This year I had 4 of my 5 Austrlorpes go broody. I was excited after the first on went broody because I had some baby chicks coming and I was hoping she would adopt them. I put fake eggs under her. Tried to move her from the nesting box to a more secure location during the day. Nope, she wouldn't stay on them. Tried moving her at dusk. Nope, she wouldn't stay on them. I waited a day and then moved her when it was completely dark. Success! She stayed on them and ended up adopting the chicks. My second broody hen, somehow we missed 2 eggs and they ended up with development in the eggs, so we moved her when it was completely dark and she stayed on them with no problem and hatched them out successfully. They are now two weeks old. Keep trying different things. Maybe she likes being confined so maybe a smaller cage, like a large dog cage? Every hen is different so don't give up. Keep trying. It's the best we can do.
Absolutely not your fault. Chickens are animals, and they do what they want😂 The rainwater barrel is genuis! I bet they'll have it down in no time. You are all doing such a great job, and to put it out for strangers to see and comment is incredibly brave and important. ❤
I always hatch eggs with my hen. She always is broody every time. What I do is that I separate her immediately from the flock and then I put her in a nest with her eggs and close her in the nest so she knows it’s her nest. After that she will know it’s her and she will sit. Keep trying don’t give up. This advice could really help. Try it!
Move the hen and eggs at night. I use milk crates for nest boxes . When moving a broody hen I cover the box with a piece of wood and a brick . Then put that entire set up in the area you are moving to and don't remove the cover until the next morning. Watch and if she gets off and does not seem to be going back to them , put her in there and cover it up again for 12 hours and let her off for a bit and put right back til morning . That usually does the trick for me .
We had a hen go broody and we let her sit on a few eggs for several days then decided to move her and her eggs to the garage, we put her in a big dog kennel with fresh straw etc. She ended up hatching 3 out of the 4 eggs. We had a different coop for our “teenagers” so we moved them in with the older girls moved the momma hen out to the chickens xtra coop put a temp fence up so other chickens didn’t bother her. It’s been a couple of weeks and now I get to watch her come down the run with her babies in tow...so cute! Oh we also put a piece of wood in the doorway so babies wouldn’t accidentally fall out but it didn’t block the momma from coming out.
It’s a great video. I always learn a lot along with you. I have experience raising parrots and some wild birds and semi domesticated doves. This is my first time with chickens and they are completely different. But one thing I do know is that some birds conceal their babies and some birds don’t. You might think all birds conceal their babies because they hide their nest but the nests will be open like a basket and the babies just sitting in there in the tree or wherever unconcealed. So there’s two types of behavior patterns for birds. Those who conceal their babies are extremely sensitive to any interference whatsoever. Chickens conceal their babies and so do parrots. I had to learn the hard way to just leave them alone. What I would do if I was you, is listen to everybody’s advice, telling you to move them at night, etc.. but if that still doesn’t work… Here’s what I would do; put the broody hen, and a very young hen that’s low in the pecking order in with the rooster of your choice into your broody jail. Allow the mating to commence for a couple of days and then remove the rooster because the hens will continue laying fertile eggs for over a week. Once you get the clutch that you like, and she sitting on them remove the other hen. It may seem like broody jail is too small to hold that many chickens, but if you’ve ever watched videos from Asian countries you will realize that chickens can be overcrowded and do just fine. I wouldn’t ever want to keep it that way but for a short period of time overcrowding them won’t hurt a thing. And whatever you do, don’t disturb her and don’t move her nest or try to clean it or touch her eggs. Don’t write on the eggs. She’s not an incubator machine… She’s a mother. 😂 I’m glad I read most of the comments because I learned so much. I would’ve never thought of moving her at night to trick her. Apparently that works and that’s a good advice if it works. Make sure you give us an update because I enjoy your videos. My hens are just getting to the laying age and they’re interested in looking at the nest and pushing the fake egg around and flipping the nest boxes over because I have turned some 12 x 12 plastic bins into nest boxes. I think I’m going to need to afix them to a structure and move it outside the coop. Actually You have the nest box that I want so badly but I want the one that the eggs roll into the tray. However, both versions with the four slots is so expensive it’s ridiculous. There is just no excuse for it to be over $100 on Amazon. I can’t find them anywhere in the towns around where I live. I am simply not going to pay $125 for a nest box. that doesn’t even have the roll outs. But every time I see you collect eggs I’m so jealous that you have that green nest box because it would match my coop so well and I have the perfect spot for it. 😂 i’ll be watching for an update. 😀
It works best if you move her at night. Also I did move my hen but she preferred her nesting box so she kept going back to the old box when I moved her(she found away out). When she got back to the nest I had golf balls in there. I decided after a week to put four babys underneath her, and she's been a great momma ever sense.
