Is she beginning to go broody? UPDATE: SHE IS!!!

[big brown horse]

My Buff O has plucked her tummy feathers. I checked her thouroughly for mites at first and then noticed a nice symmetrical bald pattern under her tummy and a bit up her inner thighs.

This morning she laid a nice but very tiny egg...smaller than normal. She got off the nest and pecked around the rest of the day.

She is less than a year old but has been laying eggs regularly since December.

I really want her to go broody b/c I don't have the time to babysit anymore chicks this spring and I LOVE to see a mama hen with her chicks!

If you guys think she is approaching broody-ness I have ceramic eggs to use as a decoy until I can put some fertile eggs under her.

ETA: Title change, and now I know the signs of pre-broody-ness!

 

[FarmerDenise]

When I am hoping one of my hens is broody, I stick a few fake eggs in the nest and add to them every day, as if the hens were laying them there. I usually stop at 6 or so. A broody hen will start to sit on the nest and won't get off. If she is on there all the time except to get up in the mornign to do a big nasty smelling broody poo and to run and eat, drink and maybe take a quick dustbath, you know you have a broody hen. Some will get off once or twice a day to take care of business, but for the most part they don't leave the nest for more than 1/2 hour.

You can add more fake eggs if you have them, I do if I really want to encourage them to go broody. Up to 20.

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks FD, I think I'll put some of the decoy eggs out there now.

Do you think she is thinking about going broody?

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

the only thing is the smaller egg would NOT be a sign..... you can tell if she is in there with a dazed look..and she'll growl at you.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I don't know, I never noticed mine pulling feathers out. I can only tell, if they won't get off the nest. It is the right time of year and BO's are supposed to go broody. Mine hasn't yet this year.

 

[big brown horse]

Yeah, I know how they act after they go broody. I was just wondering if there are any pre-broody signs. I never noticed any before with any of my other broody type hens in the past. They just got on a nest full of eggs that I didn't pick up one day and sat, and sat and sat!

Ok, so the smaller egg isn't a sign. :/

I'm still putting decoys in there and then I'm crossing my fingers!

Everyone, do a broody dance for my chicken and me!!

:bun :bun :bun

 

[FarmerDenise]

:bun :bun :bun

go broody yeah, go broody yeah!!

 

[hankus]

My BO I set started hatching off yesterday, and I set another last thur. I reckon you just need a little wind off the GA pines to do it.

 

[justusnak]

I have 2 BO hens that are "balding" as well. I am going to take them and throw them in a broody pen...and up thier corn intake. Corn is harder to process, therefore it raises thier body temp...makeing them " feel broody" My turkeys just started laying..and after last years fight with a turkey hen, ( i lost) I wont let the turkeys set thier eggs. Im going to plop them under my BO hens!

 

[Jamsoundsgood]

I currently have three broody BO's. I just let them sit in their boxes until they are done being broody. They will actually sit on straw, though we have caught one or two actually moving eggs between boxes. They will hide them inbetween their "knees" and waddle between the boxes, two and a half feet off the ground! It's pretty funny. I'm currently not ready for one to go broody, maybe a little later in the spring. I seem to always have one or two, so I'm not really worried about it.