Young hen appears to have gone broody first time

[scgamecock]

The purpose of marking them is so you can pick up any fresh eggs that's laid.If she is determined to set then that will not bother her.She will get up a couple of times a day to eat,drink and poop so this will not bother her.

 

[BeakSanctuary]

OK - that does make sense. Thanks for the help, scgame. Sounds like you've done this a time or two and it's new for me so I'm "chicken".

chickorama, what a dear little broody it sounds like you have. Has she gone through trying to hatch unfertilized eggs before?

 

[Southernbelle]

I live in VA, too. I've had 4 broodies in the last 2 months. I thought they were crazy for brooding this time of year, but they've done great. The last one is due to hatch her babies on Sunday.

 

[BeakSanctuary]

That's encouraging news, Southernbelle. Let me know how it goes next Sunday or so, then? Will you be able to leave the chicks with her when they hatch? Mine is still on the nest; I guess this is the second or third day unless I didn't notice and it began earlier. She's definitely trying to do something - all puffed up and covering everything under her. Cute!

 

[Southernbelle]

The first 2 broodies hatched their babies about 3 weeks ago and they're doing great. I have them in a 4x4x2 box in the barn. No electricity, so I never gave them a heat lamp at any time.

I gave them 9 eggs between them and 8 hatched. They each sat in their own nests during incubation, but as soon as my blue hen hatched hers she moved in with the white hen, who hadn't hatched hers yet. From that moment on, they became domestic partners and the babies don't differentiate between the mamas. At night both broodies and all 8 babies cram themselves into a 5 gal bucket.

Even as the weather gets colder, the babies are out and scratching around their pen. They just tuck under one of the mamas when they get cold. Now that their feathers are almost all in, they only tuck under mama at night.

Broody #3 gave up before the job was done, so I gave her eggs to broody #4. Broody #4 made her nest in a corner of the coop instead of a nestbox. Not the most convenient spot, but the other hens leave her alone and she seems happy enough. She's due to hatch this Sunday.

I've been calling my broodies hens, but they're all technically Silkie pullets. A few weeks after they start laying, someone goes broody. A 5th pullet has started laying, so I'm sure I'll be dealing with Broody #5 very soon. I really hadn't expected chickens to want to brood through the winter, even if they are Silkies.

 

[BeakSanctuary]

Well, now I see that my "hen" is a pullet too - until now, I thought a pullet was a pullet until she layed an egg and then she became a hen, lol!!

I had a good laugh picturing both mamas and 8 babies in a 5-gallon bucket! Sounds perfectly cozy, though, and bigger than the Staples kind of plastic milk crate I'm using for nests, so I can see how that would work nicely.

If I get lucky and something hatches, I wonder how they will get down from the nest which is about 2 feet off the floor? Or how long I could leave them in the nest and still have her taking care of them? They'd have to be able to jump pretty high to get to the top edge of the milk crate and I don't think they'd be able to do that without help for quite a while.

Like you, I didn't expect anyone would want to be a mom this soon. After all, I've had parakeets for years, maybe two "guys", at that, but no eggs so that the chickens are being chickens is fascinating and amazing.

 

[kelliepulido]

My pullet went broody too actually 8 of mine are. One hatched out 3 chicks last week.My nest boxes are about 5ft.off the ground that she had her babies in.After the hatch was over per other more experienced byc members suggestions I made a nest for Mama on the floor of the coop and put everybody down on the ground.She has been a very good mother.She didn't stay in the nest I made for her but she takes the babies all over and will settle down over them when they swuack too loud.we have snow on the ground here in Mi.I have another broody sitting on 3 eggs due next wk.She is also a pullet.

 

[BeakSanctuary]

Thanks, kelliepulido! If your birds can fare well in MI and there's snow afoot, seems these guys can make a go of it in VA where it's only the nights that have been cold so far. Eight broodies! I'll bet there are people who would love that kind of help hatching eggs. Did the broodie for next week's chicks lay them herself? I still haven't checked to see how many eggs are under mine - as I recall, it's kind of a communal nest and i think there are quite a few other pullets' eggs under her.

 

[BeakSanctuary]

She got off the nest this morning when I went out to let everyone out and put out more feed. There are 22 eggs in her nest. Tell me that's not insane, I dare ya!

 

[BeakSanctuary]

No doubt this is only nature and not that surprising to anyone but me, but broody is still at it. Will be interesting to me to see what will happen mid-December. Will there be a chick? I haven't candled or anything - does not really matter to me if there are some on the nest that will/won't hatch unless they're going to release noxious fumes that could hurt the others?