# Broody hen



## inebriatedonkey (10 mo ago)

Hi all,

New chicken owner, and one of my orpingtons just went broody (I hear it will happen a lot with them).

I've been moving her away from her nest, blocking off the nest-boxes and coop (except for the mornings when the others lay), blocking the dust-bath (which she decided made a nice nest), and putting her on her roost at night.

It's been working intermittently - she gives up on brooding for a while and pecks around with the others, but every few hours she goes back into the broody routine. She's been like this for a few days now. Should I continue with the same things and assume she will stop brooding eventually, or try something more drastic like separating her out from the others?

Thanks a lot!

Adam


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

New owner translates to young bird. The hormones are flowing freely. She's now programmed to sit on eggs, to hatch those eggs and to raise the peeps. You can break her for short periods but she'll go back to it after laying five or six eggs. 

My solution was to either give mine some fertile eggs or get some day old chicks. Then when she was done raising them give the peeps to someone. It made the bird happy and since she wasn't going broody every few weeks stayed in pretty good condition.

Others do the cage thing but if they looked at it would realize it was only a temporary fix.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

BTW, I love your username. Now you need to find a drunk donkey for an avatar.


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## HSJ07 (Aug 25, 2020)

robin416 said:


> BTW, I love your username. Now you need to find a drunk donkey for an avatar.


I know my chickens are different than normal chickens but here goes. I just got three 2 day old Sapphire Gems that I plan to hand raise. They are in a big brooder in the barn/chicken house. They are secure and not on the side where the chicken house is so they are safe. My puzzlement is my Welsummer , the sweetest chicken you ever saw who mothered babies last year(for 22 weeks) sits on the wall looking at these babies a lot. When I take them out and hold them she cries a most pitiful mournful cry and moves around like she wants to get to them. She is not broody but seems like she thinks they are her babies. I won't let her have them as I fear they will get hurt or killed. Have you ever heard of a hen who just stays in mother mode. She Still is maternal to her year old adopted babies to some degree. She roosts between them always and they still get under her sometimes even though they are big as she is. Have you ever heard of a hen who stays a mother? Could this prompt her to grow broody?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Yep, I had several that I could give single peeps to that would surrogate even though they hadn't been broody first. That is a bird to cherish extra special.


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## HSJ07 (Aug 25, 2020)

robin416 said:


> Yep, I had several that I could give single peeps to that would surrogate even though they hadn't been broody first. That is a bird to cherish extra special.
> [/QUOTe
> How did you put them with her? When she was broody I just slipped them under her on the nest but she roosts now with her adult babies.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Just give them to her. You'll know right away if you made her super happy to have peeps again.


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## inebriatedonkey (10 mo ago)

Thanks Robin! I think you also commented on some of my earlier posts - thanks for helping newbie chicken owners


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## HSJ07 (Aug 25, 2020)

robin416 said:


> Just give them to her. You'll know right away if you made her super happy to have peeps again.


She won' take them as her own but she doesn't let any of the other chickens near them. There is a protective instinct she has.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

So you gave them to her? If so, it sounds like it worked out OK.


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