They hate me!

[Nicos]

Oh boy..here we go again with 3 - maybe 4 broody chooks

I've decided to be firm...only Betty- who was a superb mum last time is going to sit on eggs- the rest can get on and lay eggs!...I didn't get chooks to have no eggs for 8 weeks at a time!!

and so....Betty has her one, Alice's one and Pheasants one. Bertha is either wanting to lay- or thinking of getting hormonal.

So 3 eggs- not many eh?...so I put 5 others underneath her from the previous 2 days collecting.
She's now safely behind chicken wire in her nest- and I've had to block off all the other boxes and the area underneath.
Alice and Pheasant are desperate to get in a box- so I've resorted to shutting the gals and boys out of the chookhouse...and constructing a make-shift shelter in case it rains or the buzzards start to fly overhead.

You should see Alice's body language...even her eyes have that 'hooded' look ..and talk about pacing up and down and pecking at the wooden door!!!It's making me feel mean to be honest!

How long would it take for them to stop being broody if excluded from nesting boxes????
I've had to put a small box under cover in case Bertha wants to lay...so I hope they don't decide to squat in there ( they were squished into a corner with no eggs as soon as they were put to bed last night- and then promptly blocked out of it!)

The boys are uneasy and pecking at me for upsetting their lasses too

[di]

Little Madams!!!
Don't know what to suggest,but with only Marigold(who's still doing a grand job)& Dandelion...who is being flippantly hormonal one minute & then acting like one of the gang the next,I can only slightly empathise with your frustration.Are they still laying at the moment?If so I'd probably just carry on taking the eggs away as soon as you can & then take the boxes away?Surely they'll bore of it soon enough???
There's always that method of dipping their bums incold water...don't know if it works & TBH can't picture myself trying it!

[Pumpkin Becki]

Poor Nicos, they may hate you now, but when they aren't tied down by dozens of children all demanding food and handouts I'm sure they'll be relieved you were so firm!

[Nicos]

Are they still laying at the moment?

Nope- not a sausage for 2 days now

[Flummery]

Heck. It makes the boring old hybrids sound a piece of cake!

[Nicos]

I'm just wondering if they would be daft enough to sit for 3 weeks on nothing???

[matthew2riches]

If you don't want issues with broody's. it is sure better to buy hybrids. But in my opinion it isn't as fun. There wasn't hybrids in the Victorian times for example, they just had to live with the fact.

When I had my pure breeds, broody hens went in the oven sadly, but they were kept for eggs and/or meat and that was it. No pets and no passengers.

It fun though isn't it? lol

[Flummery]

No pets and no passengers.

It fun though isn't it? lol

Oh dear! Mine are pets AND passengers! They've got me just where they want me. They eyeball me from the garden when I'm in the kitchen and they can see me. Giving me instructions subliminally I think!

[Birdie Wife]

Hybrids go broody too just not as often or (usually) as tenaciously. I keep my birds for eggs and meat too but I let them hatch chicks, raise them and then eat them (or barter the chicks with the neighbours for venison/salmon ).

[bluemoon]

Well, I'm not sure I'd kill and eat a hen just for going broody, but this time five weeks ago I didn't have any chooks and now I've 11, once I'd got Coco and Elvis the others just seemed to start turning up. Two of them I bought because they make good broodies and I want to hatch eggs from my other girls, but not have to mess with an incubator. At some point I'm going to end up with more cockerels than I can manage and I'm going to have to eat them - if that little Daisy the Rhodie does turn into a cockerel she/he might have to become Christmas dinner for a start, she's supposed to be Elvis' girlfriend, not his competition - don't know what I'd do if all my girls decided to go broody at once though.

[Nicos]

Hmmm..well I had thought that 6 months from now would be useful to be popping a few young cockerels into the freezer for the winter- that is if I let all the gals sit again- but to be honest- I'd rather have the eggs as mine are bantams- and there'd be little meat on them anyway!

I've just been out to see them all and they're all pacing around the door to the coop peeping through the cracks

[MaureenHall]

Nope- not a sausage for 2 days now

They're supposed to lay eggs, not sausages

In a way I envy you your broodies, but as Basil and Rowan aren't mature enough to "do the deed" yet, I guess I'll have to wait and see. Good luck, you'll cope

[di]

They're supposed to lay eggs, not sausages

In a way I envy you your broodies, but as Basil and Rowan aren't mature enough to "do the deed" yet, I guess I'll have to wait and see. Good luck, you'll cope

If swine & avian flu were to meet up,who know's the possibilities!!!
Nicos...someone mentioned a "sin bin" type coop with a wire meshed bottom to make sitting uncomfortable...sounds a little mean,but if it works may be worth a try???

[RichmondHens]

Your best bet is to build them a sin bin - a cage with a wire bottom raised off the floor which is uncomfortable for them to sit on. My father (who kept bantams for over 40 years and passed his lore on to me) always put his in them when he had too many broodies. I've got enough hens to cope with a few being broody so don't bother, but if you need the eggs then sort out a sin bin double quick. All the broodies can go in there together and usually they are ready to go back in lay within a few days. Give them only layers pellets and NO grain or treats (grain heats them up and will keep them broody for longer). Good luck!

[Nicos]

I feel like a baby snatcher!!!!..you should see the looks I keep getting...and how desperate they are to get into the box with Betty...I hope they 'get over it' soon!