Grow Your Own Magazine

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Over the last couple of days one of my hens keeps going into the hen house and sitting in the nest box, when you lift the lid she gets very angry making a sound like a growling crow! and 'ripples' her feathers, when I give he a push she is livid, growling & sqwaking and stalking off with her feathers rippleing Is she broody [she has been sitting on the other hens eggs] she looks like she is moulting too. What do I do with her?

Sounds like a broody chook to me, mine is broody right now and has been sitting on eggs for about 2 weeks now.Either get her some fertile eggs or as others suggested for me, dip her in cold water for a few days. This is suposed to sort out broodiness, not that i have tried it myself

Sounds like a broody to me (good description BTW)

Put her in a nice airy cage all day (sheltered from rain and excess sunshine, but outside if poss) and keep her from going back into the nest box as much as possible until she gets over it.

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Flowers come in too many colours to see the world in black-and-white.

Yup she's broody. If you want chicks get some fertile eggs. You can get them over the Internet now. I have tried to cure a broody hen by dropping her in cold water every day, which was a last resort after the airy cage thing. I couldn't say if it worked or whether she just got over it. The next one that went broody I gave to a friend who wanted chicks after she scarred my hand for life. ( The chook not my friend.)

That's exactly how my broody was. Sin bin didn't work and I didn't fancy the cold water idea in case she went into shock. I just locked her out of the coop once all the others had finished laying. (She di object a lot). Just over 3 weeks later she is back to normal again. Unfortunately she did lose a little weight while broody and the boss picked on her but she's eating fine now and one of the flock again.

Okay.................. is it too late in the year the hatch some chicks

Nothing to prevent you hatching chicks now, but SOME broodies change their minds 2 days before hatching, and I think they are more likely to do so after midsummer (no proper evidence, just 'impression').

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Flowers come in too many colours to see the world in black-and-white.

weve just had a broody chicken and it took 5 weeks,of kicking her out of the house and locking the door so she couldnt get bak in until bedtime.
Unfortunately now that has passed she is going thru a mega moult so looks like a battery chook.
She seems happy enuf makes loads of noise and is eating like theres no tomorrow.
Sho said chook keeping was boring!!! we lum em

I ordered some Buff Wyandotte eggs & they arrived to day; time to get the monster out of the nest box now, I'll have to be brave, I'll keep you posted...................

Alternative is to incubate some eggs in an artificial incumbator for 3 weeks or buy some day-old chicks and slip them under the broody.

Provided they are less than 24 hours old from hatching you should find the broody accepts them and you're away. I left my broody on rubber eggs for about 4 weeks until we were in a position to look after her and a brood; then got some day old cream legbars. Adopted mum and chicks doing fine.

One of my girls is broody at the mo, day 22 today so i'm hoping shes gonna get over it soon. My girl plucked her chest feathers, apparently they do this to make the nest nice and cosy.
Do make sure she is eating and drinking, mine would have just sat there so I have been booting her out several times a day to eat, drink , poo and groom.

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

I popped the eggs in Miss Bossy's [my broody hen] nest box when I shooed her out for some food etc, I watched he go back in side & she looked amazed to see a nest full of eggs, there was lots & lots of contented clucking and re-arranging until she was comfy. She has been out to dsy of her own accord to eat & drink, not for long. So fingers crossed. )

Good luck, I warn you chicks are addictive.