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Barnyard Buddies:  Girls are a layin' but not settin'  |
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luvnlife
True Blue Farmgirl
82 Posts
Michele
Quincy
WA
USA
82 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 11 2008 : 9:23:53 PM
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I have an assortment of different breeds and I have some good laying hens but we rarely have any chicks hatch because the girls don't set. Is there anything I can do to coax them to stay and sit awhile? Maybe some smoothing music, fluffier bedding, or different colored walls in the coop? Okay, I'm just kidding here but is there anything else I can do to encourage them?
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Farmgirl Sister #306 :) |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 11 2008 : 10:02:59 PM
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I think it is a personality thing..some hens just like to set and alot don't. I have found that banties usually are more likely to want to..I have to constantly move hens off nests that they want to raise families in!!
If you find that any sit on the eggs more than others you may try moving them to a pen with only one other hen and a nest full of eggs..sometimes without all the distractions (keep water and food nearby) they will start to set..but not always. Good luck!! I plan to let a couple of mine hatch some chicks soon..I have a separate pen for them...
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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windypines
True Blue Farmgirl
4274 Posts
Michele
Bruce
Wisconsin
USA
4274 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2008 : 05:19:47 AM
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I think you have to wait for them to "be in the mood" Mine get cluckey late in the summer. Later then I would care to have chicks around.
Michele |
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Homespun Livin
True Blue Farmgirl
409 Posts
Brenda
Louisiana
USA
409 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2008 : 06:38:15 AM
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Yep! I agree. Some breeds of chickens take to it naturally and some really don't have the instinct bred in them to do so. How bad do you want babies? You might try an incubator if you have your heart set on babies and the big girls don't want to do their job. Is the inside of the nest box dark enough for them to feel cozy? Good luck with them.
"Love one another." |
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RoseRed
Farmgirl in Training
19 Posts
Karen
Virginia
USA
19 Posts |
Posted - Aug 12 2008 : 10:38:02 AM
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| Gosh, I wish I could trade you! We don't want chicks, so have no rooster to facilitate such a thing. Nonetheless, one of our girls is a champion brooder. She seems to be the worst about it around this time of year, and then again in February/March. The other girls, past and present, have been uniformly uninterested in sitting around in the next box. ::shrug:: If you can figure out how to coax yours to brood, maybe I can figure out how to coax our brooder to stop :) |
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luvnlife
True Blue Farmgirl
82 Posts
Michele
Quincy
WA
USA
82 Posts |
Posted - Aug 13 2008 : 3:24:18 PM
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Thanks for the tips!!! I could enclose their boxes giving them that cozy feel. Hopefully, that'll encourage the girls.
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Farmgirl Sister #306 :) |
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shepherdgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1008 Posts
Tracy
California
USA
1008 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2008 : 8:46:59 PM
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Hey Michele! What breed of hens do you have? Breed has a big affect on broodiness, though the inclination also depends on the individual hen. Silkies are very broody. They will sit on OTHER hens eggs and hatch them out. You can also set them on eggs from other birds --- ducks, turkeys, pheasants etc... And they are VERY SWEET little birds. I just LOVE them. I can't imagine not having at least a few of those fluff balls in my flock.
If you want REALLY broody hens that lay eggs like CRAZY, hatch 12-15 chicks at a time AND make EXCELLENT mothers -- you should try the Dominiques. When I had mostly those birds in my flock I didn't have to buy ANY chicks for years!!! In fact, I had chicks coming out my EARS! Every time I turned around there was another little herd of them running around! I actually started giving them away, there were just SO MANY!! The hens also start laying and setting at a very yound age. I had one hen that hatched her first batch of chicks at about 6-8 mos. They're great birds, not too big, but very hardy, and the roosters are very gentle. I don't think I ever had a mean one (and I had quite a few with all those chicks hatching!) The hens can get a bit testy though when they have a brood trailing behind them. They are VERY protective of their offspring-- that's why nearly ALL of their chicks made it to adulthood (and why I was getting 36 eggs every single day!!!!). I only have one or two pure Dominique hens left, but I will probably add more to my flock next year.
