Anyone else got a broody

**Nicos** · 10-04-2016, 07:46 PM

I frustratingly have 2 broodies.
One about 2 weeks ago and the second last weekend.
I'm desperate to hatch some new chooks but we're going away next week and I don't want to leave a couple of broodies for someone to look after.
Typical eh?

**Scarlet** · 10-04-2016, 07:53 PM

I love turkeys

you are lucky SP. I have a bad back and picking them up gets difficult when they get super heavy! So no turkeys here

I didn't have any chicks last year as my cockeral was firing blanks

perhaps I should get in some eggs. No broodies here yet.
Couldn't you let her sit Nicos? They only need food and water.

**Nicos** · 10-04-2016, 08:04 PM

They share a run with the other chooks and have to be let out of their hutches to poop and feed twice a day before having to lock them away again.
Otherwise we find other chooks laying in with their eggs or going broody and sharing the nest box.
(Gets pretty hectic!)
Sometimes they are away from their eggs for 20 mins or so , so it wouldn't be fair to ask someone to hang around twice a day just to shut them away again.
Just crossing my fingers we get a 3rd broody soon after we get back.

**Scarlet** · 10-04-2016, 08:47 PM

Any chance stringing a little fence around the broody coop?
I used to usebits of an old electric fence to separate areas. Worked really well.

**cheops** · 10-04-2016, 08:54 PM

Just a thought - a hen or bantam needs to incubate their eggs for 3 weeks. To put duck or turkey eggs under a hen is to ask it to brood for another week more than normal.

**Nicos** · 10-04-2016, 09:01 PM

I have managed to successfully put eggs under a hen which has already been broody for 2 weeks( so that would be 5 weeks in total)
I hand fed her and sips of water whilst she was sitting to to keep her energy levels up though.
One of my broodies at the moment would take my hand off given half a chance so I'd need to be careful!

Having said that, we've had broodies stay broody for 6 weeks so 4 weeks sitting on eggs wouldn't seem too excessive.
Is a risk isn't it that she might just run out of juice and abandon the eggs?
Not sure if they can actually lose interest/ hormones once they are actually covering eggs????

**cheops** · 10-04-2016, 09:11 PM

It was a thought not a criticism of course. I've heard before hens and bantams incubating duck eggs etc and they do it remarkably well. When I was young in the country people often used a hen to incubate turkey eggs as turkeys were not considered as good mothers as a hen.
I expect a fowl if sitting on infertile eggs would eventually have to give up but how long would they brood is an interesting point.
I would love to have a couple of chucks but I just haven't the room and I'd never be prepared to house them in a small space.
Battery farming of hens appals me - I've seen them first hand.

**Small pumpkin** · 10-04-2016, 09:16 PM

One of my hen successfully hatched and reared Muscovy's last year.
She did look at them with disgust when they jumped in the water dish for a swim.

**Scarlet** · 10-04-2016, 09:25 PM

Originally posted by cheops View Post

It was a thought not a criticism of course. I've heard before hens and bantams incubating duck eggs etc and they do it remarkably well. When I was young in the country people often used a hen to incubate turkey eggs as turkeys were not considered as good mothers as a hen.

It's a good point but an extra week is no trouble...they will sit forever on nothing sometimes and that can be worse.
Turkeys are super clumsy, not only will they trample eggs, they are also clumsy with their young

**Small pumpkin** · 10-04-2016, 10:01 PM

Originally posted by Scarlet View Post

Turkeys are super clumsy, not only will they trample eggs, they are also clumsy with their young

Allow me to translate..............turkeys are bl@@dy stupid (lovely but stupid). Well my 3 are

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