I don't know how hot it gets where you live, but I keep a kiddie pool of water for my pigs. It helps with keeping them with drinking water, plus they can get in it to cool off. 🙂
@@AcresOfAdventure well, I do usually have to replace mine every season, because they do sometimes have trouble getting in & out without crinkling the sides, but it usually takes a while before the pool is damaged. Also, I have pot belly pigs, so they have shorter legs than your pigs, which makes it a little more difficult for mine. I would think that yours would do fine with one, just make sure that it's big enough around that they can lie down in it without laying on the sides. Good luck!! Also good luck with your broody hen! 🙂
I have a two portion coop. First section is just nesting boxes then leads to 2nd coop with roosting bars then out to the run. When mine got broody I closed off the nesting coop, added nesting boxes to the 2nd part of the coop so the girls can continue to lay and my broody is in her safe spot.
8:01 You don't need to worry about that drop, I had a brooder off the ground with a ramp (about 3 feet) the chicks jumped off at a few days old no problem. I'd put a special box inside the coop for mama hen, that way its familiar but away from the regular nesting boxes.
I do what my grandma did…mark the eggs not pencil it will wear off I use a sharpie. Gather eggs that are under her that are not marked and the other nest a couple a time a day. I have 5 hens setting they don’t move. I let nature take its course.
I see your chickens are outside and happy. We wanted to try that, but we have too many hawks in our area. We have a built runner. How do you protect them from hawks? Any ideas? Thank you!
Maybe next time try a smaller cage for her. Like a dog crate so she has enough room to stand, eat , and drink but not wander around. As others said, I would suggest moving her after dark too.
@@AcresOfAdventure I have a broody girl in a dog crate in my garage currently. She’s been there for three days. I’m moving her back into the coop after dark tonight. Hoping that’s enough time to break her.
how i did it i put the hen in there with some fake ceramic eggs for a day or 2 and make sure shes sitting on them and if she is we put some real eggs under her
One thing I noticed was you seem like you were doing all of it in daylight or at least some daylight left what we ' ve done is, move our broody hen at 9 or even 10 o clock then sit her on the eggs and she will feel them and start sitting. Just a tip but I know you'll get one eventually it just takes some time for broody hens especially if its still new to them.
This question doesn't have anything to do with this video but I put a stationary bar in front of the nesting boxes and I have 1 hen that thinks that she need to roost there, do I let her stay there or do I keep putting her onto the roost bars that are higher then the bar in front of the nesting boxes?
That has to be so frustrating! We just recently had our first hen go broody. Since it was our first time, I decided to just have her set on 3 eggs, and we ended up hatching 2. I moved her the first day into a 4x4 coop I built for a young rooster we got last September. He was two months younger than our hens, and they just terrorized him. He ended up spending most of the winter by himself in that coop. I also attached a small run to it. Anyway, the hen seemed very comfortable being moved. I think maybe the smaller, enclosed area made her feel more secure. I hope it’s okay for me to share this video so you can see the coop/run setup I made. It was a simple but very effective build. th-cam.com/video/yl-PbOg0ZPE/w-d-xo.html
Is it possible that since you were using the exact same location for broody jail that she associates it with breaking her broodiness? I'm not sure of a solution but I know chickens remember things situations.
This year I had 4 of my 5 Austrlorpes go broody. I was excited after the first on went broody because I had some baby chicks coming and I was hoping she would adopt them. I put fake eggs under her. Tried to move her from the nesting box to a more secure location during the day. Nope, she wouldn't stay on them. Tried moving her at dusk. Nope, she wouldn't stay on them. I waited a day and then moved her when it was completely dark. Success! She stayed on them and ended up adopting the chicks.
My second broody hen, somehow we missed 2 eggs and they ended up with development in the eggs, so we moved her when it was completely dark and she stayed on them with no problem and hatched them out successfully. They are now two weeks old.
Keep trying different things. Maybe she likes being confined so maybe a smaller cage, like a large dog cage? Every hen is different so don't give up. Keep trying. It's the best we can do.
Thank you we will keep all of this in mind!
