Okay – calling all chicken experts, we have a little issue in our hen house. Apparently Marmalade has gone broody. At least that’s what Google says when I asked him. It’s been about four days and Marmalade won’t leave the nesting boxes and if you try to move her, pet her, even sing to her – she pecks at you. And not the nice kind of peck you’d get on the cheek from your Grandma. The only way we’ve been able to get her out is to put a thin piece of plywood under her belly and lift her out – so we can get the eggs she’s hoarding. Then she glares at us like we just stole her baby. It hurts my feelings.
Broody hens are chickens that have decided they NEED to hatch some eggs. I don’t have the heart to tell Marmalade that her eggs will never hatch without a rooster, which we are not getting anytime soon.
Today I went out to get our eggs and I found her “sister” Chena, the other Jersey Giant chicken, SITTING on top of her! I think Chena wants to lay an egg and apparently Marmalade is in the way – so she was just going to lay it on top of her? We have TWO nesting boxes, so I don’t know why she needed to sit on her. Is she being a bully? What is the purpose of sitting on the broody chicken? I asked her about it, but she wouldn’t tell me.
You would think broodiness wouldn’t be a big deal, right? So what if she wants to stay in “bed” all day. But apparently it can cause some major health problems because they barely get off the eggs to eat and drink. With some extreme cases they can starve to death. I noticed already, even after a few days, that Marmalade’s comb is not as red and lush as normal – and I remember reading that this is a good indicator of healthiness.
The other chickens are busy having parties in the rest of the coop. They seem happy and are not giving me baby-stealing-glares.
So what do you recommend I do? How can I help poor Marmalade so that she isn’t so darn anxious, that she stops being broody, and she goes back to squawking with the rest of the flock?
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Did you get chickens this summer? Are you thinking about getting backyard chickens?
MaceMeadows says
When one of our hens goes broody I take her and a couple of the other hens out and let them grass / free range (and keep the door to the hen house closed until close to evening time. Generally a good day of eating bugs and exercising will help change her mind about sitting in the box all day, you’ll likely notice the following day she’s more interested in going out again (if it’s offered) then staying in. If you free range them usually and she’s not leaving the box just put some gloves on and take her out and shut the house door until an hour or so before the sun starts to go down (all our hens return like clockwork to the pen just before dusk). Hope that helps! 🙂 Oh and change their bedding also to all new straw or hay whichever you use.
jess says
I seriously LOL’d and the chicken sitting on the broody chicken. funniest thing I have seen in a LONG time! She will be ok, just keep doing what you are doing. I have a chicken who is broody about once every two months. she will come flying out of the nesting box and chase you when you take her eggs. I gave her golf balls to nest on and bought a small water and feeder to out close to her in the nesting box and she eats and drinks when its in her face.
NWGardener says
I’ve had chickens for many years and you really have nothing to fear. I have my favorite Bantam broody as we speak, for the third time this year, and she’ll be just fine when she gets over it. Some breeds are more prone to being broody than others. They do get up and eat and drink, but it’s best to take away their eggs to help discourage them. I have had some of my girls stay on the nest for the entire 21 days before giving it up. Others after a few days to a week or so. Please don’t worry. Marmalade will be fine. Continue to take away her eggs. I have found wearing gloves and using something as a shield to keep the pecking from getting out of hand. Most of my broody girls just get ruffled up and “growl” at me for messing’ with them while I take away their stash. One year, I let my Bantam, named Shockett, hatch out her eggs. It was great fun for my kids who got to see the whole egg to chicken thing. But have no fear, all will be well again in no time!!
Colleen says
You have to be persistent to convince a broody chicken to knock it off. We had 2 go broody at once a month or so ago, and boy did it disrupt the whole flock. Sometimes you can convince them to snap out of it by pushing them out of the nestbox. Sometimes after a few days of doing that, they sort of forget about it. With this last pair of broodys, we had to block off the nest box for a few days so NOBODY could get into it. After 2 days of no available nest box, and they did not want to be broody anymore. Alternately, you can isolate her in a small cage with no nesting materials at all.
It’s not mean to get her over her broodyness. It’s mean to let a hen starve herself to death on a clutch of eggs that will never hatch, KWIM? Hope this helps. 🙂
Theresa says
I feel horrible for that poor chicken. U are taking what she thinks will be babies.
Heather says
I know Theresa, I feel bad for her too. But if I leave the eggs in there they will just rot. 🙁 And she has to be kicked off to eat and drink – or she won’t. We’ve watched her, she doesn’t eat unless we pick her up and put her in front of the food. 🙁 No fun at all.