Why do some people get mad over having a broody?

[rainbowgardens]

I can't have a rooster, not even supposed to have my hens. A broody hen isn't worth it for me.
If I had someone locally who could supply me with fertile eggs when one goes broody, I'd love it! So far I haven't had any go broody.

 

[BlueMottie]

I tried to talk my two broodies out of doing it because I wanted to pair breed them to see what their chicks would turn out like between the roosters I have. Oh well, it saves me from filling up the incubator more, and I'll only have to wait another month or so as the broodies won't be able to rear chicks in their current housing situation.

 

[chris_m90731]

that's a trip. i really don't know. sometimes i notice an odd amount of anger on these threads too...
lets the birds be birds.

 

[BlueMottie]

Quote:
-shrug- It's not out of anger, but practicality. My birds are housed indoors, and it wouldn't be a particularily good idea as I have tried this before, and the chicks ended up dead becuase they got caught behind a cage, or decided to check out one of my standard bird pens and got thumped on. Plus, as a breeder I would like to utilize my birds in that manner; for breeding.

*Not angry, just justifying my point. Then again, I'm not entirely sure if you were referring to me or why people don't want broodies

 

[destiny_56085]

It never fails that its your most expensive, show quality hen/pullet that only lays 2 eggs and goes broody on you. The scraggly one you could care less about is still going strong after popping out a dozen eggs usually.

 

[gsim]

Of my 24 I may have two or three with broody characteristics. What I do is to walk up to them and talk softly as I scratch their backs. they rise up to a squat and I slip the eggs out with my other hand. Had one that pecked at me (buff comet0 a couple of times but she quit doing that. I figure it is just something natural that hasn't quite been 'bred out' of some chickens as much as it has others. I may need that some day so I am going to let it be. They usually leave the nest anyway when hungry or thirsty. Seems the broodiness doesn't last long in my case.

 

[meriruka]

I don't know if it's just my hens or if other people experience this, but broodiness seems to be contagious around here.
One hen goes broody and next thing you know, I've got birds stacked up like cordwood in the nests.

It never fails that they start two days after I've bought hatching eggs & fired up the incubator.
So instead of 6 seramas, I've got 22 chicks zooming around that I don't know what to do with.
It'll be weeks, maybe months before they can go outside, so I'm doomed to another winter of
chickens in the house, everything I own covered in dust. There's another batch of 18 Orps due in two weeks.
(3 broody hens). Good grief.

 

[Chickenaddict]

It's not that I don't want the broodies it's just the wrong time of year for hatching seeing as the temps outside right now are -10 with windchills. My broody hens no sooner get done raising a batch of chicks, taking 3 months to let the chicks go off on their own only to lay one stinking egg before they are broody again! Right now I have about 5 hens that are broody all sitting on nothing but pine shavings. Not all of us are equipped with the resources to just let the hens hatch when they want to and accomodate them with a heat source which gets extremely costly. If I had the space and buildings to let them do as they pleased I'd have chicks running around everywhere. Sometimes they are not easy to sell either so you end up getting stuck with a bunch of leftover roos from hatches that you literally can't give away! That causes major problems within the flock especially since I let my girls raise their chicks with the flock so once the babies gtet old enough to be on their own there are no pecking order issues, the rest of the flock seem to really enjoy the little fuzzies running around with them and never harm any of the babies.

 

[BlueMottie]

Quote:
Ugh, exactly.

 

[AHappychick]

i dont mind chooks being broody but mine seem to do it after the 2nd month or 3rd of laying, just when I am geting ready to start hatching or selling their eggs. So I have had to break a broody before to fill an obligation or to get more eggs which I need at the time. I also try to give them eggs when I can to sit on if I dont need them laying. But when half of your flock decides to go on maternity duty it can be fustrating and painful on my wallet too.