when do chickens get broody?

[jmtcmkb]

ha ha- well yes I would like more chicks, but I have 2 problems my coop is not big enough for more, and I dont want to deal with how to merge babies into an existing flock etc..

Good luck

 

[Fabidon]

I could use some good advice. I have a sex-link hen that is broody and been sitting on the nest for 3 days. She is sweet and lets me remove the eggs but remains on the empty nest. There are no roosters so no chance the eggs are fertile. I picked her up to take her off the nest to put her near the water but she went right back to the nest. I noticed she was very warm when I picked her up and she has no feathers on her chest. Is that part of the brooding process or could she be ill?
I have Tetracycline on hand but don't want to administer any drugs unless necessary. Should I separate her from the coop nests? Is what I explained normal behavior for a brood hen. Oh yes, she is 14 months old.

 

[Den in Penn]

I could use some good advice. I have a sex-link hen that is broody and been sitting on the nest for 3 days. She is sweet and lets me remove the eggs but remains on the empty nest. There are no roosters so no chance the eggs are fertile. I picked her up to take her off the nest to put her near the water but she went right back to the nest. I noticed she was very warm when I picked her up and she has no feathers on her chest. Is that part of the brooding process or could she be ill?
I have Tetracycline on hand but don't want to administer any drugs unless necessary. Should I separate her from the coop nests? Is what I explained normal behavior for a brood hen. Oh yes, she is 14 months old.

Yes, she is broody. No drugs can cure it, well maybe there is a hormone treatment I haven't heard about. If your trying to break her broodiness, separating her from her nest is one way.

 

[RIRMOM]

I want my RIR to go broody already, I want baby chicks....I don't think that she is going to, though. She has laid 14 eggs(an egg a day now) and not sitting on them. My husband says to leave them and she will go broody when she is ready, to be patient. I think that the eggs are bad by now and we are wasting the eggs.....any advise?

 

[chickenmaniac]

i know im still holding eggs waiting for any of my hens to go broody but none want to x( im so impatient

 

[Krissy12052]

Mine are 8 months and 2 of them have one broody in the past month the most recent this week and I dont want chicks, its been a battle to "unbroody" them

so as early as 8 months, not sure if they can be earlier. How will you know? believe me you'll know if you are the regular care taker. lingering on the nest longer and longer each day until finally not wanting off the nest. grumpy with the other chickens, and with you pecking and growling at anyone who comes nearby. puffing up like a turkey an making a jurassic park type sound! thats what both of my girls did. My australorp was much more reserved about it than my Orpington who is making it know in no uncertain terms she wants to sit on eggs.

Good luck!

LOL!! That cracked me up! Seriously??

That must of been so funny!
I have 2 chickens and one rooster! What are the chances the chickens will become Broody?

 

[griffinkid02]

I want my RIR to go broody already, I want baby chicks....I don't think that she is going to, though. She has laid 14 eggs(an egg a day now) and not sitting on them. My husband says to leave them and she will go broody when she is ready, to be patient. I think that the eggs are bad by now and we are wasting the eggs.....any advise?

The best way to adress this (because you cannot FORCE her into broodiness, is to go ahead and toss all the eggs you are holding now. Leaving them with her will NOT encourage her to go broody, although having some fake eggs int he boxes helps to keep them from realizing that a "predator" is raiding their nests. As you collect the eggs each day, set them aside somewhere cool and out of the way in your house (But not the fridge, that's TOO cool). Keep about 8-10 eggs on hand to stick under her when the mood DOES hit her, and rotate the eggs. Once you get 10, the next day put the 3 oldest ones in the fridge for eating, rinse, repeat. The eggs are fine to eat sitting at room temperature for at least a week, but their fertility will dramatically drop after that week, so hanging onto them longer serves no real purpose anyway.

 

[RIRMOM]

Awesome, thank you for the advise....I will do just that. See, this is why I love this site!!

 

[859007]

what is the average age for a chicken to become broody i was waiting for eggs but now im waiting for chicks.

 

[Den in Penn]

As soon as they start laying they can go broody. Had one go broody two months into her laying career last fall.