I need advice with hatching from a broody hen!

[humblehillsfarm]

I have a hen that just won't quit. She went broody over TWO MONTHS ago. I've tried various methods to try to snap her out of it, most notably moving her to a different coop without a nesting box and she spent 24 hours freaking out so I caved and put her back with the flock. Finally I got some fertilized eggs to put under her. I tried again to move her to that coop this time with a nesting box and some test eggs at night. Same thing, come morning she freaked out. So against my better judgement I tried to let her lay on them in the normal coop but of course by day 3 the usual problems have already happen. I came home from work and she was on the wrong nest, one egg was missing altogether, another was cracked slightly and covered in yolk presumably from the missing egg, and a new egg had been laid in the box. My next thought is to enclose part of the current coop and see if she will stay in that nest box but the reality is I should have tried that before I got three days into hatching eggs. On top of that, since the eggs went cold I have no idea if they will even still develop. My boyfriend suggested getting an incubator and I've read you can put eggs back under then hen no later than day 17 of incubation but if that all goes wrong it defeated the entire purpose of getting hatching eggs to begin with. I have now started to move her from the nest to outside in front of the water so she can get a drink and I can ensure she goes back to her eggs before I leave for work in hopes that she won't leave again until I come home. Can I have some thoughts on this? I think I'm gonna lose my marbles over this situation.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Can I have some thoughts on this?

Harden up and let her freak out... that's how you break them. At this point she is brooding herself to death... quite literally.

Do your enclosed thing in the future.. after she's got some regular nutrition back on board.

Or IF you're gonna insist she get's chicks... get some very young feed store chicks and adopt during the night instead of letting her sit another 3 weeks... If using layer feed... could lead to kidney issues long term. Use starter or flock raiser... which has more protein and amino acids and less calcium.

Be strong!

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Harden up and let her freak out... that's how you break them. At this point she is brooding herself to death... quite literally.

Do your enclosed thing in the future.. after she's got some regular nutrition back on board.

Or IF you're gonna insist she get's chicks... get some very young feed store chicks and adopt during the night instead of letting her sit another 3 weeks... If using layer feed... could lead to kidney issues long term. Use starter or flock raiser... which has more protein and amino acids and less calcium.

Be strong!

How long does it take for them to snap out of it when you isolate them? Should I scrap the eggs she's already incubating or just let nature take it's course? The egg that was cracked I finished the job and there was certainly development at that point. Throughout this entire period I have been taking her outside 2-3 times a day so she will drink, relieve herself, and get a dust bath. She will stay out usually for no more than 10 minutes. Also when out I've been feeding her mealworms mixed with organic scratch grains, but from where she is laying she can reach the normal feed and will often eat without leaving the nest. I feel like I've continuously made a series of bad choices, but in my defense I am still learning.

 

[igorsMistress]

I had a broody do the same thing. I ended up incubating the eggs and put them under her at lockdown. I gave her golf balls to sit on. Do you have an incubator?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I had a broody do the same thing. I ended up incubating the eggs and put them under her at lockdown. I gave her golf balls to sit on. Do you have an incubator?

I do not but I have considered getting one and trying to put them under her by day 17.

 

[igorsMistress]

I do not but I have considered getting one and trying to put them under her by day 17.

If you have a local TSC I've seen them there in the past, or try a feed store. Otherwise shipping could take a while, lots of demand on the transportation industry right now.

 

[igorsMistress]

It might be ok to do the enclosure as well. If there's not a lock of hammering and such...

 

[humblehillsfarm]

If you have a local TSC I've seen them there in the past, or try a feed store. Otherwise shipping could take a while, lots of demand on the transportation industry right now.

My bf gets home from work around 3:30 (I'm at work now) and if she's still safely on her nest I'll stop by TSC on my way home and pick up an incubator. If they aren't developing by Day10 I'll consider scrapping them and trying harder to break her broodiness. Does that sound like a good plan? I had no idea what a debacle this could be!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@aart has a pretty good plan for breaking a broody. Perhaps she'll post it here.

 

[igorsMistress]

My bf gets home from work around 3:30 (I'm at work now) and if she's still safely on her nest I'll stop by TSC on my way home and pick up an incubator. If they aren't developing by Day10 I'll consider scrapping them and trying harder to break her broodiness. Does that sound like a good plan? I had no idea what a debacle this could be!

Sounds like a plan! Just be sure the broody continues to get off the nest regularly to eat and go potty.

I've read of people putting the broody in a small cage with a fan or putting reusable ice packs in the nests to break them before. What did you try other than the separate coop with no nest?