Oh, and if your hens are young they might not go broody at all this year, but they probably will next Spring, so don't give up! Good luck to you ~~~ Tracy
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
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Ms.Lilly
True Blue Farmgirl
826 Posts
Lillian
Scotts Mills
OR
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2008 : 9:00:51 PM
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Another breed to try is Buff Orphintons. Every time I turn around one of them is broody. We have 7 and 1 is a new mama, 2 more are sitting in the hen house roasting their tail feathers off sitting on empty nests. I guess they don't care that all of the other chickens are sitting in the shade eating cantelope.
Lillian |
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shepherdgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1008 Posts
Tracy
California
USA
1008 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2008 : 9:11:38 PM
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Too funny Ms. Lilly! I have the most RIDCULOUS hen too! Her name is "Priscill." She's a mix (Dominique/Silky/Polish (which gives her the "Elvis Do' "-- that should explain SOME of her issues!) She's a broody thing, but she'll sit on an empty nest too! I put some eggs under her the other day, but then I noticed she'd switched to ANOTHER nest. This one had freshly laid eggs, so I put the eggs she'd been sitting on the day before under her in THAT nest, and darned if she didn't move back to the ORIGINAL nest box--- with NO eggs!!! I've pretty much given up on her. She can do what she wants. Silly bird!!!
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
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countrygal56
True Blue Farmgirl
221 Posts
Barbara
Dickson
Tennessee
USA
221 Posts |
Posted - Aug 17 2008 : 8:19:17 PM
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I have two white hens that sat on several eggs that were laid on the straw on the floor of the coop. One little chick hatched and those two girls cared for the little chick together, until another egg ended up on the floor and one of the hens hatched it, so now she was a Mom too. Not sure why some of the hens lay their eggs on the floor, instead in the nest boxes.
Our little Buff Bantie has been brooding off and on for two months, with no results until several weeks ago, now she has two chicks. She really wanted to have a family of her own. She's a good Mom too. |
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luvnlife
True Blue Farmgirl
82 Posts
Michele
Quincy
WA
USA
82 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2008 : 08:49:31 AM
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Thanks for all the pointers. My dh and I moved the chicken coop from one area in the barn to a larger area, giving the girls their own female only Hilton. Yesterday was so hot I even set up a box fan in there for them! Even if I never get them to hatch any chicks, they will be the most spoiled hens in the region!!! 
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Farmgirl Sister #306 :) |
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shepherdgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1008 Posts
Tracy
California
USA
1008 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2008 : 09:00:20 AM
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Do you have a rooster Michele? You never mentioned one and you refer to the new digs as a "Female Only Hilton." If you don't have at least one rooster, it really won't matter if the the hens go broody or not. If you DO have a rooster and you want chicks, you're better off to just let him in with the girls so he can do his business. I don't think you can breed chickens like other livestock-- putting the males in when you want babies. If anything, moving the rooster in and out will actually create chaos in the coop and your hens might stop laying all together!!! That seems to be their way of dealing with stress-- the egg shoot just closes up!! (LOL)
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
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luvnlife
True Blue Farmgirl
82 Posts
Michele
Quincy
WA
USA
82 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2008 : 09:38:37 AM
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Hi Tracy,
I have 4 roosters and 10 bald hens. Those BUSY roosters, and one lonely drake, would not leave those girls alone! I feared the girls would freeze come winter with the boys always pulling their back feathers out. lol So, yes, up until about a week ago, all the chickens free roamed together for several years. Since the move into the new coop, I'm just happy if the hens lay. Their world has changed, even with better accommodations, coupled with the recent heat, things have really slowed up.
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Farmgirl Sister #306 :) |
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Barnyard Buddies: Girls are a layin' but not settin' |
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Girls are a layin' but not settin'
