10 Signs You Have a Broody Hen

Transcription

1 10 Signs You Have a Broody Hen This is broody hen season. What is a broody and how do you know you have one? The spring weather brings on the urge to set on eggs and hatch out a clutch of chicks. If the eggs have been fertilized by a rooster, in approximately 21 days from when the hen finishes collecting her eggs and begins to set on the eggs, you will have cute new chicks! I specifically bought bantam Cochin chicks, because they are often serious broody hens. We ended up with six hens and 5 roosters, although only one rooster lives with the six hens. First only one hen began broody hen behavior. Before long, all the hens were setting on eggs. Some were co- nesting. Others were sitting on top of other broody hens. It was getting a little crazy in the hen house!

2 Signs that you have a Broody Hen Some of the following symptoms and signs may occur when you have a broody hen. 1. Reluctance to get up off the egg or eggs in the nest 2. Sitting in the nest even when there are no eggs 3. Pecking your hand or biting you when you check for eggs underneath her. 4. Chest and belly feathers are missing. 5. Comb and wattles are pale 6. The broody only leaves the nest once or twice a day, and quickly returns after a quick bite and drink 7. Broody poop. It is unusually large and extremely smelly! 8. Hen is very flattened out on the nest. I am impressed with how flat a hen can get while covering eggs. When picked up, she may refuse to put her feet down. 9. Very little food and water are

3 consumed by the brooding hen. 10. It s Broody hen clucks softly to her chicks as they get close to hatch day. fun to watch the broody hen and her intense concentration, as she waits for the big day. Things can get crazy though when you have a few hens trying to hatch eggs and each thinks she should have all the eggs. I noticed that our broody s eggs were being taken by some or all of the other hens. They were semi broody, but no where as serious as the first.

4 Moving a Hen to the Nursery or a Private Area In order to hopefully have a successful hatch, I could see that our first broody of the year would have to be moved away from the other hens. Eggs were being broken, the nests were becoming sticky and dirty, and this was not a good situation for hatching chicks. Many people use a dog crate for a hen to live in while she broods. This is a great idea. There is often enough room in the dog crate for a small water and food of her own. Or you can use a smaller crate and let her out twice a day to get food and water and relieve herself. The crate keeps the eggs safe from other hens and the rooster. It also gives the chicks time to hatch without being attacked by other chickens. If your hen is upset because you moved her away from the flock

5 or put her into a crate for nesting, try making the move when she is asleep. Carefully removing the eggs to the new nest area in the crate, then getting the broody hen and placing her on the eggs. Doing this while it s dark, may be successful. After I moved the first broody hen to her own apartment, the other hens settled down to brooding eggs too. They didn t leave each other alone though. Most days four of the hens would be setting on a communal nest of eggs. At this point, I am letting them co brood. If egg stealing and breakage starts to occur again, then another crate will be set up. Nutrition for the Broody Hen During the brooding time period, your hen won t eat as much food as usual. This fact makes it even more important that she eat a quality chicken food. Supplement with tasty treats to

6 encourage her to take some food. A soft scrambled egg, meal worms, chickweed from the garden, are all interesting tasty treats. You want to do what you can to keep the hen in good condition. What About When A Broody is a Bad Mother Hen? I wasn t quite prepared for what was happening in another coop this spring. The hens were broody and not a breed known for broody behavior. But three hens were serious and kept setting. They would set on one egg, three eggs, no eggs, and kept jumping from one nest to another. They proved challenging and would not nest in a lower location. All three insisted on brooding in the highest nest boxes. I wasn t sure how that would work out once the chicks hatched. It turned out that not only were these hens making questionable choices in nesting locations, they also chose to leave the newly hatched chicks behind, leave the nest and go set on a different nest box of eggs. Luckily we check our coops a few times a day and the chicks were found and taken to a brooder. I didn t expect this behavior from a broody hen!

7 Broodiness Interrupts Production and Collection Egg Even hens that do not have a rooster in the flock can go broody. The only problem is, if the eggs aren t fertilized, they won t develop. If you want to hatch chicks under a broody and you don t have a rooster, you can order hatching eggs from someone who does. Broody hens don t lay eggs, and they may discourage other hens from using the nests, or even coming into the coop. Some

8 broody hens are quite mean when they set on eggs. The disruption can leave you with less eggs than you normally collect every day. Also, the broody moms would collect all the new eggs every day leaving us with no eggs! Here s how I worked around this problem. One day I decided to mark all the eggs that were being set at that point. Each had a mark put on them using a sharpie marker. Any other eggs that did not have the mark, were new and could be collected. We aren t collecting as many eggs as before brooding began, but at least we can pick up the new eggs each day. For some, not getting as many eggs is an issue. It s ok if you choose to not have your hen brood. In the past, I have chosen to break my broody hens of the urge, instead of letting them set on eggs. We needed eggs more than we needed new chicks at that time.

