[cheekychick22]

I have a broody hen no rooster I have been told that it would be goodfor her if I buy some live eggs. I really don't know what to do I have room for more but I'm a complete novice

[Jo57]

It is up to you. If you would like to have more (remembering you could get boys as well as girls) then go for it and buy some hatching eggs. It is rewarding, worrying, exciting, nerve wracking and well worth it! You will need to find out about where to keep your broody separate from the rest etc etc. If you don't want to, it is best to try and stop her being broody by putting her  in a cage or just keep lifting her off her nest and moving her on so she can keep warm and comfortable. It can take some time depending on breed.  Don't wait too long to start as it will take 3 weeks once the eggs are there and sitting for so long takes it out of mum. Good luck!

[Casey76]

If you don't have room for any more, why on earth are you thinking about getting fertile eggs?

Have you thought about how you are going to separate the broody hen from your other hens, the extra expense of buying chick crumbs and special chick feeders and waterers, not to mention what will you do with the boys which hatch?

Sorry if I sound harsh, but many people give their broody hens fertile eggs to sit on without thinking of any of the consequences.

You can stop your hen from being broody by keeping her off the nest.  Either lock up the coop on a morning after the others have layed so she can't get back in, or keep lifting her off the nest throughout the day, or you can put her in a wire bottomed pet cage, with food and water. balance it on some bricks so the air goes underneath her, and she will snap out of it in a few days.

[cheekychick22]

thanks for the sort of advice to answer what you have stated
I have a 15 chicken coop in which i only have 4 chickens at the moment i also have a quaratine coop for the new chickens that i may have. so the broody can go in there with her eggs which she is already acustomed too.

i do not look at the expense as they need to be fed as well i have very spoilt hens lol
because if you have to look at the expense you shouldnt have animals.

so all in all i have plenty of room and room for free ranging with out interfereing with the use of the garden.

i have actually now brought some eggs and the chicken looks a lot happier and yes she is still in with the others hens as hens will acept chicks better than adult hens. i have done a lot of research and been up to the local breeder whos family has been breeding chickens for decades and the advice they have given me in the past has never let me down.

im just hoping that they are not all male but the farm said they would have them as there flock is getting very large and they need more roosters.

my other hens are just using the other nest boxes and leaving her alone as i think she is the leading lady.

at no point did i state i didnt have the room

[grinling]

The suggestion for moving her can help with the feeding for the chicks as they should not eat layers pellets/mash. You will need to keep an eye on her and make sure she is eating and drinking whilst sitting. Mark the eggs so you know which ones she should be sitting on.
I would say Casey misread your post, this can easily happen.

[JaK]

I have to agree with grinling, she would be better off in her own little coop for now and the chicks will only have access to chick the crumb. My lot are greedy beggers and would scoff chick crumb if given half a chance.
I have a broody hen too and we have been making her a broody coop today. Once it's dark I'll move her in and if she stays settled she can have some eggs (instead of the rubber ones she is taking care of at the moment).
I picked Cream legbars and Lavender araucana hatching eggs this time, very excited.
Hope our broodys sit tight. 

[ANHBUC]

I think Casey76 skipped a few words when reading your post.  When you have read quite a few posts this can happen.  I often have to reread after I realise I must have gotten the wrong end of the stick.   

I separated my broodies as they were stealing eggs even though they had enough each.  You don't want them sitting on infertile eggs for 3 weeks.  As others have said it is easier for feeding the right food as well especially if you choose chick crumb with medication.  Then you would have to discard your other hens eggs in case they had eaten some.   

[rosie14]

good luck it's a fabulous experience, also a bit of a roller coaster! I did it for my first time last year with Cream leg bars so I could deal with cocks early on. I was like you very novice, but everyone here helped me out ALOT as well as good old google and you tube!! We hadn't had chicks since I was a child and my grandmother took care of everything, the hens were bantams so I guess she took care of everything!