Absolutely not your fault. Chickens are animals, and they do what they want😂
The rainwater barrel is genuis! I bet they'll have it down in no time.
You are all doing such a great job, and to put it out for strangers to see and comment is incredibly brave and important. ❤
Thank you for the support! We hope to get her some baby chicks one of these times!
I always hatch eggs with my hen. She always is broody every time. What I do is that I separate her immediately from the flock and then I put her in a nest with her eggs and close her in the nest so she knows it’s her nest. After that she will know it’s her and she will sit. Keep trying don’t give up. This advice could really help. Try it!
Move the hen and eggs at night. I use milk crates for nest boxes . When moving a broody hen I cover the box with a piece of wood and a brick . Then put that entire set up in the area you are moving to and don't remove the cover until the next morning. Watch and if she gets off and does not seem to be going back to them , put her in there and cover it up again for 12 hours and let her off for a bit and put right back til morning . That usually does the trick for me .
That's a great idea! Thank you😬
We had a hen go broody and we let her sit on a few eggs for several days then decided to move her and her eggs to the garage, we put her in a big dog kennel with fresh straw etc. She ended up hatching 3 out of the 4 eggs. We had a different coop for our “teenagers” so we moved them in with the older girls moved the momma hen out to the chickens xtra coop put a temp fence up so other chickens didn’t bother her. It’s been a couple of weeks and now I get to watch her come down the run with her babies in tow...so cute! Oh we also put a piece of wood in the doorway so babies wouldn’t accidentally fall out but it didn’t block the momma from coming out.
Thank you those are all great tips!
It’s a great video. I always learn a lot along with you. I have experience raising parrots and some wild birds and semi domesticated doves. This is my first time with chickens and they are completely different. But one thing I do know is that some birds conceal their babies and some birds don’t. You might think all birds conceal their babies because they hide their nest but the nests will be open like a basket and the babies just sitting in there in the tree or wherever unconcealed. So there’s two types of behavior patterns for birds. Those who conceal their babies are extremely sensitive to any interference whatsoever. Chickens conceal their babies and so do parrots. I had to learn the hard way to just leave them alone. What I would do if I was you, is listen to everybody’s advice, telling you to move them at night, etc.. but if that still doesn’t work… Here’s what I would do;
put the broody hen, and a very young hen that’s low in the pecking order in with the rooster of your choice into your broody jail. Allow the mating to commence for a couple of days and then remove the rooster because the hens will continue laying fertile eggs for over a week. Once you get the clutch that you like, and she sitting on them remove the other hen. It may seem like broody jail is too small to hold that many chickens, but if you’ve ever watched videos from Asian countries you will realize that chickens can be overcrowded and do just fine. I wouldn’t ever want to keep it that way but for a short period of time overcrowding them won’t hurt a thing. And whatever you do, don’t disturb her and don’t move her nest or try to clean it or touch her eggs. Don’t write on the eggs. She’s not an incubator machine… She’s a mother. 😂 I’m glad I read most of the comments because I learned so much. I would’ve never thought of moving her at night to trick her. Apparently that works and that’s a good advice if it works. Make sure you give us an update because I enjoy your videos. My hens are just getting to the laying age and they’re interested in looking at the nest and pushing the fake egg around and flipping the nest boxes over because I have turned some 12 x 12 plastic bins into nest boxes. I think I’m going to need to afix them to a structure and move it outside the coop. Actually You have the nest box that I want so badly but I want the one that the eggs roll into the tray. However, both versions with the four slots is so expensive it’s ridiculous. There is just no excuse for it to be over $100 on Amazon. I can’t find them anywhere in the towns around where I live. I am simply not going to pay $125 for a nest box. that doesn’t even have the roll outs. But every time I see you collect eggs I’m so jealous that you have that green nest box because it would match my coop so well and I have the perfect spot for it. 😂 i’ll be watching for an update. 😀
It works best if you move her at night.
Also I did move my hen but she preferred her nesting box so she kept going back to the old box when I moved her(she found away out). When she got back to the nest I had golf balls in there. I decided after a week to put four babys underneath her, and she's been a great momma ever sense.
Thank you for the tips! I sure hope we get it right next time!
