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NatalieC90

Broody pullet hen?!

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So, we've had our chickens at home since the spring when they were hatched from eggs at my daughter's nursery.

 

All 4 hens have been laying for about a month or less. 

 

One of our early layers, Moira (named after Moira Schitt as she has a wonky comb and looks like a great hairstyle!) has now started exhibiting broody characteristics. She sits in the nest box of our Go UP all day. She growls and hisses at the other hens and us, she's all puffed up and won't let the others in to lay. We collect the eggs as early as we can each day but obviously are both working so its not as soon as they lay. We are removing the eggs from under her and then taking her out of the coop. Once she is out with her sisters she is happy as Larry, eating and scratching in the garden, but when she's in the coop she is very territorial and not like herself. 

 

Is she too young to be broody?! We've read some conflicting stuff online about broodiness in their first season. 

 

For now we have semi-separated her from her sisters by putting her in our "travel" run inside their outside area so she is with them but can't scuttle back to the coop. Not sure if we are doing the right thing here so any advice would be very welcome!

 

 

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Our latest arrivals were 16 weeks old and started laying at 22 weeks. When Ermintrude had laid just 6 eggs she went broody, so your girl certainly isn't too young. It was easy to get her out of it, by removing her from the nest box during the day and at night when she tried to sleep in the box; took about two weeks. BUT, she went broody 6 months later and kept going for a month. In the end we had to move her to a coop and run in a different location and because it was then impossible to re-integrate her, she remains there. Quite happy on her own really, because she was terribly bullied by the others for being 'different'.

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On 9/21/2021 at 10:32 AM, NatalieC90 said:

For now we have semi-separated her from her sisters by putting her in our "travel" run inside their outside area so she is with them but can't scuttle back to the coop. Not sure if we are doing the right thing here so any advice would be very welcome!

Yes, you are doing the right thing as long as she is safe from predators.

She needs to stay in there for 3 days and 3 nights - this is usually enough but not always.

I tend to cover mine at their bedtime, with an old duvet cover,  as they seem to panic because they can't go to bed.

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So in a very strange turn of events, she has been out in the isolation run for about 5 hours and has just laid an egg! 

 

She wasn't sitting on it but it was warm when I just picked it up so its pretty butt-fresh! Does this mean she is not broody anymore? Should we carry on for the full 3 days/ nights? 

 

This is a pic of her set up but we will make it much more secure for overnight etc.

IMG_20210921_113152124.jpg

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