Hi guys.
Firstly let me introduce my brood. I have Dora who is a white leghorn (I think), Benny who is a black rock and Boots who is a Heinz variety (breeders own mix, combining Orpington, leghorn and goodness knows what else).
I got the girls on 21st December 2009 and they are the first chickens I have ever owned. Dora was laying even through the harsh winter we had and Benny and Boots started laying in the First week of February.
Dora is quite a skittish chuck, always the first out of the coop and can run like the wind! Benny is just steady, lovely character. Boots, hmmm. Boots is a bit dense. I love them all, none the less.
Now, my issue is that yesterday I noticed that Boots had vanished. When I checked out of the window hours later she was still missing. Knowing the garden is secure, there was only one place she could have been, and she was. The nest box. (For at least 5 hours by my time keeping)
She was sat on her egg and Dora's ( I can tell the difference as they all lay different colour eggs).
Being concerned, I picked her out, checked her over for any obvious signs of injury/illness but she was fine. I put her down and she went and got a drink (seemed desperate for grit more than food) and scratched around their area.
Now, this morning she was cluck-cluck-clucking at somewhere just after 0600, when I checked the coop a short time later, no egg from her, only Benny's (which I removed). All the girls came out when the coop was opened up but when I checked back at about 0900, Boots is in the nest box, sat on Dora's egg. (I have removed that egg now too)
It is now getting on for 1000 and she is still up there..
I am new to this so have not encountered this kind of thing before. Is she 'Broody' ? Do I need to do anything?
(Sorry this is a very long blog but I was trying to scene set so you can get a feel for the girls)
Thanks so much for giving this your time.
Hi sparkles welcome to the mad house sounds very much to me like you have a broody. check out FN's broody coupe. there are much more experienced members out there than me but the symptons you discribe seem that way to me ,good luck. Agatha's daddy.MOS xx
sit down with a cupa and the urge will subside
Welcome on board, Sparkles.
I agree with MOS. Sitting in the nesting box for hours on end is a sure sign. Her comb may also grow paler than usual.
The article that MOS referred to is how to build a special wire mesh coop that seems to knock broodiness on its head and restore normal chicken sanity. You can find it here.
Alternatively, if you want to hatch a clutch, you can buy supposedly fertilised eggs on eBay. We did that twice. It was a bit hit and miss but great fun for all that.
Never knowingly underfed
Hi sparkles if you decide to do the hatching thing seek out your local livestock market , i must admit i am a bit of an ebay fiend but hatching eggs are not that cheep when postage is aded , we have a particularly good one by us and the regulars are a mind of information, worth checking out if thats the route you go down .MOS.
sit down with a cupa and the urge will subside
Hi Sparkles and welcome. I too think you have a broody hen.
Funnily enough Danny, I was looking at just that on ebay today. There are lots of eggs to buy and although the sellers cannot guarantee fertility it seems a good way to extend your brood if you do not have a cockerel. I've got a duck who is trying to build a nest again so I am hoping yet again for ducklings. We shall see.
Old teachers never die, they just lose their class
Same here, TA.
I agree, Danuta. Even though the quality of eBay egg offerings probably varies widely, it is still great fun and a good way of cashing in on a broody hen if you want to go down that road. I like MOS's idea of visiting a local chicken market instead if there is one reasonably close to you. We might try that next time.
Never knowingly underfed
Thanks all for getting back to me. So much to consider!
Boots is still sitting for as long as she can get away with (without me oiking her out!)
She has stopped laying and is sitting on the other girls' eggs so I guess this is broodiness at its best, bless her..
I will look at the coop type thing to try and stop this behaviour I don't want to expand my brood as the three is manageable for the size of land they have, lovely as it would be.
I never knew you could get eggs on ebay!!!
Are they just chicken eggs that you buy for your chucks to hatch or other types? (thats probably a really dumb question but as I said, I'm very new to this! )
Thanks so much guys!
Sparkles said:
I never knew you could get eggs on ebay!!!
Are they just chicken eggs that you buy for your chucks to hatch or other types? (thats probably a really dumb question but as I said, I'm very new to this!
)
Sparkles, I have an idea that you can put most any kind of egg under a broody hen so people will buy what they want to hatch.
Any chance of a picture of your brood? I'm a sucker for chook pictures.
I'll try that again!
Danny
The article that MOS referred to is how to build a special wire mesh coop that seems to knock broodiness on its head and restore normal chicken sanity. You can find it here.
Hi Danny
this chicken sanity you refer too, its not catching is it
,because if it gets into the forum it just wont be the same
.rite ime off before FN gets new batterys in that
.
sit down with a cupa and the urge will subside
its all electricery, i did it but i dont know how, joannaS told me how but i have been to sleep since then ,it seems TA is the new picture poster person in the know, so we can all have a lesson
perhaps i will even remember this time
or perhaps not MOS
sit down with a cupa and the urge will subside
Morning guys...
I have been up to the girls this morning and as I've opened up the house, Dora and Benny have come out. I've come out of the house and walked around to the nesting boxes and opened the lid expecting to find Mrs I'm-Broody-and-Grumpy-and-will-sit-here-clucking-and-puffing-myself-up-if-I-want-to sat on the nest. However, she was perched (where I put her at half nine last night after removing her from the nest) on the bars.
There was a brown egg in the nest box (Benny Blackrock's) and as I have tried to lift Boots out, noticed on the floor was a white soft shelled egg this is Dora's...
WHAT is happening??
I couldn't lift Boots out as she kept flapping like a loon and her wingspan is greater than the opening of the rear access door and she kept holding on to the roosting bars. So I came away and fed the others and she came out clucking and had some food.
I am today going to be making the 'brooy coop' unless my some miracle she lays an egg this morning!
Why has Dora (The Explorer) laid a soft shelled egg??
HELP! PLEEEEEEEEASE?
Thanks guys!
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