When will my broody hen give up?

[smschulze04]

My chicken has been broody for about 4 weeks. We don't have a rooster and remove eggs everyday. She has no chance of hatching a chick nor do I want anymore right now. How can I break this behavior? We only have 3 chickens in a small run.I would hate to separate her as u have no place to put her safely.

 

[Cwight]

I have a very broody hen who is just like yours OP, we let her set a few eggs this time and unfortunately, they were not viable so we got baby baby chicks and slipped them under her. She has been wonderful with her little adopted family and is very attentive and good to them. I am hoping that this has eased that want to brood so often and she will at least start to lay eggs for a while before repeating the cycle.

How old are the chicks you put under her? I’m going through the same thing only I have chicks hatching in the incubator that I’m planning on putting under her. Broody’s eggs and incubator eggs were to hatch at the same time only the incubator eggs are hatching and not hers.

 

[aart]

How old are the chicks you put under her? I’m going through the same thing only I have chicks hatching in the incubator that I’m planning on putting under her. Broody’s eggs and incubator eggs were to hatch at the same time only the incubator eggs are hatching and not hers.

@Cwight the post you quoted is 10 years old, the poster has not been around since 2012., so you won't get an answer from them.

But ideally the broody needs to have been setting for 2 weeks,
and the chicks should be 1 day old.
Stick the chicks under her at night.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How old are the chicks you put under her? I’m going through the same thing only I have chicks hatching in the incubator that I’m planning on putting under her. Broody’s eggs and incubator eggs were to hatch at the same time only the incubator eggs are hatching and not hers.

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

They recently changed the format on this forum to show "similar threads" underneath. That's not just trapping new people into responding to old threads, people with a lot of forum experience are getting caught too. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with reviving old threads, so don't feel bad.

I often try what you tried. When a hen goes broody I generally start eggs in the incubator at the same time. Usually they hatch at the same time and a hen gets to raise several but occasionally a hen has trouble with incubation, like the time a snake ate all the eggs out from under her. She still got to raise a bunch on incubator chicks.

I started doing that when my granddaughter was scheduled for a visit. I started eggs under a broody hen timed to hatch when she was going to visit. That hatch was a total failure. I regretted not having eggs in the incubator also.

Occasionally a broody hen or an incubator will hatch early or late, even if the incubator has been calibrated and they usually hatch at the same time. Each hatch is different and sometimes an adventure. When I put baby chicks under a broody hen I wait until dark then slip them in the nest with her. If you put them under the hen, cradle them with your hand and push against the hen with the back of your hand so you don't crush the chick. Be careful not to injure a chick that is already under her. Usually I'll put a couple of chicks under her but just put the others in the nest. In the dark they find their way under her. Then I'm down there early the next morning to see how things are going and react to what I see.

I wait until the incubator hatch is over and all the chicks have dried off before I put then under the broody hen. Often that is the night a day after the first one hatches, but occasionally I wait an extra day. The younger the chicks are the more likely they are to bond. The hen has to bond with the chicks but the chicks also need to bond with the hen, it works both ways. The younger they are the better the chances of that happening. It almost always works for me, very few failures.

It's very possible at least some of the eggs under her are still viable and will hatch in another day or two. You can leave them under her and see if they hatch before she brings the already hatched off the nest or you can take the eggs and put them in the incubator to see if they hatch. If they hatch within a day or two you can try giving them to the broody, that usually works for me.

Obviously if the eggs were timed to hatch at the same time the broody has been broody for about three weeks. I've had a hen that was broody for only a couple of days accept chicks. I've had a hen that had hatched and raised chicks in the spring refuse some chicks when I tried to give her more in a later summer hatch. You'll see all kinds of things on here about how a first time broody may be a problem while an experienced is not or how long a hen has to be broody before they will accept chicks. That has not been my experience. Each time a hen goes broody it is a different time.

Each time is unique. You are dealing with living animals and you don't get guarantees. I don't know what will happen with yours. I've had great success doing it my way but yes, occasionally there are failures.

Good luck and once again,