Sooo much pooping

[Debb11]

Hi All

 

I have got a 1st time Broody Goldtop,and I'm not sure what to do, she is still in the main Chicken Coop only sitting on 1 egg which is hers, yesterday she went Broody and sat on one of my ex-batts egg, but i removed it, only for her to be sitting on her own today. I have tried removing her for food and drink but when she go's for any food the others just go for her, yes i do have a Cockerel but i don't think he has done his job on her. I have many questions on what i could do?

 

Do i :

 

1 Remove her to a separate area and leave her to it

2 Keep removing her egg and hope she stops being broody

3 Remove her to a separate area and give her hatching eggs, hoping she will continue to SIT!

4 Remove her to a separate area and give her fake eggs then when the time comes give her day old chicks to rear hoping she will take to them

5 Remove her to separate area and give her day old chicks anyway, but i did hear that if i get day old chicks now, i have more chance of having cocks and one cock is enough for me at the mo lol

 

I real don't know what the best solution is at the mo?

 

All advise appreciated

 

Thanks

 

Debb

[Redwing]

I would try and break the broodiness by removing the eggs, if that doesnt work try separating her to a wire floored cage up on bricks (in a secure area) during the day so she cools down underneath (a plastic cat carrier would work but not as quickly)

 

I wouldnt get hatching eggs, the temptation is huge obviously

 

Increase your flock size in your own time and in your ideal way without the pressure of hatching

[Egluntyne]

Don't put a day old chick under her at this early stage. Her broodiness needs to run for the natural course really for this to be successful. At this stage, she will most likely turn on a chick and kill it.

[Debb11]

Thanks Redwing & Egluntyne

 

Redwing: I can separate her in the day to another area, and remove any eggs, but do i then let her back in the main coop in the evening when the others go to bed because i'm conserned that she will then might be the outsider as it looks now when i've lifted her off the nest and got her to eat something only for her to be attacked by them as they all FR.

 

Egluntyne: So what do i do from now if i did want to add a day old chick later, leave her to sit on her egg but separate her first,give her fake eggs and add chick when the time comes for when the real eggs would have hatched or try and get her to break her broodness as suggested by redwing and try at a later date with chick raising?

 

Debb

[Egluntyne]

Unless you are absolutely sure that you want to raise chicks, with all that it entails, including the prospect of having cockerels to deal with, I'd try to break her out of her broodiness.

 

Article about broody hens **here** .

[Debb11]

Thanks Egluntyne

 

I read the link and i decided to try the freezer block method wrapped in a t-towel, well she sat on that, so that didn't work, she also moved to another nest box, so i have to keep turfing her out now and only leaving the nest box lid open when i know that the other laying hens have laid. My other problem was the fact of bullying from one of the others who is i guess was at the bottom of the pecking order only to i guess move up while my broody hen was out of the clucky clucky circle, i have put her in solitary for a couple of days only letting her back in with the others at night, she seems to laid off her a bit but I'm still getting my broody hen keep trying to go back in the nest box even though the lid is up, i can't win!

 

Debb