What’s the deal with you chicken people??

[z3lda3]

Roosters know everything. The color and way the comb stands on a hen tells them everything.

And so he’s “in the mood” and helps her out I’m guessing. And if you don’t have a rooster, can you just shove fertilized eggs under her? She accepts them as her own?

 

[z3lda3]

And so he’s “in the mood” and helps her out I’m guessing. And if you don’t have a rooster, can you just shove fertilized eggs under her? She accepts them as her own?

And are roosters like male cats, (I’ve never had cats, just what I heard) like try to kill the he babies? Or is he hands off to never his job is done?

 

[NatJ]

Oh wow how long do they stop laying? Do roosters know if the hen is broody?

The hen stops laying for the entire time she is broody, and for some weeks after that. It varies a bit from one hen to another.

If you "break" a broody hen (cause her to quit being broody), she may start laying eggs again in less than a week (if she just went broody), or she may still take a month or more.

A laying hen has a whole clump of egg yolks inside her body. One is full-sized and will be in tomorrow's egg. The next one is a little bit smaller, but will be full size in time for the next day's egg. The next one is a little smaller yet... down to the pinpoint-sized ones that haven't started to get big yet.

When a hen goes broody, her body starts absorbing those egg yolks. This helps keep her from starving to death while she sits on the next. She will come off the nest to eat sometimes, but not usually enough to really keep her going. So she absorbs the egg yolks and also uses up some body fat she has stored.

If a hen uses up all those egg yolks, it will take her several weeks to grow new ones up to the correct size before she can start laying again. But if you break her broodiness quickly, she has not used up the yolks yet, so she does not have as much preparation to do before she can start laying again.

How to break a broody hen is another topic. People have various favorite ways. My own favorite: move her to a safe place where you want her to hatch eggs. Some hens will happily sit on eggs in the new place, but some are determined to only sit in the place they chose. So if I shut them in the new place, they pace back and forth trying to get out, and a few days of that is very effective at breaking their broodiness. I've decided it is easier to move the hen and see what happens, rather than deciding what I want and trying to get the hen to go along with my plan.

 

[fluffycrow]

A good rooster/male should have a have a present role in raising the chicks. While not something I've experienced, I've heard stories of roosters taking the youngsters under their wings after the mum(s) stop mothering them. All males will know if one of their females is broody

 

[NatJ]

And so he’s “in the mood” and helps her out I’m guessing. And if you don’t have a rooster, can you just shove fertilized eggs under her? She accepts them as her own?

And are roosters like male cats, (I’ve never had cats, just what I heard) like try to kill the he babies? Or is he hands off to never his job is done?

Yes, you can give fertile eggs to the hen, and she will be happy to hatch them. Hens seem to have no sense of whether the eggs were laid by themself or not.

The rooster does not help sit on the eggs. After the chicks hatch, he will probably treat them as members of the flock (warn about predators, maybe offer food), but most roosters do not do much if any actual chick care. I have read of a few exceptions, where roosters were more active in caring for chicks. I have also read of cases where roosters attacked the chicks (maybe thought they were a new kind of small predator?) So it seems to depend on the rooster.

 

[z3lda3]

The hen stops laying for the entire time she is broody, and for some weeks after that. It varies a bit from one hen to another.

If you "break" a broody hen (cause her to quit being broody), she may start laying eggs again in less than a week (if she just went broody), or she may still take a month or more.

A laying hen has a whole clump of egg yolks inside her body. One is full-sized and will be in tomorrow's egg. The next one is a little bit smaller, but will be full size in time for the next day's egg. The next one is a little smaller yet... down to the pinpoint-sized ones that haven't started to get big yet.

When a hen goes broody, her body starts absorbing those egg yolks. This helps keep her from starving to death while she sits on the next. She will come off the nest to eat sometimes, but not usually enough to really keep her going. So she absorbs the egg yolks and also uses up some body fat she has stored.

If a hen uses up all those egg yolks, it will take her several weeks to grow new ones up to the correct size before she can start laying again. But if you break her broodiness quickly, she has not used up the yolks yet, so she does not have as much preparation to do before she can start laying again.

How to break a broody hen is another topic. People have various favorite ways. My own favorite: move her to a safe place where you want her to hatch eggs. Some hens will happily sit on eggs in the new place, but some are determined to only sit in the place they chose. So if I shut them in the new place, they pace back and forth trying to get out, and a few days of that is very effective at breaking their broodiness. I've decided it is easier to move the hen and see what happens, rather than deciding what I want and trying to get the hen to go along with my plan.

Ohhh so breaking them is like getting their mind off it and” move on sister ain’t gonna happen?”

 

[fluffycrow]

Ohhh so breaking them is like getting their mind off it and” move on sister ain’t gonna happen?”

Yes. Although the hens response differs. Sometimes it's "you're right, this children business is too complicated", and others it's "F you, I'm having babies"

 

[NatJ]

Ohhh so breaking them is like getting their mind off it and” move on sister ain’t gonna happen?”

Sort of like that.

The body of a broody hen is making different hormones than a non-broody hen, so it is not quite like just distracting her. But sort of like that.

 

[z3lda3]

Yes, you can give fertile eggs to the hen, and she will be happy to hatch them. Hens seem to have no sense of whether the eggs were laid by themself or not.

The rooster does not help sit on the eggs. After the chicks hatch, he will probably treat them as members of the flock (warn about predators, maybe offer food), but most roosters do not do much if any actual chick care. I have read of a few exceptions, where roosters were more active in caring for chicks. I have also read of cases where roosters attacked the chicks (maybe thought they were a new kind of small predator?) So it seems to depend on the rooster.

That’s interesting I knew roosters didnt sit on eggs, but they should. Eagles do, Bluejays, mockingbirds… hm

 

[z3lda3]

Yes. Although the hens response differs. Sometimes it's "you're right, this children business is too complicated", and others it's "F you, I'm having babies"

So “no babies under my butt, no eggs on your plate”