I moved the mother (Yearling Orpington) out into a broody hutch inside a seperate run at night and placed the 5 pretty eggs under her. I candled them once on day 7. I thought 3 were good but left the others in case I was wrong being so novice. 1 egg got broken early on (when I candled the eggs a couple of shells were not v. thick and compromised I think but?).

So I had 4 left,  on day 19 one was hatched and perfect but had a significant yolk sack, it was dead. Hatch day arrived nothing a day or 2 after I cracked the remaining eggs. 1 was infertile, 1 ceased to develop after about the 7 day stage and one was perfect but also had a little yolk sack, it too was dead  I was so sad for mama hen after sitting so tightly. I rushed out and got 2 bantam and one LF Orpington chicks they were 2 or 3 days old and incubator bred. It was a good 1/2 hour drive from breeder. 2 died within 2 days (the smaller bantams) I am wondering now if they got too cold in that time. Despite being July it was a cold day. One survived and thrived and it was the same colour as the foster mum Gold Laced Orpington. It is the one gone broody this year-see my thread for the recent experience....alot more positive!

I have 3 children aged 3-8 and they have loved it so far but not as much as me!! Good luck x

[symonep]

  we have had 2 broody hens over the last 2 years and it was very exciting. Both times we didnt seperate the hen and it wasnt a problem as she was fiercly protective of her chick.
it was really interesting to look at the chick developing in the shell.

I just made sure that i physically moved the broody hen out into the coop so she could eat and drink as she wasnt doing this by herself (she would stay on the egg and not eat even if you put it next to her) and she would stay off the egg for a short time, eat drink and poo (ewww to broody poos lol)
Our first hatching was a cockerel so he went to live with a friend and we were lucky with our 2nd as it was a hen.
we didnt buy special food we just ground down the layers and the chick thrived. The chick lived under the hens wing and in her feathers for the first few weeks and then took to sitting on her back! see photo https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=433022591894&set=a.424446286894.201718.617416894&type=3&theater good luck with it

[cheekychick22]

Shes comimg dowm to eat now every hour she has a good feed and water then runs back to the eggs

[symonep]

  bless her, she sounds like a hen with a bit of common sense (unlike mine who would rather starve LOL)

[Casey76]

My apologies cheekychick, I misread your initial post.

If you have your broody hen in the same coop as your laying hens, I would strongly advise moving her to her own small coop with separate run at least until the chicks are a few days old.

Having a broody hen in a laying coop can put off the other hens from laying, and if the chicks hatch, the other hens may actually kill the chicks.

I agree that chicks and hens can be mixed on the ground from very early on, but it is much easier for all if the chicks have a separate coop to sleep in.

Also, depending on the breed, your broody hen may not be a good mother, so be prepared with a home made brooder and heat source etc in case she abandons the chicks, or is aggressive towards them when they hatch.

[cheekychick22]

Everyone seems to have different opinions so I'm going with the advice from the breeder which is what I am doing now. I have another broody but she is easier to remove from the nest box and I am separating her just for tonight - hopefully this works. The other hens are leaving the broody alone so all is good so far and I'm leaving her alone.

edited to make text easier to read

[jhub]

Hello Cheekychick,
If you are keeping your chicks and hens together I just wondered how you will stop the other hens eating chick crumb? If the crumb is medicated with coccidiostat  then you won't be able to eat the eggs from the other hens- there's a seven day egg withdrawal period.

Symonep grinds up layers pellets for her chicks however chicks dietary requirements are very different from that of a laying hen. Layers pellets have more calcium which young chicks don't need. There's  a potential for kidney and gut problems ( and in one report increased mortality)in chicks fed excess calcium.
Chick crumb also has higher levels of protein which is necessary for supporting the rapid rate of growth during this stage of the chicks development.

It is confusing when you're given lots of different advice although the majority of replies to your post appear to recommend keeping mum and chicks apart from the other hens.
It is of course entirely your decision and good luck with your chicken keeping adventure.

[joyfull]

I wish you well but I have seen a hen kill a chick and it wasn't nice. Remember about the different food requirements though.