Broody hen, but not really

[mandieg4]

I have a 7 month old hen that refuses to get out of the nest box. She is there when I open the coop door in the morning and when I shut it at night. She's there when the kids go gather eggs in the afternoon. I haven't seen her off the next in almost 3 weeks. She must at some point to eat, but I haven't seen it. She puffs up when I approach her, but she never pecks at me or at the kids when they get the egg out from under her. What should I do about it? Or should I just leave her alone?

 

[Javamama]

Well, do you have a rooster and do you want chicks? If it was me, I'd let her hatch something. But if that's not what you want, then you might want to try dunking her tushie in some cold water to break her.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

does she have eggs under her? or do the other hens keep laying new eggs and she has those new ones under her.

you might just have to take her up if she isnt sitting on anything. altho i had a hen who i thought was overdue by 4 or 5 days...and then she hatched! so you might want to give her a couple more days.

there are a couple ways to "break" a broody... i had to do this - see here:
http://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.com/2010/08/good-bad-and-broody.html

especially in the comments where i explained the dunking.

if you take her up - or her eggs just dont hatch (do you have a rooster?) - she might be nuts for a couple days to a week. she may do that funny fluff up strut and clucking for a while. just let her be.

hens handle their broodiness differently. for instance i have one screw-around-gal who is always going here or going there.. and hatches no problem. then i have a gal who is locked down. she doesnt eat or move. put a small (cat food can) dish of water and food near her so she doesnt have to get up.

if she has to poop she'll either hold it the entire time, get up while you arent around, or poop on the nest (which is a problem)

if you arent home during the day she might be up and around while you arent looking. sometimes they will sneak off, do their thing and get right back on the nest.

it takes 21 days to hatch a clutch - so give her the full 3 weeks (plus 2 or 3 days) to see what happens.

good luck!

 

[mandieg4]

We've been getting the eggs out from under her so there aren't any eggs to hatch. I go by the coop several times a day and I've never seen her off the nest, but I imagine she is when I'm not around. We do have a rooster and I'd love to have a few more chickens, but I don't have a place to put little ones away from the big ones. She's not pecking at the kids when they get the eggs and she's not pooping in the nest so she isn't really being a nuisance, yet, I just don't want it to become a problem. I'm not sure if the egg we've been getting out from under her is her's or another hen's. If she doesn't hatch anything in a certain amount of time will she just give up or will she stay broody until something happens? She is one of the rooster's "favorites" so I kinda wonder if she's just not hiding from him?

 

[freemotion]

If she is broody, she is not laying eggs. Either other hens are squeezing in with her, or she gets off the nest and they run in and pop an egg out. They do this....all lay in one nest so one hen can raise everyone's chicks.

I'd move her at night to a spot, even within the coop, where she won't be harrassed and no one can lay more eggs with her anymore. You can block off a small section of your coop with some netting or a dog crate. Give her a couple eggs to sit on or some golf balls, and see if she stays on the nest for a couple days after moving her. If so, STUFF the nest with your prettiest, cleanest, freshest eggs and let her do her thing.

Remove the netting/cage once the chicks are all hatched and dried off. You will be taking some chances, but I'd do it. Worth a shot.

 

[lorihadams]

yep, what Free said....I wish I had a rooster so my light brahma mama could sit on some, she's a big bird...sat on 16 eggs last hatch.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

You don't have to pull the babies into a brooder if she hatches them. I guess it's not ideal if they are eating laying feed, but you can always just give them starter a few times a day away from your others.

I had a hen hatch out in JANUARY one year. I didn't even know she was setting, she hid them so well. I just heard those tell-tale "peeps" one day and thought "oh no!!!". I ended up putting the hen and chicks under an open-bottomed rabbit wire cover about 2x3 feet with a water fount and scattered some feed in there for a few weeks. I put a tarp over/around them at night or in bad weather. She raised them all.

LOL I also used to have a TINY bantam that would sneak off and lay. She always hatched her own since she flew over the fence to lay. She never showed up with less than 15 chicks.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I'd let her hatch some eggs. Don't worry about hte chicks in with adults, the momma will protect them. I have had broody hen after broody hen this year!! I had one bantam hen that was broody for 4 months before she finally got over it!! I've also had 2 "surprise" hatchings from sneaky hens that had a nest in the woods. But I love chickens, and the more the merrier.

 

[savingdogs]

I just had two hens that went consistently broody together. I didn't think I had a place for them either. Then we devised something and put eggs under them and it worked! We have five chicks now that they are sharing. It has been a very fun experience and it makes me feel like it was more worth it, them not laying eggs all that time.
I want to do it again right away now! I can't wait for another broody!