How long can a chicken be broody for?

[TOMTE]

If they haven't been made illegal where you are, halogen (NOT LED) lamps from hardware stores are more energy efficient and cheaper than heat lamps from pet stores. You'll want a PAR 30 or PAR 38 (depends on your fixture) 75-120 watt bulb.

 

[RoyalChick]

Nah, if she's a dedicated broody she's just sitting quietly to get you to go away, then she'll immediately run back to her chosen nest. Never trust a broody, they're darn good liars!

Sorry - I had to laugh at this. I have one that is a master at fooling me that she is no longer broody. She changes her voice, stands up and walks around, behaves like a normal chicken. Then when I release her from broody jail she tilts her head and looks at me with the 'what an idiot you are' expression and goes right back to brooding.
Longest she went was about 5 weeks. Then she spent about 5 days not broody and went straight back to being broody again.
@ChookaPete - good luck!

 

[ChookaPete]

Assuming you do end up needing to brood chicks yourself after your update...

Hang it high, get a lower wattage bulb (pet stores have bulbs for reptiles that don't run so hot), and only run it when temps drop. During the day you likely won't need it at all with daylight hours being so hot.

Thank you!

 

[ChookaPete]

If they haven't been made illegal where you are, halogen (NOT LED) lamps from hardware stores are more energy efficient and cheaper than heat lamps from pet stores. You'll want a PAR 30 or PAR 38 (depends on your fixture) 75-120 watt bulb.

I will look into it. Thank you for this!

 

[ChookaPete]

Sorry - I had to laugh at this. I have one that is a master at fooling me that she is no longer broody. She changes her voice, stands up and walks around, behaves like a normal chicken. Then when I release her from broody jail she tilts her head and looks at me with the 'what an idiot you are' expression and goes right back to brooding.
Longest she went was about 5 weeks. Then she spent about 5 days not broody and went straight back to being broody again.
@ChookaPete - good luck!

Hahaha!


And thank you too . Yep, Clover is with the rest of the flock, having a good time.


Meanwhile I ended up getting a dozen fertile eggs of different breeds, and forked out for an incubator! (So expensive...):

• 3 x Sussex
• 3 x Polish
• 3 x Blue Araucana (or could be Black Araucana)
• 3 x Lavender Araucana

I will be away for the next fourteen days, and as the heat is continuing, I am actually hoping that either Clover or any of my chooks does go broody!

Plan A is that after I am back, on Day 18 of incubation, that I will put the eggs underneath a broody chooky, inside their own nursery coop.

Plan B is I hatch the eggs in the incubator, then raise them in a separate coop with heating etc. until the chicks are old enough to integrate with the flock - I speculate about six weeks.


For some history, my leghorn Chamomile was raised from a hatchling by Clover, in their own 'nursery' coop. After about a month, while I was away, a strong wind ripped the mesh surrounding the nursery, allowing Chamomile to escape (with a worried Clover after her), and the other three chooks to get INTO the nursery! After that, all chookies successfully integrated.


Late last year, when I was worried I might lose either or both Chamomile and my Hy-Line Cardamom to re-homing, I bought two 1-month old Hy-Line pullets, who I named Cinnamon and Caraway2 (I have had other Caraways die on me sadly). They found the coop to sleep in themselves after a few days, sleeping on the lower rungs of the perches and chirping throughout the night to the annoyance of the hen chooks!
For a few weeks they stayed in the backyard, then joined the rest of the flock, where they all now hang out in the front yard during each day. They still stick together like glue - I call them The Little Rascals!

 

[ChookaPete]

I don't really want to build a separate coop for the upcoming chickens, apart from a nursery for their first six weeks. The shed coop is the safest place, structurally sound, and keeps the wind out.

My feeling is that all the chooks will crowd into one coop and ignore the other, so it is best to have one coop for all of them. I already have a large branch as a main perch, and a long ladder (made of branches) that doubles as a perch too for when they want to spread out and a bigger pecking order comes into play.