Question:

Broody chicken?

by Guest5581  |  12 years, 8 month(s) ago

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our chicken just started never coming out, she used to come out all them time now I see her once in awhile run out and eat get a drink of water and then run back into her house, what is going on? I read up on broody chicken's, is this what she is doing? I cannot see her for a couple of days and then see her, I always have to make sure she is alive, and she is, but are there risks with her doing this or is this also a normal phase for a chicken? we have only had her since august and she just started laying eggs a couple of weeks ago,
Thank you

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  1. Guest951
    you are right its broody time, is she still laying eggs?  Sometimes a hen will stop laying and instead will focus on the incubation of eggs, a state that is commonly known as going broody. A broody chicken will sit fast on the nest, and protest or peck in defense if disturbed or removed, and will rarely leave the nest to eat, drink, or dust bathe. While brooding, the hen maintains constant temperature and humidity, as well as turning the eggs regularly.

    At the end of the incubation period, which is an average of 21 days, the eggs (if fertilized) will hatch, and the broody hen will take care of her young. Since individual eggs do not all hatch at exactly the same time (the chicken can only lay one egg approximately every 25 hours), the hen will usually stay on the nest for about two days after the first egg hatches. During this time, the newly-hatched chicks live off the egg yolk they absorb just before hatching. The hen can sense the chicks peeping inside the eggs, and will gently cluck to stimulate them to break out of their shells. If the eggs are not fertilized by a rooster and do not hatch, the hen will eventually lose interest and leave the nest.

  2. Guest8770
    my next question then is will my rooster kill the chicks? Do I need to move the rooster out or what? I have been told he will kill the chicks, what do I do with him? and how long can my hen go like that without eating and drinking?
  3. Guest9028
    what do you do if your chicken is broody but you do not have a cockrail
  4. Guest8146
    We Hae 3 roosters and have had lots of chicks and never have we had a problem, one of our roosters percy even decided to hang out with the new mum and when she rested with the chicks he would stand with her.... Our other roosters arent bothered. It might depend on your roosters personality but it should be ok (:

    hope this helps.
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