I don't know how hot it gets where you live, but I keep a kiddie pool of water for my pigs. It helps with keeping them with drinking water, plus they can get in it to cool off. 🙂
We thought about it, I wasn’t sure if they would break it at all🙈
@@AcresOfAdventure well, I do usually have to replace mine every season, because they do sometimes have trouble getting in & out without crinkling the sides, but it usually takes a while before the pool is damaged. Also, I have pot belly pigs, so they have shorter legs than your pigs, which makes it a little more difficult for mine. I would think that yours would do fine with one, just make sure that it's big enough around that they can lie down in it without laying on the sides. Good luck!! Also good luck with your broody hen! 🙂
I have a two portion coop. First section is just nesting boxes then leads to 2nd coop with roosting bars then out to the run. When mine got broody I closed off the nesting coop, added nesting boxes to the 2nd part of the coop so the girls can continue to lay and my broody is in her safe spot.
8:01 You don't need to worry about that drop, I had a brooder off the ground with a ramp (about 3 feet) the chicks jumped off at a few days old no problem. I'd put a special box inside the coop for mama hen, that way its familiar but away from the regular nesting boxes.
Thank you for that, it does worry me!
I do what my grandma did…mark the eggs not pencil it will wear off I use a sharpie. Gather eggs that are under her that are not marked and the other nest a couple a time a day. I have 5 hens setting they don’t move. I let nature take its course.
We just would like to not come out everyday to get the new eggs that our under her
I see your chickens are outside and happy. We wanted to try that, but we have too many hawks in our area. We have a built runner. How do you protect them from hawks? Any ideas? Thank you!
I like what someone commented below, mark eggs with a sharpie and remove the others. That is all we did.
We would do that but they keep laying under her and I hate to keep going everyday to grab new eggs that are under her
Maybe next time try a smaller cage for her. Like a dog crate so she has enough room to stand, eat , and drink but not wander around. As others said, I would suggest moving her after dark too.
We were thinking maybe a smaller place also
@@AcresOfAdventure I have a broody girl in a dog crate in my garage currently. She’s been there for three days. I’m moving her back into the coop after dark tonight. Hoping that’s enough time to break her.
If you move her in the dark and put her directly on the eggs, she will stay put and hopefully be more accepting of her new location.
Thank you, next time I will wait til very late
You scare me, Bro. I've got two Buff Orpington's that haven't started laying yet.
They love going broody
Get that tag holder off your Hat. Love watching your TH-cam videos
I was laughing at myself as I was editing the video 🤣
how i did it i put the hen in there with some fake ceramic eggs for a day or 2 and make sure shes sitting on them and if she is we put some real eggs under her
One thing I noticed was you seem like you were doing all of it in daylight or at least some daylight left what we ' ve done is, move our broody hen at 9 or even 10 o clock then sit her on the eggs and she will feel them and start sitting. Just a tip but I know you'll get one eventually it just takes some time for broody hens especially if its still new to them.
Thanks for the tip! We will try late at night next time
This question doesn't have anything to do with this video but I put a stationary bar in front of the nesting boxes and I have 1 hen that thinks that she need to roost there, do I let her stay there or do I keep putting her onto the roost bars that are higher then the bar in front of the nesting boxes?
As long as she is safe and secure I would let them roost where they want
That has to be so frustrating! We just recently had our first hen go broody. Since it was our first time, I decided to just have her set on 3 eggs, and we ended up hatching 2. I moved her the first day into a 4x4 coop I built for a young rooster we got last September. He was two months younger than our hens, and they just terrorized him. He ended up spending most of the winter by himself in that coop. I also attached a small run to it. Anyway, the hen seemed very comfortable being moved. I think maybe the smaller, enclosed area made her feel more secure. I hope it’s okay for me to share this video so you can see the coop/run setup I made. It was a simple but very effective build.
th-cam.com/video/yl-PbOg0ZPE/w-d-xo.html
have you thought about adding some Quails to the farm ?
We have slightly talked about it but probably won’t add new animals until we have our 4th baby in September
Is it possible that since you were using the exact same location for broody jail that she associates it with breaking her broodiness? I'm not sure of a solution but I know chickens remember things situations.
I thought about that also, we have one other spot we could bring her that I will try next time, I hope it works 😬
Too much light in the rabbit tractor. Hens like a dark place to brood eggs.
What feed do you yse
Kalmbach henhouse reserve
I don’t understand a broody hen if there is no rooster?
I have at least two broody girls, a Buff and a Barred Rock. No roosters! I don't get it either, but the pull of nature is strong❤
Sometimes they go broody even with no roosters to fertilize the eggs. It’s in their nature
It was too late you allowed her to set on the eggs