramps/contractions that tell them the egg is about to come, so I imagine they're like a mother going into labor at the hospital, pacing up and down the hall going "GET THIS THING OUT OF ME!"

So true. I have a lot of sympathy for laying hens. It's a rough life!

Dandelion is still a baby herself, so hopefully she can learn to become more efficient over time. Still driving me nuts. Like, where is the section in the chicken handbook on this?!

 

[thecatumbrella]

- Update -

I went out to cool the pen at 10am. Somehow my presence (or the heat) stimulated her to go into the nest box. There's a 0% chance of her laying anytime soon, so I ripped out the divider wall in retaliation like an enraged ape. She does not care. I'm going to try @TOMTE's frozen bottle trick next.

 

[ChickenChick46]

I wouldn't let her hatch any of her own eggs until she's been laying for a while, anyway. Young pullets' eggs are smaller and too cramped for chicks to develop properly inside, causing defects or death.

Yeah I remember reading that. Is there a certain length of time that is best? Like with dogs, we always skipped the first heat cycle, made sure they were over 1 year of age, and then skipped every other heat cycle. Obviously, hens aren't dogs, but is there a good rule of thumb?

 

[thecatumbrella]

I'm going to try @TOMTE's frozen bottle trick next.

Dude, it worked. She lasted all of two minutes.

Now let's make it through the rest of the day!

 

[BoundlessLove]

IMO, at least two months of solid laying and preferably a year old.

 

[ChickenChick46]

IMO, at least two months of solid laying and preferably a year old.

Great advice, thank you!

 

[thecatumbrella]

We're still going strong over here with my egg-laying broody. It's almost like she forgets she has a clutch going (she does not; she's sitting on nothing), hangs with the flock for a few hours, then suddenly remembers, "Oh, right! I'm a mom!" and books it back to the nest. It's also amusing how she morphs from happy-go-lucky Dandy to murder muppet the second her bum touches the nest pad. I wasn't sure what to expect with broody breeds, but it certainly wasn't this perpetual limbo.

I'm thinking of setting her up with a daytime enclosure within the main run, with a temporary nest box for laying. Either that, or put something large and heavy on her preferred side of the communal nest box to deter her from sitting. Maybe something like this?

Or I could just use a rock.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

We're still going strong over here with my egg-laying broody. It's almost like she forgets she has a clutch going (she does not; she's sitting on nothing), hangs with the flock for a few hours, then suddenly remembers, "Oh, right! I'm a mom!" and books it back to the nest. It's also amusing how she morphs from happy-go-lucky Dandy to murder muppet the second her bum touches the nest pad. I wasn't sure what to expect with broody breeds, but it certainly wasn't this perpetual limbo.

I'm thinking of setting her up with a daytime enclosure within the main run, with a temporary nest box for laying. Either that, or put something large and heavy on her preferred side of the communal nest box to deter her from sitting. Maybe something like this?

View attachment 4199175

Or I could just use a rock.

If she’s like my broody, she’d probably use this as a role model!