I have a quick question about broody chickens. Will Buttercup eventually snap out of it on her own? Or does she have to hatch out chicks to snap out of it? I found someone selling hatching eggs that I can put under her. But she's already been broody for 4 weeks. If she is going to snap out of it soon, I don't want to put eggs under her. However, if that is what it will take, I'll do it.
I had to buy eggs this week! 1 month without eggs is not cool!!!!
Advice needed!
13 comments:
I am far from a chicken expert but when my chickens have been broody they snap out of it. If you wait to give them eggs they will abandon the nest before they hatch. I could be wrong, this is just how its been with my girls. Nothing worse than having chickens at home and going to buy eggs....errr.
They do give up eventually. Next time she gets broody, give her eggs right away. It takes twenty-ones days and that would be too hard on your hen, plus she is probably getting ready to end herself.
I am no expert either but they seem to have an internal clock that tells them they have brooded long enough.
I'd try half-a-dozen eggs. That way I wouldn't be out too much money if the experiment didn't work, but I might get a few chicks if it did (not all the eggs will hatch).
If you do opt to let her hatch some, I suggest you write it down on your calendar when you stick them under her. I always get impatient toward the end, thinking the eggs must be duds, when in fact they hatch a week later.
In my somewhat limited experience, it speeds the broody period up to gently if unceremoniously dump the hen on the ground outside the coop a few times a day, or move them to a different coop area altogether.
This year, I finally set up a "broody coop" for my broodies, and 3 of 4 quit setting once in there. The 4th hatched out three cute little chicks!
I can't help with the answer Christy. Every chicken is different so I am told. Did you google it?
Christy. I found this doing a google search, you may find it interesting:
http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=25
I'm allowing my Japanese Silkie to hatch out a small clutch of eggs right now and wanted to make sure I was doing it right, since it's my first time letting her fulfill her broodiness (lol!). I swear this hen has been broody at least once every month since she was just a few months old. She's over a year now and is seriously broody. I'll be doing a post about this situation this week, but I did stumble on some information while I was doing my own research, that might help you:
"Isolate her from the rest of the flock, with feed and water, but in this case without a shred of nesting material. My broody boxes have a wire floor—if I take the nest box out, there is nothing suggestive of nesting. I usually leave the broody in the bare box until she lays an egg, signaling the end of broodiness, then return her to the laying flock.
Another way to break up a broody hen is to isolate her with a vigorous young cock, whose undivided “attentions” will disrupt her urge to brood."
Copied from:
http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Home.html
Sure hope this iinfo is helpful for you :)
~Lisa
chiming in...
If she's been on the nest a month already, she's probably lost a great deal of weight. My broodies rarely leave the nest to eat or drink.
Asking your girl to sit another 21 days might be risking her health.
Like the others, I think she'll snap out of it, long before the new eggs might hatch.
Thanks for the advice, this was my thought too. I didn't want to commit her to sitting another 21 days or have her abandon the nest part way through. I'm going to try the anti-brooding cage. It is time for her to be back to normal!
Linda - Thank you for the link! It was really helpful.
Lisa - Thanks for the information too. It also was helpful.
CeeCee - I've been getting her out of the nest twice a day to eat and drink. She'll eat and drink if I take her to it, but then goes right back to the nest.
I read this particular chicken blog frequently and when I found this link it made me think of your post. Some of the ideas you've heard already, but here's a bit more info: http://successwithpoultry.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-to-stop-broody-hen-from-staying.html
Thank you for the link you provided farmgirl - very good thank you! Even though I have no chickens yet and I have had them before, this helps a lot. I am sure many other followers of Christy's blog will think so to.
I was thinking - my hens usually were through laying by noon. Could the nest box be closed off to all hens after that time and the broody hen wouldn't have the nest to sit in? Never tried it, but I have never had full size hens go broody, just banties.
I have a cochin hen who just now got over her broodiness--and the broodiness started in June. Yes, JUNE! Luckily she didn't brood herself to death like my other cochin did. (The other one completely stopped eating or drinking...tried everything but even when I'd force her out of the nest box several times a day, she wouldn't eat or drink...would just fight to get back.)
I put this one on some eggs that were ready to hatch, but even when they hatched, she still wanted to brood--wouldn't look after the chicks, just wanted to sit on the nest.
I tried isolating her. I tried putting cold things under her. Tried everything. Like I did with the other cochin, I dumped her out of the nest box time after time after time during the day. No break in the broodiness.
I noticed just this week that she's staying out in the chicken yard a bit longer each time I dump her out. Yesterday I went to dump her out and she was already out in the yard so maybe just maybe she's over it.
Feathersite.com has excellent info
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKBroody.html
This should help with your broody girl.
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