Chicken Keeping Secrets

“I know you’ve addressed this topic before but I’d like to know how long a chicken will stay broody. I’ve got one that’s going on six weeks. There’s no roosters. Just eleven hens. I most always let them out to wander the backyard at night for an hour or two before sunset.

I’ve been throwing out the broody hen to get her to exercise. She complains a bit but then goes around and scratches in the dirt like her companions. But the next day she’s back to sitting on the eggs. She even sits after we’ve collected the eggs.” ~ Gershon, Santa Fe, NM

Hi Gershon,

We haven’t addressed breaking a brood in about a year so I think it’s worth taking the time to address again.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term “broody”, it’s when a hen’s natural instincts tell her it’s time to start a family. It doesn’t matter if there is a rooster present or not. She will start collecting a clutch of eggs to incubate and she’ll stay on the nest longer and longer each day.

When her clutch is complete, she’ll stop laying and sit on the eggs for the 21 days it takes to incubate the eggs. It will be another 2 months or so before she’ll start laying again, the time it takes for the chicks to mature enough to care for themselves.

This is wonderful if you want to hatch chicks but if you’re like Gershon, and don’t have a hen, nor do you want to hatch chicks, having hen out of commission is not very convenient.

So Gershon, to specifically answer your question, the length of time a hen will stay broody, if left to herself, will depend upon her breed and how strong the instinct to brood is within the individual chicken. (more…)

“Hi. I enjoy your newsletter very much. I am a fairly new chicken owner. I have 2 Rhode Island Red Hens. I don’t know if it is their breed and I understand chickens “scratch” the ground, but my girls dig holes. They dig along the edges of their coop. They are in a huge coop for just the 2 of them.

I hung the cd’s as a distraction… not working. And they don’t reflect onto the ground so I know the girls are not digging trying to get the rainbow. Also, I have filled in the holes with concrete chunks before I filled the dirt back in thinking if they scratch and hit the chunks that they would not like the feeling… I was wrong. I’m really frustrated with them. Please help. Thanks from Florida.” ~ Laura

Hi Laura,

Thanks for the question.

Chickens “dig” for a couple of reasons.

Most often you will see them scratching at the ground in search of bugs.

The protein derived from insects is an important part of your chicken’s diet, especially if you are not using commercial feed.

As an added bonus, the chickens find it absolutely wonderful to unearth bugs; they get so excited by the challenge.

I’ve seen one of my chickens unearth a few bugs and everyone came running to try to get some of the bounty. (more…)

“I have a question: Not coming from a chicken oriented background, I’ve had very poor luck in getting a broody hen to keep other hens from laying in her nest, so the nesting goes on – like – forever, and I even had a banty hen starve to death while setting, trying to get the eggs to hatch. The only successful hatch I’ve had was when the hen hid her eggs on top of the hay and out of sight of the other hens.

It would be nice if I could get one to set in one of the nest boxes so I could more easily manage the outcome. I’ve ordered 25 chicks to arrive next week and they are all broody breeds, so there is time to prepare for the broody hen[s]… maybe this fall or next spring. My hope is to not have to buy new chicks every couple of years. Thanks for answering” ~ Yvonne

Hi Yvonne,

Thanks for writing.

Here’s a couple of tips.

I am not completely clear as to whether your hens are in fact laying in their nest boxes or not. If they are not, encourage them to do so by placing eggs in them. You may loose a few eggs if the weather is warm but in the long run, it will be easier to manage an impending hatch.

If necessary, separate your new chicks from the existing flock and teach them where to lay their eggs.

Now you have to make a decision based upon how strong your hen’s instinct to brood is.

If her instinct to brood is very strong, you will begin collecting eggs for her.

Remove all the eggs each day.

You will “hold” these eggs until you have assembled a clutch for her. Two or so days before the clutch is complete, allow her to sit on a few eggs to ensure that she is broody and will stay on the nest when you return the eggs you are holding. At that point, you will place the eggs under her for her to hatch.

If her instinct to brood is not very strong, removing all the eggs might discourage her and cause her to give up the whole thing. In this case, you’ll need to leave a few eggs in the nest for her to sit on. The few that you leave should be marked with a pencil so that as you collect, you know which ones are new and should be collected, and which are the ones you are leaving.

Following this method, you’ll need to throw away the eggs you’ve left for her when you deliver her clutch to her.

Watch her closely during this time to make sure she is getting off the nest to eat and drink. (more…)

“I would like to know if there is a certain age that a hen will start setting on eggs if she is going to be a broody? What would be the youngest age that she would start setting if she were going to? Thank you for any information that you might be able to give me about this.” ~ Debby Gray

Hi Debby,

Thanks so much for the question.

If you have a hen that has broody instincts, she could start showing brooding behavior very early on. Once she starts laying and her eggs reach normal size, you could start seeing brooding instincts within a month or so.

However, if she doesn’t begin brooding early, that does not mean that she will not brood later on. Time of year is a factor as well.

I wish I had a more definitive answer for you but each hen is different.

One thing that seems to be a factor in the hen’s ability to mother is if the hen was raised by her broody mother. A hen that was mothered seems to know how to mother. I guess that shouldn’t surprise us, isn’t it the same for humans?

But as with humans, hens can learn how to mother even if the example was not set for them. (more…)

“We acquired a Blue Heeler puppy last July 2009, thinking that she would grow up with chickens and not hurt them. Now she enjoys chasing them. At nine months old, we think she killed one hen today. The head was completely bitten off. These hens are normally protected in their run, but we let the hens out to stop their excessive pecking on each other and allow them to eat insects and plants and dust themselves.

In most cases, we let them out when we are outside to supervise. We left the property today, and returned to find the dead hen. No feather mess or devoured body was observed. I read where a shock collar may work. What is your experience or suggestion? Thanks!” ~ Rick Anderson, Barboursville, VA

Hi Rick,

Thanks for the question.

It sounds like your dog was just displaying plain, old puppy behavior and didn’t realize that she would kill the chicken.

Puppies, like children often engage in foolish behavior with no thought of consequences. They live in the moment.

Just as we have to train our children to make good choices and avoid foolish behavior, we train our animals.

Basically you’ll need to teach your puppy using negative reinforcement.

A shock collar would fall under the definition of negative reinforcement but I’m not sure exactly how you plan to use it.

If you mean a collar used in conjunction with a barrier line to keep the puppy completely away from the chickens, that would be effective.

If you mean a collar emitting a small shock, initiated by you, whenever the puppy engages in unacceptable behavior, my only caution is that you will have to be 100% consistent. Even one encounter with the chickens will be enough to keep her after them. (more…)