9 Enjoy! Brooding chicks from your own flock is an interesting and exciting adventure. Watching the hen teach the new babies how to find food and drink, and then cuddle under her wings to warm up, is very sweet reward for taking good care of the broody momma. Many would argue that this is the best part of chicken farming!

10 Raising a Large Breed Chicken Brahma and Cochin

11 Are you ready to add a large breed chicken to your flock? If you want a sweet, docile, cuddly hen, choose a large breed chicken. Brahmas and Cochins come to mind when I think of large breed chickens. Many people ask me what is the best backyard breed of chicken to raise. However,I feel like that is such a personal question and depends on so many factors. Usually, my answer will be something along the line of, if you are looking for a good egg layer, choose a hybrid such as the Red or Black Star. If you want a calm, peaceful chicken, try the Buff Orpington. My Favorite Large Breed Chickens For me, the favorite breed of chicken has long been the Brahma chicken. Beautiful to behold, the Brahma stands head and shoulders above the flock. A large chicken, the Brahma is pleasant to have around with a friendly disposition. Many people have a favorite chicken in their flock or a favorite breed because of the way it looks or the high egg production. Some are excellent broody hens and raise chicks easily to add to the flock. I don t know exactly what drew me towards the Brahma chicken and raising Brahmas but the attraction has led

12 me to gathering the Brahma chicken in three different colors, so far. Another favorite of mine is the Cochin breed. This large breed chicken is a recent addition to our flock with three Partridge Cochin hens. In our bantam coops we have several mottled Cochin chickens. We even have two Frizzled black Cochin and they are cute as they can be. What Other Breeds are Large? When I think of a large breed chicken, the Cochin and the Brahma are the breeds I consider. Some people will include other large meat breeds in the category of large breed chicken. You may find Jersey Giant, Orpingtons and Cornish Game in this category. While these breeds can be rather large, weighing in over 8 pounds, they are dwarfed in comparison to the Brahma and Cochin. Perhaps the Brahma and Cochin should be called Jumbo Chicken Breeds!

13 The Brahma The exact origin of the Brahma chicken is not well documented. The name is from the Brahmaputra River in India. Some guess that the Brahma chicken was developed from the Chinese Shanghai and the Chittagongs during the early days of settlement in California. The Brahma chicken breed has been recognized in the American Poultry Association since 1874.

14 On the Plus Side for Brahmas Brahma Chickens are adaptable to most climates. You might

15 guess that with their heavy body and thick feathering, they would be intolerant to heat but I have not found this to be true. We routinely have days in the 90 s during the summer and the Brahma hens do not pant or show any more distress than any other birds in our flock. Providing shade for all chickens is necessary anyway. On the other hand, as one might guess, Brahmas are very cold tolerant. The heavy weight and the feather covering on the legs helps it deal with cold temperatures. Egg laying during cold weather is good too. How Big are They? The Brahma chicken breed stands out because of it s large sized birds. The roosters can weigh up to 12 pounds. Hens usually weigh close to 10 pounds. A bantam variety of Brahma chicken is also available. These miniature Brahmas weigh in around one pound or less. Egg Laying? Does the Brahma chicken lay a lot of eggs? The Brahma chicken breed was primarily used as a meat chicken, and with the roosters weighing a huge 12 pounds or more, that is understandable. I do not raise chickens for meat so all of my Brahma chickens are kept as egg layers or chicken eye candy. They do lay eggs for us too, and while they are not consistent on a daily basis, they do gift us with enough eggs to earn their keep. Occasionally, the Brahmas will go broody and are good broody hens. What Color is the Brahma Chicken Brahmas can be found in four colors, black, buff, dark, and white. More often the white variety is referred to as a light Brahma chicken. I am happy to own three of the four colors of the breed. I have not even seen a black Brahma chicken in real life but when I do, you can be sure I will be trying to purchase some hatching eggs to complete my collection!

16 The Cochin Breed The Livestock Conservancy has the Cochin chicken status listed as recovering. Once an extremely popular breed in the mid 1800 s, the fact that the Cochin does not lay a high number of eggs per year, lowered it s popularity. Cochins are great at being broody hens, lay eggs reliably through the winter and are quiet chickens. Need a Broody Hen? Get a Cochin! The Cochin originated in China and was well received in America. The economic reality of raising Cochin hens, made them less likely to be kept for egg production though. Since they may be the most broody chicken you ever raise, some people will keep them for brooding larger egg fowl like turkeys and ducks. The disposition of the Cochin is top notch. Even the roosters rarely become rude and aggressive.

