The great broody experiment (new pics p 18)

[freemotion]

Karen, I do separate them into a large pen that I call the broody pen all summer, with a house called the broody house....it is called the buck pen and the buck house all winter, though! My coop is tiny and if left in there, they sometimes switch nest boxes, leaving the eggs, and other hens climb in and lay more eggs. I've also had hens that are higher on the pecking order harrass them and even bloody a comb in their attempts to pull the broody out of their favorite nest box.

Also, because I have the 2x4" horse fencing around my field, the chicks would be very vulnerable if in with the main flock. They could easily leave the safety of the fenced area and be vulnerable to predators other than the hawks.

The current crew will be put in with the main flock in 2-3 weeks, and we will see how it goes. I usually wait until they are close to full size.

Hattie, that is comforting to hear....that they can go that long without pooping and be ok. I was worried about her, but maybe I will just leave her be. Do you mean that your hens can go three full weeks without pooping? Whew! I can hardly imagine what comes out of them once they start again!

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hattie, that is comforting to hear....that they can go that long without pooping and be ok. I was worried about her, but maybe I will just leave her be. Do you mean that your hens can go three full weeks without pooping? Whew! I can hardly imagine what comes out of them once they start again!

Well it certainly seems they do but I do think they often come off the eggs for a few seconds when we are not around in the early days, especially while they still have the remains of earlier food in their system. I tend to leave a container of corn & a dish of water nearby & when I marked the water levels it definitely goes down more than just what would happen with evaporation.

I was told about just feeding corn by my 84 year old neighbour who had kept chickens for years. I find it a minor miracle to see just how clean & shiny the eggs are by the time they are ready for hatching. The shine comes from the hen who keeps turning them ; it polishes them !!

The big poop at the end is TRULY EPIC, huge & explosive & incredibly smelly................................. So beware the hen that never leaves the nest........... !!

Actually I think you should't disturb her if she is looking healthy enough. I have never had a hen die on me while setting. If the weather is hot & dry I would spray a fine mist of water around the shavings or straw (not directly on the eggs). It helps to stop the shells drying out as the chicks are getting out of the shells. You often see this advice in old poultry books & it works for me.

Can't wait for more photos.....!!

Hattie

 

[freemotion]

Her nest box is contained within a hoop house, so if she poops, it will be in that area. It is pristine so far!

 

[Wifezilla]

I do separate them into a large pen that I call the broody pen all summer

We call ours the "maternity ward" LOL. Last winter it was the night pen. There is a big dog igloo in there that Chrissy used to raise her brood. When Lexus went broody it was inside of a large plastic garbage can turned on it's side. We put that in the run for emergency shelter when Chrissy took over the igloo. Once Chrissy was out of the maternity ward we just picked up the whole trash can ducks eggs and all and moved that in next to the dog igloo. You know darn well one of the little drakes is going to be named Oscar

I also just put 8 eggs on a little nest someone made in a dog house I have for extra shelter in the regular run. Now we'll see if Wendy or Shelley takes an interest.

 

[Beekissed]

I have a broody now also and she has only had two poops in about 2 weeks.

She is a much better broody than my White Rock hen who got off the nest quite freqently, judging from the amount of poop in the pen. :/ The White Rock couldn't raise a successful clutch and I'm thinking this is the reason...too much time off the nest with resulting temp fluctuations. I would find the poop up on the haybales, as if she was roosting on them in the night and sitting in the day.

I have since removed the haybales from that pen and this NHR hen is facing the exact same way every time I check her. Little food and some water is being used but not much.

I expect she will have a successful hatch, which is a little ironic...I only gave her some eggs to hatch(4) so that she would still be broody when my new laying chicks arrive in the mail next week....now I might have to let her continue her sitting until hers are hatched...shouldn't be too many days difference, maybe one or two.

 

[freemotion]

Good to know! I cannot imagine not pooping for a week!

There was an amazing stinkbomb in the hoophouse this morning! One full week in the hoophouse, and almost two weeks of sitting, as she was on the golf ball for a few days before I stuffed her with eggs and moved her to a safer location. Poor thing!

 

[freemotion]

My hen was dead this morning, off the eggs and fairly freshly dead. The eggs were ALL filthy, and one was even imbedded in a gigantic blob of poo. The eggs were all cold....otherwise, I may have rigged up an emergency incubator since they were so far along. Oh, well. I really don't want to be taking care of baby chicks right now anyways. And those eggs were so disgusting, they probably would not have hatched.

Poop. Literally.

 

[Beekissed]

Sorry, Free..... I stand much corrected~I just told a lady on BYC the other day that I'd never heard of a hen dying on a clutch of eggs from going without as much food and water as they normally consume.

 

[freemotion]

Don't lose a wink of sleep, Bee. I made sure she got food every day, hand feeding her some of the whey-soaked corn that the pigs get. When I saw the eggs, it was obvious that she had indeed been pooping aplenty! I think her death had nothing to do with not eating or pooping. My guess is that she wasn't getting up because she wasn't well in the first place, not vice versa.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Don't lose a wink of sleep, Bee. I made sure she got food every day, hand feeding her some of the whey-soaked corn that the pigs get. When I saw the eggs, it was obvious that she had indeed been pooping aplenty! I think her death had nothing to do with not eating or pooping. My guess is that she wasn't getting up because she wasn't well in the first place, not vice versa.

Hi freemotion,
So sorry to hear about you hen. I suspect you are right about the cause of her death. It's so sad when something like this happens,although it happens very seldom. I know you will have done your absolute best for her.

Hattie