is my girl broody?

[johnnyt93]

Hi there,

Sorry if its a noob question but for the last 3 or 4 days one of my girls just stays in the nest box and wants to sit on the eggs, is she getting broody? She seems to be eating and drinking ok, but she just pops out quickly then goes back in.

Also, the other girls don't seem very happy with her, is this because she is hogging the nest maybe? Don't know what breed they are, just the standard brown layers I think. I was told that they don't go broody, is this true? Any advice would be great!

[frias]

I have ex-batts (Little brown hens)and one of those didn't read the manual either. Goes broody quite often. Turns into a screaming banshee and runs at the others. If you try to lift your hen off the nest does she fluff her feathers up and try to peck you? If she is broody and you don't want to hatch the best way is to 'sin bin' her although it's never worked on mine! (Cage with wire bottom so she can't get comfortable and cools off. Must have access to shade and water though)I just keeping getting mine off the nest as it's easy for me as I'm home all day. It can take weeks before they start to lay again but eventually they do get over it. Don't be tempted to let her hatch unless you can deal with the boys. (which I can't) and half will be boys!

[johnnyt93]

I think that I might try to get hold of some fertile eggs and see what happens with her as I have no cockerel. If they turn out to be boys then they can go in the pot. Presuming that a.she is broody b.I get hold of some fertile eggs and c.they hatch; how soon can you tell their sex?

[frias]

Depends on the breed. My broody sat on Welsummers eggs and on the day they hatched I knew I had 3 boys and 1 girl. She's beautiful and now laying herself. Wish I could get hold of some more Wellies but I can't deal with the cockerels. I get too attached.

[johnnyt93]

cheers for the advice, I've seen some on ebay, are they worth a try or not?

[MaureenHall]

cheers for the advice, I've seen some on ebay, are they worth a try or not?

There are some good breeders selling eggs on eBay, but there's also some not so good . I've had poor hatches (1 out of 6) from some, and fairly good (7 out of 9) from another, so I suppose it's a "fingers crossed" decision. Have a look at the feedback and if you've got the time to wait for replies, contact some of the buyers (from about a month ago) to see what their hatch rate was. Good luck

[di]

The Countrywide store where we get our feed from has a noticeboard for people to advertise,we've got most of the eggs for hatching via that.If you can find a local seller it reduces the risk of them getting damaged in transit as you'll be able to pick them up yourself...also you can see the flock that they've come from.

[MaureenHall]

Our what used to be Countrywide store (now Wynnstay) also has a notice board for private ads. I've sold youngsters through that Good idea to have a look anyway