Brooding is the new black for Lottie. Starting last Monday, she decided to become a hermit chicken, sitting in the nesting box and refusing to move. If you take her out from the box and put her on the grass, it takes her a few seconds to even respond. She just sits there, sad and sloth-like. She'll then get up, run around, have a snack and return to the nesting box. We have been removing the eggs she sits on daily, but it doesn't seem to matter. Egg or no egg, she wants to sit in there.
We thought she snapped out of it this morning as she voluntarily left the nesting box, but she has now returned. I've heard you can trick hens by placing a chick in the nesting box with them so they think they hatched it and then they will stop their broodiness, so we may need to resort to this soon if she doesn't cheer up!
Be careful when putting helpless babies with a hormonal hen. I recently had a bad experience. http://www.busysolitudefarm.com/2010/04/bad-judgment.html Of course my hen had hatched two babies already, so maybe it was her instinct to protect them, but it will be a long time before I try that trick again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning! I read your post and I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. :(
ReplyDeleteI keep hoping Lottie will just snap out of it. I mean, this can't go on forever, right?
If you have eggs incubating you can give a couple to finish hatching. This makes it alot easier and you don't have to worry about rejection. Though then she will want to raise those for 4-8 weeks.
ReplyDelete~~Matt~~
Thanks! She's still brooding, but I pluck her out a couple times a day and she has a snack, then goes back. I think I'm just going to wait it out for now.
ReplyDeleteAfter our Banti was broody for a month or two I finally went and got her 3 babies. They will stay broody till the babies reach about 6 weeks old. Then they will start laying eggs again. Lil Banti took straight to all but one of the chicks. I think it was because the chick kept running to me instead of her. But after a little warming up she took her in. I mean like 10 minutes maybe not even that and the first two babies had jumped right under her. But if this is her first broody spell then you might not want to do that. But these were her first babies.
ReplyDeleteMake sure you do it around 21 days after she lays an egg. You can purchase some wooden eggs to stick under her too. This way she thinks she has been laying on the egg for 21 days. But like I said they don't just get unbroody just because they have a baby. It still take 6 weeks.
If you would like I undate about my chickens alot here is my blog. www.respectlifeeatveggies.blogspot.com
I also have a list of tons of other farm & chicken blogs there.
Thanks, Chasity! I'll check out your blog, too.
ReplyDelete