when my hen goes broody..

[mamamage]

you guys! im ready to hatch chicks FINALLY, i dont have an incubator so im going to try the old fashioned hen hatching method! i have a few questions..

1. when my hen goes broody, should i move her straight the broody pen that i have set up?

2. should i let her sit a few days to show me that shes really broody?

3.how should i collect and store my eggs to have ready to put under my broody hen? (ill be picking all of the blue easter egger eggs )

4. how long should i let them sit in storage before i shouldnt try to hatch them?

please tell me anything else i need to know or send me links to help my mama along when shes ready! thank you guys so much

 

[mamamage]

bump?

 

[bobbi-j]

I’ll share my experiences. There are as many ways to manage a broody as there are members of BYC. Hopefully you can glean some information that will work for you.

1. I have left broodies in with the flock and I have separated them. There are pros and cons to both methods. When left with the flock, Mama integrates the babies when they’re young enough not to be seen as a threat by the other chickens. She’s got those fierce protective hormones going and nobody is going to mess with her babies. The first year I left my broody in with the flock, she was killed in the middle of the day by a raccoon. Her 5-week old chicks were already accepted members of the flock because they had been integrated by the hen when they were a couple of days old.

One downside to leaving them in the coop is, other hens will likely also want to lay in the broody’s nest (unless you can separate her with some chicken wire or something). The problem with others adding to the nest is, if the hens crowd in together, you could end up with broken eggs. If you leave your hen in the coop, make sure to mark the eggs you want her to hatch, check the nest daily and remove extras.

If you decide to move her right away and have her brood separately, I would give her some fake eggs (or some you are willing to sacrifice) to sit on for a couple of days before moving her to be sure she’s broody, and to make sure she’ll stay on the nest once she is moved. I’ve had it go both ways. Some will stick tight no matter where you put them, others are pretty insistent about setting in their chosen place.

When separated to brood, you don’t have to worry about other hens laying in the nest. However, integration back into the flock may be a little more difficult - especially if you wait too long. The earlier the better for integration as far as I’m concerned. Others may have different opinions.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure your hen is able to get off the nest on her own time to eat, drink, dust bathe, poop and stretch her legs. I don’t put food and water next to the nest because I want her to get up. Otherwise she may poop in the nest and soil the eggs - that will kill them.

 

[mamamage]

awesome info! thank you.

 

[PirateGirl]

Browse the learning center here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/hatching-eggs-raising-chickens.22/

 

[aart]

First make sure she is broody.

Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, doesn't she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?
If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.


When I have a broody I wait until she's been in the nest most the day and all night for 2-3 days...along with those other signs I posted.

Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.
Then I give her fresh fertile eggs and mark the calendar.

I like them separated by wire from the flock, it's just easier all around.
No having to mark eggs and remove any additions daily, no taking up a laying nest, no going back to the wrong nest after the daily constitutional.

I take down the wire wall a week or so after hatch, then broody can re-integrate into flock.

 

[bobbi-j]

Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.
Then I give her fresh fertile eggs and mark the calendar.

I like them separated by wire from the flock, it's just easier all around.
No having to mark eggs and remove any additions daily, no taking up a laying nest, no going back to the wrong nest after the daily constitutional.

I take down the wire wall a week or so after hatch, then broody can re-integrate into flock.

I've done it this way, too. The last broody I had was determined, though. No matter what I did, she wanted HER nest. It all depends on the bird. I moved one broody that had been setting for about a week. She went nuts, destroyed the nest and never went broody again. I had a little cochin bantam that was the happiest little broody I've ever seen. She's set wherever I put her. I really hope one of my hens goes broody this year. Not buying chicks, but wouldn't argue about one doing the work for me.

 

[aart]

I really hope one of my hens goes broody this year.

I just spent a couple weeks breaking one....thinking all along "I wish I could give this broody bird to bobbi-j!"