First time with a broody and so many questions!

[TheMrsChick]

Hey yall! We have a hen that has gone broody, and she's on roughly day 7 today. She is a first-time brooder and she is one out of a flock of 15. I have read the books I have and scoured the web for what to do regarding her living arrangements and there is so much conflicting information and I'm overwhelmed. Ideally, we could leave her alone, besides getting her out of the nesting box to eat, drink and poop, and let her do her Mama thing. I keep reading about the option of segregating her but I really do not like the idea of reintegration - stresses me out. None of the other hens mess with her, her eggs, or anything so she doesn't seem to be a target of anyone as of yet. But if leaving her to be isn't the smartest thing to do, I want to know that as well. So, please... boss me around!

 

[PoultryCQ]

Is the nest above ground? Do you have a cockerel?

Edit: You dont need to manually force her out to eat and drink most of the time.

 

[mamajos]

Look under articles on this site, search Broody Hen. You will see all kinds of articles on broody hens. Maybe that’s a good place to start.

 

[EasterChickens]

Hello, congrats on your broody hen!! I recommend reading these 2 articles

NUMBER 1: https://www.backyardchickencoops.co...-to-look-after-a-broody-hen-who-is-incubating

NUMBER 2: https://the-chicken-chick.com/caring-for-broody-hens-facilitating-egg/

I encourage you to put her in a separate coop/small brood box so that she can have a peaceful, quiet, place of her own.

You can place her in a private/separate box like that below. *I would change the bedding of the floor to pine shavings or straw instead of just a blank piece of towel as you can see in the picture below.

 

[EasterChickens]

Hey yall! We have a hen that has gone broody, and she's on roughly day 7 today. She is a first-time brooder and she is one out of a flock of 15. I have read the books I have and scoured the web for what to do regarding her living arrangements and there is so much conflicting information and I'm overwhelmed. Ideally, we could leave her alone, besides getting her out of the nesting box to eat, drink and poop, and let her do her Mama thing. I keep reading about the option of segregating her but I really do not like the idea of reintegration - stresses me out. None of the other hens mess with her, her eggs, or anything so she doesn't seem to be a target of anyone as of yet. But if leaving her to be isn't the smartest thing to do, I want to know that as well. So, please... boss me around!

Broody hens tend to like a quiet place so even if your other chickens don't bother her that much, she still might be annoyed of all the chickens walking around her.

Note: make sure to clean out her bedding if it gets dirty (such as if she poops on the straw/pine shavings) and just replace it with new ones. Keep in mind to provide her with fresh and clean water/food. It's pretty important for her to have her own water bowl and feeder so that it would be convenient for her (some broody hens don't want to leave their nest for too long so having a close by water bowl and feeder is very important)

Incase you don't have the food or water equipment yet, you can check one out at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/RentACoop-Ch...758f6&pd_rd_wg=aHcDY&pd_rd_i=B079TCMVX9&psc=1

 

[TheMrsChick]

Is the nest above ground? Do you have a cockerel?

Edit: You dont need to manually force her out to eat and drink most of the time.

I haven’t created a nest for her yet, as an individual, if that’s what you mean. The current box is one of six that are all attached. It’s above ground (I didn’t know there were under ground ones!) and inside the coop.

 

[TheMrsChick]

Hello, congrats on your broody hen!! I recommend reading these 2 articles

NUMBER 1: https://www.backyardchickencoops.co...-to-look-after-a-broody-hen-who-is-incubating

NUMBER 2: https://the-chicken-chick.com/caring-for-broody-hens-facilitating-egg/

I encourage you to put her in a separate coop/small brood box so that she can have a peaceful, quiet, place of her own.

You can place her in a private/separate box like that below. *I would change the bedding of the floor to pine shavings or straw instead of just a blank piece of towel as you can see in the picture below.

Thanks so much, I’ll read those!
am I incorrect in assuming that a private/separate box will be outside of the pen that contains the rest of the flock and the coop? She’ll need shelter, of course, so she needs to be indoors of some type of structure. I have a feeling I’m overthinking this.

 

[TheMrsChick]

Broody hens tend to like a quiet place so even if your other chickens don't bother her that much, she still might be annoyed of all the chickens walking around her.

Note: make sure to clean out her bedding if it gets dirty (such as if she poops on the straw/pine shavings) and just replace it with new ones. Keep in mind to provide her with fresh and clean water/food. It's pretty important for her to have her own water bowl and feeder so that it would be convenient for her (some broody hens don't want to leave their nest for too long so having a close by water bowl and feeder is very important)

Incase you don't have the food or water equipment yet, you can check one out at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/RentACoop-Ch...758f6&pd_rd_wg=aHcDY&pd_rd_i=B079TCMVX9&psc=1

Thanks so much, thankfully we do have all the feed/water equipment on hand.

 

[EasterChickens]

Thanks so much, I’ll read those!
am I incorrect in assuming that a private/separate box will be outside of the pen that contains the rest of the flock and the coop? She’ll need shelter, of course, so she needs to be indoors of some type of structure. I have a feeling I’m overthinking this.

Nope, you are correct!! You can put the private/separate box in a shed, or even a garage. Don't put the box outside. Just remember to keep the private box pretty dim (since hens tend to like darker locations to lay eggs or even when they want to brood, so don't put a light in her box)

PLEASE READ VERY IMPORTANT: I'm not sure if you know this yet, BUT since you are going to create her a private box your going to want to move her from the old location to the new private location. And so how are you going to do that?? Well the best way that chicken owners have done it, is to move her at night not in the day because this is when she cannot really see anything and is more unbothered at night. So your going to start of with sneaking all of her eggs from her first (try not to use a flashlight while your removing the eggs from her). Then properly put her eggs into the new private box. Return back, and carry her up from her old location to her new private location AND PLACE HER DIRECTLY ON TOP OF THE EGGS. After you have done that, leave her alone and check back on her on the next day and see if she accepts the new location. Most of the time the hens will accept the new private location and sit back on the eggs. However, in some cases hens will abandon their eggs and try to move back to the previous/old location. (pretty rare though)

Before you do any of this, make sure to set up everything she needs in her private box (water bowl of her own, feeder of her own, her nest box, and bedding etc..)

 

[EasterChickens]

Thanks so much, I’ll read those!
am I incorrect in assuming that a private/separate box will be outside of the pen that contains the rest of the flock and the coop? She’ll need shelter, of course, so she needs to be indoors of some type of structure. I have a feeling I’m overthinking this.

Also, what has she been sitting on in her current location? (like eggs, golf balls etc..)

I forgot to tell you something! So your going to also need to candle the eggs she is sitting on, particularly on day 10 and day 17. It's important to get rid of any un-developing eggs by day 10 because it could spread toxic bacteria to the other developing eggs.

You can read more about candling below (the attachment)

Hope this helps,
Valerie