4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Joojoo]

Hi

 

One of our hens has been virtually constantly in the nest box since Friday so I'm pretty certain she is broody. This afternoon I managed to turf her out to get to the eggs (3 that were very toasty), but I noticed that she felt very hot underneath when I picked her up. Is this normal and just from sitting there all day or is it part of being broody?

 

She is coming out when I appear with treats but seems to disappear back in there as soon as my back is turned and the treats have gone.

[chelsea]

yes Jue the hen will feel very warm underneath when broody.

 

Dunking is supposed to help cool the hen down to force them out of broodiness (didnt work for me ) or sitting the hen on ice packs wrapped in a tea towel and place the hen in a broody pen (didnt work for me either! )

 

Its best to try and snap her out of it quickly if you can. blocking off the nest box when the others have laid is a start.

[Joojoo]

Thanks hun. I've closed the eglu door for now so she can't get back in there. Hopefully all 3 will have laid by the time I come home to check on them at lunchtime so I can close it then til dusk. Will she try and find somewhere else to nest or just the nest box? Sorry for sounding a bit silly but this is the first one that's gone broody.

 

Do they still lay when they are broody as we've had the full compliment again today?

 

x

[chelsea]

whenever I have shut the cube door the broody hen usually sits somewhere in a huff (in the aubiose) and makes herself into a pancake, or on the lawn or on the step.

 

Then when your back is turned and if there is the slightest gap to get back into the nestbox then whooooosh,....she'll be in there!!

[chelsea]

sorry missed a bit about the laying.

 

She could be semi broody. or about to go broody if she is still laying. My cochin goes broody at a drop of a hat and still lays but has broody tendencies when she feels like it.

 

I think your girl should snap out of it early if you nip it in the bud

[Joojoo]

Fingers crossed I don't know if I could dunk her in cold water - I think I'd feel too guilty for making her uncomfortable

[chelsea]

I didnt like dunking either TBH, I made hubby do it!

 

I did it on a hot/warm day aswell (doubt we'll get one of those again ) as I was worried she would get cold, oh and we did the dunking in the morning so she had the whole day to dry before bed.

[redfrock]

I am on the last of my 3 broody hens now - all were occupying the one nest box. I have noticed that mine will lay every day for a few days prior to being broody and then nothing .... nothing ..... nothing. They don't start to lay again until several weeks after being broody. I'm quite quite clued up these days as I had several broody hens last year, some of them more than once.

 

They pluck all their chest feathers out so that the eggs can be as close to their body heat - and yes their bodies get very hot! You are lucky that yours is still popping out for her treats. I normally have to boot mine out to ensure they eat, drink - and my god the size of a broody poo . I think they save it up all day for the one event! Agatha and Orla are sweet when they are broody. Tuesday behaves as if she has PMT for the entire universe - hissing and biting. She would stamp her feet if she could.

 

Make sure you get all the eggs out from under her as soon as possible so that she has nothing to nurture, and yes shutting the door after they have all laid and turfing her out is perfect. None of the ways to break a broody have worked on mine either and Orla has been known to be brrody for 6 or 8 weeks at a time

 

Have fun

[Joojoo]

I think I'll try the turfing out approach for a few days and see how I get on. I'll wait to try the more extreme measures if she doesn't improve after a week or so

 

She's definitely still interested in her food but perhaps that's because she has only just gone broody or doesn't it work like that?

 

It's reassuring to know that the body temperature going up is normal. She was like a furnace under there and the eggs that she was sat on were as if they had just been laid She didn't seem to be grumpy when I turfed her out but you could tell she didn't want to leave the nest bless her.

[chelsea]

bless her.

 

 

I can almost guarantee Jue that you wont be saying that in a weeks time!!

 

Lets hope she's just pretending to be broody and she wont go the whole hog. Im happy at the moment I have no broody girls (but I bet next week I will!)

[Joojoo]

bless her.

 

 

I can almost guarantee Jue that you wont be saying that in a weeks time!!

 

Lets hope she's just pretending to be broody and she wont go the whole hog. Im happy at the moment I have no broody girls (but I bet next week I will!)

 

:lol: probably not!!

[Stevie]

Fingers crossed I don't know if I could dunk her in cold water - I think I'd feel too guilty for making her uncomfortable

 

I dunk em'.Dont feel guilty cos while they're sitting on nest-there not eating or drinking which isnt good for their health and you've gotta lower their body temperature.

 

I also use an upturned puppy crate so airflow is unhindered and cools her nether regions.Three days in solitary is usually enough to snap them out of it.Leave her in there 24hrs a day,but keep it close to Eglu so they can still see each other.

 

Heres mine who was broody a week or so ago.

[Joojoo]

Thanks Stevie. I'll see how she goes for a couple of days and perhaps try your suggestion.

[Helen&Lee]

I've had a fair share of broody's since March, I filled the nesting box with ice blocks, the others all still laid.

When they had all laid I would swap the ice blocks for plant pots and leave them in overnight - making them use the roosting bars instead of hunkering down and getting too cosy.

Dunking isn't too bad, Bluey hated it though and I got soaked trying to dunk her.

[redfrock]

I tried the plant pots too but unfortunately I don't get up in time to remove them - some of my girls start laying at about 5am or so this time of year

[Joojoo]

I tried the plant pots too but unfortunately I don't get up in time to remove them - some of my girls start laying at about 5am or so this time of year

Thanks Claire. I don't think I would be able to get up early enough to get the plant pots out of the nest box either

[Seagazer]

I'm finding this broody thing a bit upsetting. I feel so bad everytime I bring Butch out of the nesting box.

 

All three were in there this morning. Flo was sitting on a huge egg (not her normal pink colour but a brown, although not as dark as Butch's egg!?! Whats that about?). As soon as she stood up, Butch pinched it and tried to put it under herself. I took it off Butch, an almighty amount of clukking and bokking went on from Flo then. Now Flo keeps squashing herself down and going in the nesting box. I don't want two broody hens!

 

I don't think Ginger has started laying yet as she still seems too small.

 

I have been dunking Butch and alternatively putting ice blocks in the nesting box.

 

It just seems to upset all 3 of them at the moment

[Joojoo]

Well I'm getting confused as to whether Doris is actually broody or just playing mind games with me

 

She was out with the other two in the run this morning before I left for work, then when I got home tonight she was obviously in the nest box but peeping out as I walked over with their afternoon treat. Was out of the eglu in a flash and got to me before the other two got a look in The eggs in the nest box were toasty so she had obviously been sitting in there for quite a while before I got home.

 

Can hens be broody on a part-time basis?

[Stevie]

Can hens be broody on a part-time basis?

 

Possibly,but if they suspect you have tasty treats-this is sometimes enough to tempt them out of nestbox even for a few minutes.Plus,its likely she hasnt eaten in your absence so was starving.When one of mine first went broody and i turfed her out of nestbox-she immedietely started eating the pellets and i knew she hadnt eaten all day.