Broody hen...again

[KikiDeAnime]

Mouse, our 4yr bantam cochin/silkie mix, has gone broody again. This was the hen that was supposed to raise Lil Quack when they hatched 2 weeks ago but rejected them an hour after they hatched. ( A day after they hatched )

She becomes determined once she's completely broody so I'm trying to figure out if I should go with my original plan of getting more chicks to add to the flock. One problem I see if I do get her chicks, is I'd have to go with whatever breeds I can find rather than getting what I wanted.

Should I get her some chicks?

 

[sourland]

Only you can make that decision.

 

[aart]

How long had she been broody when you tried to get her to take the ducklings?
Has she been broody ever since, or did she stop and now is broody again?

One problem I see if I do get her chicks, is I'd have to go with whatever breeds I can find rather than getting what I wanted.

That could be the clincher.
I would not buy chicks of breeds I didn't want just to 'please' a broody,
I'd break her.
Plus if you find the chick breeds you do want down the road,
will you have enough space(s) to add yet more birds?

 

[KikiDeAnime]

How long had she been broody when you tried to get her to take the ducklings?
Has she been broody ever since, or did she stop and now is broody again?


That could be the clincher.
I would not buy chicks of breeds I didn't want just to 'please' a broody,
I'd break her.
Plus if you find the chick breeds you do want down the road,
will you have enough space(s) to add yet more birds?

She sat on the duck eggs during week 2 of incubation after our duck quit. And only 1 had hatched that day. My dad got the 2 WH ducklings a day later.

We have the room to add up to 15 more birds.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

Can you order some eggs for your hen to sit on? There may be some available in the buy/sell forum or on your local Craigslist.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Can you order some eggs for your hen to sit on? There may be some available in the buy/sell forum or on your local Craigslist.

Too many mixed out there and not a lot of pure so no I can't.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

I’ve seen lots of pure breeds on eBay from farms with NPIP certification.

What worked with one of my broodies is giving her a couple eggs to hatch, then adding more chicks that night. I had a few broody at the same time and the mama with the hatched chicks was the ONLY one that accepted the foster chicks. If you did that, you could limit how many mixed breed chicks you get and rehome or cull them after mama has “weaned” them.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I’ve seen lots of pure breeds on eBay from farms with NPIP certification.

What worked with one of my broodies is giving her a couple eggs to hatch, then adding more chicks that night. I had a few broody at the same time and the mama with the hatched chicks was the ONLY one that accepted the foster chicks. If you did that, you could limit how many mixed breed chicks you get and rehome or cull them after mama has “weaned” them.

We never cull our birds. And my parents would say it's a waste of my money to get chicks, just to get rid of them afterwards. I only get what we end up keeping.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I

Mouse, our 4yr bantam cochin/silkie mix, has gone broody again. This was the hen that was supposed to raise Lil Quack when they hatched 2 weeks ago but rejected them an hour after they hatched. ( A day after they hatched )

She becomes determined once she's completely broody so I'm trying to figure out if I should go with my original plan of getting more chicks to add to the flock. One problem I see if I do get her chicks, is I'd have to go with whatever breeds I can find rather than getting what I wanted.

Should I get her some chicks?

I personally would not get any if they weren't what I wanted

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

We never cull our birds. And my parents would say it's a waste of my money to get chicks, just to get rid of them afterwards. I only get what we end up keeping.

I think you’ve answered your own question. You don’t want to get purebred eggs from eBay or from the buy-sell forum, you don’t want to get mixed breed eggs locally, and your hen won’t adopt. I think your only answer is breaking her.