Ameraucana Broody

[Ontario Chick]

This was a first time I have used Ameraucana as a broody, (July 2014) and she certainly delivered.
I don't usually use broodies because of the extra space required, and most of my hens go broody too late in the summer, but it was great fun, watching the hen do all the work :)

Large dog crate in separate pen

Day 21 and we have action

100% hatch, job well done.

[ross]

Nice OC , the natural way . Good hen .

[TomK]

Someone explain to me what is 'going broody' please...i think i know what it means but ??????..thanks from this newbie

[Jaye]

I have one serial broody, and there are signs prior to her actually finding her spot and going broody, when she sits all day, only getting up once to (and the broody is really "special"), eat, drink and dust bathe before going back to set. Usually, she only spends about 20 minutes off the nest, Before she actually goes into a serious broody spell, her behaviour will change; for example, she may start 'screaming" at you when you come anywhere near her. It won't even be necessary for her to have any eggs under her. She will steal other hen's eggs as they lay them. She will stop laying herself. She will flatten right out to maximize how many eggs she can cover, and she will act like she's in a trance; in her own world. Her body temperature will increase and she may even pluck out some of her breast feathers. It's a hormonally driven phenomenon, when the hen wants to incubate/brood a clutch of eggs.

[TomK]

Ah....ok..i thought some of that but its nice to get a fuller picture..thank you....i don't have that issue but i like to know ahead of time...my girls are quite young still so i wasn't expecting anything soon but i didn't want to be caught off guard uninformed...I'm just going to keep collecting the eggs so it wont be an issue but how long does this broodiness typically last?.. Or is there a time limit?...lol

[Killerbunny]

Again it depends on the bird. Some people try to break them and succeed and others won't break.

[Jaye]

No specific time limit, and some hens will never go broody. Mine does eventually snap out of it, especially when I discourage sleeping in the nest box of her choice at night, and put her out in the run every day. I don't have an anti-broody coop, but others have had success with them.
A broody hen will lose condition, so if you aren't planning on letting her hatch and raise a brood of chicks, it's best to try to break her broody spell (if possible)at this time of year when it's cold, because she will be sitting all day/night by herself, not generating any body heat through activity and not sharing any body heat with others on the roost at night. She could potentially perish.