More broody hen advice

[Mrs. K]

Don't give her eggs - give her fresh chicks. Just buy a couple day old chicks. Take chicks home, give them a drink of water. Wait till dark. Put chicks outside so they get a little chilled - not dangerously, but chilly and peeping madly.

With the least light possible, stick the chicks under neath her. The peeping should almost immediately stop, those chicks should burrow into that warm spot tight as a tick.

Now the hard part - leave her and them alone to work it out.

Mrs K

 

[sdm111]

Don't give her eggs - give her fresh chicks. Just buy a couple day old chicks. Take chicks home, give them a drink of water. Wait till dark. Put chicks outside so they get a little chilled - not dangerously, but chilly and peeping madly.

With the least light possible, stick the chicks under neath her. The peeping should almost immediately stop, those chicks should burrow into that warm spot tight as a tick.

Now the hard part - leave her and them alone to work it out.

Mrs K

I wouldn't do this.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I gave 3 one day old chicks to my broody last year when her eggs failed to hatch. She immediately accepted the egg for chick swap and was an amazing mom
Do have a brooder set up, just in case your hen rejects the chicks though.

 

[Mrs. K]

I wouldn't do this.

Why not? The hen has been broody about the time it would take eggs to hatch. It is the easiest way to break a broody hen. And the OP is interested in getting chicks.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

Would it be a bad idea to put a couple (potentially) fertilized eggs under the broody OEGB?

Personally I would not. I'll explain.

Before a hen or pullet starts laying eggs she builds up excess fat, mainly in the pelvic region. I've butchered enough pullets, hens, cockerels, and roosters for this fat build-up to be obvious. This fat is there for the hen to live off of if she goes broody so she can stay on the nest and take care of the eggs instead of having to go out to forage a lot. It just doesn't make sense that Mother Nature would require a hen to starve herself to death and be in miserable physical shape when they hatch. They will lose weight, but it is fat put there for that purpose. Losing weight does not mean they are in any danger or suffering.

How long does that excess fat last? It will vary by hen. Some hens store more fat than others. All hens come off of the nest (if they are normal) to eat, drink, poop, and maybe dust bathe. Some come off quite a bit, like yours. Others hop off and hop back on pretty quickly. Typically a hen will break from being broody when that excess fat runs out. I arbitrarily use 5 weeks from when they go broody to when the eggs will hatch as my cut-off. Most can go longer. I've never had one go less but with living animals you do not get guarantees but the vast majority will break when that fat runs out.

The reason I would not give her eggs is that she has been broody long enough to surpass my arbitrary cut-off. She might stay broody long enough to hatch those eggs but I would not try.

I personally do not like just setting two eggs. Not every egg hatches. A lone chick with a broody hen will do OK until the hen weans it, but after that it has to make its own way with the flock. That can be challenging for a single chick as they are flock animals, they really want to be with others. Also, you don't know what sex you will get. I suggest you set as many eggs as you can handle when you set eggs so if they all hatch you can hopefully avoid the single chick issue.

I've given newly hatched chicks to broody hens several times. It practically always works but there is a catch. The chicks need to be as young as possible. The hen and chicks need to imprint on each other. The older they get the less likely the broody hen will imprint on them. The older they get the more likely the chicks are to have imprinted on something else and will not accept the hen. I've had tremendous success if the chicks are three days old or younger. I've had reasonable success if they are a bit older. But, guess what. You do not get guarantees with living animals, anything can happen. If you try you need to be prepared to brood then yourself.

The way I give chicks to a broody is to wait until it is dark and slip the chicks under her. Then I'm out there at daybreak to see how it is going in case I need to intervene.

If you break her now there is an excellent chance she will go broody again sometime. You don't know when and you don't know if it will be a convenient time, it may never happen. But I'd expect her to go broody again.

Before she starts laying again she needs to replace the excess fat she has used up while broody. That may take a while so be patient.

Good luck!

 

[Wild Iris]

I appreciate the conversation and information from experience--thank you to everyone! I have removed all ceramic nest eggs, and started checking for newly-laid eggs several times a day; as long as there are no eggs, the little hen runs around eating and scratching like normal. As soon as she finds an egg, she sits on it until I take it away.

If she is still wanting to sit after she has had some time to gain weight, and the other hens are regularly laying fertilized/bullseye eggs, then I might chance it. If not, it's no problem to wait until the next broody cycle.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I wouldn't do this.

I'm wondering this, too. Why would you not give her two or three day-old chicks to raise?

 

[ChookaPete]

I have an OEGB hen--about 8 months old--who went broody about a month ago. She stayed broody even though I moved the entire flock & coop into a new location. She gets off the nest twice a day to eat and drink, sometimes staying off for as much as 30 minutes at a time. I try to make sure I see her eating and drinking each time. I have let her have her own way in this because it was her first time and I was curious how it would go, but we haven't had any fertile eggs for her to hatch. Just this week I have put in a young rooster in with the 7 hens. He is behaving well, calls them to eat treats, is quick & gentle in his mating, etc.

Would it be a bad idea to put a couple (potentially) fertilized eggs under the broody OEGB? Would she stay on them until they hatch, or has she already been broody so long that she's likely to stop soon? (Or should I remove her nesting box until she stops being broody?) I would be happy for her to raise a few chicks--we have plenty of space for them--but I don't want her to become unhealthy & I would prefer she not abandon half-incubated eggs.

If you only notice one of your chickens being broody after a week, then you can put some fertile eggs underneath her for her to hatch.

If it has been longer than that, either place some newly-hatched chicks underneath her at night for her to raise as her own, or break her out of broodiness.


I tried putting half-incubated eggs underneath a broody hen and she quickly abandoned them, unfortunately. Meanwhile another hen went broody and it was too late to put eggs underneath her, so I put newly hatched chicks underneath her on the eve of the 21st day.

 

[Pigeony]

I also recommend giving her day-old chicks. Your broody is determined, and she's sat long enough that there's a high chance of success. As others have said, best done in the dead of night.

 

[Ywilliams64]

Hello, I don't have a reply, but a question. I am new to this post and am learning my way around. I will do my best not to be too wordy. I have a 10 month Buff who has decided to go broody. I have attempted everything, but I will confess I am not a fan of chicken jail. I know that it is necessary, but not a fan. In stating that I have put her in Chicken jail, but let her out when I feel that the other ladies are done laying for the day. I close the door to the coop, but leave her in the run.
I blocked the boxes and let her Purch with her fellow sisters at night. She came out of the coop and was acting normal, but about an hour into it she entered the coop and started with the clucking and puffing up when shoed her out. I walked around the yard with her for a few minutes and placed an ice pack under her bottom. At this moment it appears to have worked, but I am afraid that once she gets into the coop the broodiness will start all over again.
How do I know for certain the broodiness is broken?