17 The Cochin breed is a great choice if children are interested in helping to care for the flock. our bantam cochin brooding eggs Breed Size Due to their heavy size, the Cochin breed is easily contained in a fenced run. The Roosters can be up to 12 pounds and the hens easily reach 10 pounds. The breed is great at eating, so some supervised free ranging time would help keep the food bill lower. Egg Laying Cochins lay approximately 150 to 160 eggs per year. The eggs are brown and large in size.

18 Varieties of Cochin Chickens There are plenty of varieties to choose from in the Cochin breed. Black, partridge, blue, buff, silver laced, splash, golden laced, and white are usually easy to obtain. In both the full size and the bantam size, frizzle characteristics can appear, where the feathers turn outward from the birds body. They are really quite stunning. Is a Large Breed Chicken Right for You? Now that I have explained a little about what to expect in these chicken breeds, are large breed chicken varieties right for you? Some things to consider are the size of your coop, adequate sturdy roost bar, pop door opening, and the size of the nesting boxes. Keep in mind that the Brahma or Cochin chicken is going to be almost twice the size of your

19 other popular egg laying breed hens. Fitting into a small nesting box won t be easy or comfortable. If you have a small pop door, the Brahma might be scrapping her back feathers on the door every time she goes in or out of the coop. Roosting at night will be a challenge if the existing roost bar is flimsy. I definitely suggest that you upgrade to a sturdy 2 x 4 roost bar for the Brahmas. Egg Requirements If you are raising chickens strictly for eggs the large breed chicken is not a high egg They do lay a fair amount of eggs, but some the lower production than a Rhode Island undesirable for a backyard homestead. for your family, production hen. people feel that Red, makes them Large Breed Chicken and Feathered Feet- a Bonus and a Curse The feathered legs and feet are a feature that I love. But, the heavy feathering does collect mud during a rainy season and need to be cleaned from time to time for comfort and hygiene reasons. Also, during the winter, snow and ice can accumulate in the feathered feet and cause problems. Checking the large breed chicken s feet may often be necessary.

20 Temperament The Brahmas we have had range in temperament from shy to very friendly and curious. Our Cochins have been rather shy so far. As they get closer to laying, they are getting easier to approach and handle. Since they are so large, it isn t too hard to catch them if I need to. I have not had an aggressive or mean Brahma in the flock. Some will even come up to me and beg for attention. Another plus, since they don t object too much to being held, and they can t run as fast as the lighter breeds, making them easier to catch! So what do you think? breed chicken? Are you ready to raise a a large

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22 Chicken Nesting Why is My Hen Broody? Chicken Nesting and Broody Behavior in Your Flock W hynnie was intent on chicken nesting or broodiness and wanted to hatch out the eggs. This was my first time dealing with a broody hen, who was following nature s call to chicken nesting.

23 One day I stopped to watch one of my hens gather up a clutch of eggs to sit on. It was interesting to watch as she methodically pulled each egg under her body using her feet and beak. Quiet determination at its best. I was so glad I had my camera with me. This is one of our Silver Laced Wyandotte hens. When I first published these photos on the blog a few years ago, I was amazed that Whynnie went about her chicken nesting while I was standing there. But broody behavior is a strong urge for a hen and I guess she had to do what she had to do. What makes some hens broody and other s never have a thought about sitting on a nest? The hormones that kick in when egg laying begins causes some hens to seek motherhood immediately, while other s never have this urge. Breaking the hen of the broody behavior may be necessary in some instances. 1. You may not want anymore chicks in your coop 2. You don t have a rooster, so the eggs are not fertilized. 3. The hen is not healthy enough to go through a broody phase without further health decline. Some hens are not easy keepers, don t keep weight on well, or have other issues.

24 Setting on eggs for three weeks, only getting up once or twice a day, will lead to further health deterioration. 4. You want or need the eggs for food and do not want the chicken sitting on them. Also, while your hen is setting on eggs, she will not be laying any eggs. Whynnie arranges her body over the eggs Some breeds are more inclined to broodiness and chicken nesting than others. Cochins, Brahmas, Orpingtons and Silkie s have all been reported as being more likely to be broody than other breeds. In my flock, the Black Australorps are the most likely to be interested in chicken nesting. In the case of Whynnie s attempt at chicken nesting, I did not want anymore chicks at that point. So I had to break her of the chicken nesting, broody urge.

25 only one egg peeking out! Breaking a Broody Hen I took her off the nest of eggs and picked them up, removing them from the coop. The next day, Whynnie tried again. She continued to try chicken nesting for several days, and each day I picked her up and insisted she go out to play with everyone else. Finally, her urge to brood passed. Her life returned to normal. The other hens were happy they could

26 go into the nest without Whynnie getting upset. During warm weather, some people will give the hen a cool shallow bath to sit in for a few minutes. Whynnie was insistent that it was her time to attempt chicken nesting. She is still part of our flock and has never had another spell of persistent broodiness.

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