Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Are we ready, pawpaw?
Hello friends and welcome toChicken.
Every Day, a podcast for you,the backyard chicken enthusiast,
and mine.
Your host is my Pawpaw, gary,Gary Valerie of Senla Backyard
Chickens.
Here we have fun while sharingideas and learning how to care
for our foul-feathered friends.
Check out our videos at Senlathat's C-E-N-L-A Backyard
(00:24):
Chickens on YouTube, tiktok andFacebook.
So, without further ado, let'sstart today's show.
How was that?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hello friends, gary, with CENLA Backyard Chickens
here with you again, and rightnow I have some broody hens.
Chances are you may beexperiencing that yourself and
if you're doing this for thefirst time, you may be, you may
have some questions.
You may be curious about what'sgoing on with them.
You may not even be sure what abroody hen is and if you have a
(00:56):
chicken acting this way thenyou're going to find out today.
But I mean to put it simply abroody hen is a hen who decides
she wants to be a mama.
She, she wants to hatch eggsand raise some chicks.
It's a natural behavior, it'sinstinctual with them and for
hens it's driven by hormonalshifts and it gives them strong
maternal instincts.
She's going to have an increasein body temperature, sometimes
(01:18):
as much as 110 degrees.
Normally chickens have about101 degree body temperature, 101
or so, and some breeds are moreinclined to go broody than
others.
So if you have silkies andcolchins and arpingtons and some
of the other broodier gals,like light brahmas and the
sussex, just about any breed cango broody, but these, you know,
(01:40):
are really really good at itand there's breeds, like some of
the mediterraneans, that havehad the broodiness almost
completely bred out of them overthe years and and that leghorns
and acanas and maracas andcertain other hybrids like that
even like, I think, an isa brownis a tough chicken that you
know hardly ever goes broody.
Right now I've got a blueamericana and a golden cuckoo
(02:03):
maran that are broody and ifyou're curious about how you
know if your hen's broody firstoff she's going to quit laying,
then she's going to actuallystay in the nesting box.
Almost every time you go outthere you're going to find her
in the nesting box and she'sgoing to be very irritable when
you get to her.
She's going to be reallyprotective of her nest and she
(02:30):
wants a nesting box that shefeels like is going to be safe
and dark and it's a protectedarea where she can hatch her
eggs out.
When you get up to the boxwhere she's at, she's going to
fluff her feathers and you'regoing to hear all this growling
from her.
She is not going to like thatat all.
She's going to flatten herselfout over the box because she
wants to get the most surfacearea that she can for the eggs.
You're going to hear thatbroody cluck, that cluck, cluck,
cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck,cluck, cluck, cluck cluck.
You know that broody heads do.
(02:51):
When you do see them off thenest and they go to the bathroom
, there's what's called a broodypoop and it is a mess and it's
usually going to be big, stinkyand gross.
But I mean, this is whathappens, because she just holds
it in for so long that this iswhat happens when she finally
gets to go.
(03:11):
Personally, I think that unlessyou're going to raise chicks,
that a hen should be broken.
You should break a broody henNow.
You don't want to do that.
Like I said, if you want tohatch out chicks and, like I
said, while this is a completelynatural behavior, it isn't
always that healthy for the hen,especially if she doesn't have
fertile eggs to hatch.
You know broody hens.
(03:31):
They're going to drink less,they're going to eat less,
they're going to exercise less,all contributing to losing
weight, becoming dehydrated andoverall unhealthier.
And when they're allowed tostay broody for extended periods
of time, her health is bound todecline and most experts out
there agree.
If you're not wanting her tohatch or raise chicks, then
(03:53):
breaking her broodiness isactually best for the bird.
Usually, a hen's going to gobrood in the spring a minor kind
of late spring, early summerthis year, and, as with most
chicken facts, this is neverwritten in stone.
So if you want to know how tobreak a broody hen, there's
several ways that you can lookon the Internet to see how
people do it.
(04:13):
I always tell everyone, whateveryou do, be humane, be gentle
with your chicken.
Don't do this shock treatment.
There's several ways to do it.
You know.
Like I said, some of them areradical and not on the friendly
side, and most of those arereally not all that effective
anyway.
But the one that I use mostoften is a putter in a broody
(04:34):
breaker or gel, and for me I usemy brood box.
It's a small pen that I put mychicks in.
I still provide her plenty ofwater and food and, like I said,
that chick brooder doubles aschicken gel.
If I have more than two at atime, it's too small to put two
or three hens in, so I'll putthem in my grow out pen.
If I'm not using it at the time.
(04:56):
I'll put them in there and Iwon't allow them to have a nest
box or anything.
I'll keep them there a minimumof four or five days, sometimes
a week or more, but I'll givethem a test after four or five
days, if she's ready.
Her behavior starts to changeback to normal.
She quits growling when youwalk up there to it.
Now don't rush it, becausesometimes they'll fool you.
(05:16):
You let them out and they don'tgo anywhere near the nest and
you turn your back and prettysoon they're right back on the
nest again.
So, trust me, it's better to golong than to have to repeat
this Again.
It gets more unhealthy everytime you do it for the bird and
it just prolongs the inevitablethat we want to try to do.
I will also keep a small fanblowing on low or medium if the
(05:39):
weather's warm enough, just tohelp to keep her body temp down,
because, remember, her bodytemperature goes up when she
gets to be broody.
And the fresh water that wekeep in there, and the fresh
water that we keep in there andthe fresh food that she always
has to her.
We don't want her to suffer inany way, and that's my method
and it's one that's pretty wellwidely adopted by most people
(05:59):
that I know and probably one ofthe more humane ways to do it.
Sometimes I will also submergemy bird in water.
As long as they don't freak out, I keep a little kiddie pool
out there and I keep it full ofwater.
They like to drink out of itand sometimes in the heat of the
summer they'll stand in it tohelp them cool off.
And I may submerse, you know,them in there and I not dunk
(06:20):
them or anything but just gettheir, their chest and their
bottom and everything in thereand kind of help them cool off,
especially whenever I put themback in the brooder and that
fan's blowing that cool air onthem.
It helps cool their bodytemperature down and that all
goes towards getting rid of thebroodiness in her.
To help you in this process,you don't want her to sit on any
(06:41):
eggs.
If she's on the nest in thenesting box, always keep the
eggs picked up.
I've heard heard, madampresident, on Chickenlandia, ms
Dahlia say she takes hers for acar ride, puts them in a box,
hauls them in the car and Iguess just the sheer shock of oh
, my word, what's going on, youknow, can help break that
broodiness.
I've never done that.
(07:02):
I have tried to usedistractions.
I've carried them around forextended periods of time.
Of course you set her down andyou don't want to set her down
anywhere near the nesting box.
Give her a chance to free range, get things off of her mind,
give her some nice snacks thatthey love, but always, if it's
convenient, block her access tothe nesting box.
(07:22):
Now, you don't want to do that.
If you're also blocking yourother hens that need the nesting
box because you want them to beable to lay like they want and,
if you're able, take her outand away from the rest of the
flock.
Even if it takes two weeks forthis to work.
She's going to growl andgrumble and ruffle her feathers
and be really, overall, pissedat you.
But helping this now woulddefinitely give her a better
(07:43):
chance to get through this inthe long run versus just letting
this extend.
This can go on for a month ormore if you just leave it and
let nature run its course andnot let her hatch anything While
the brooding hen can.
This sounds kind of harsh.
Like I said, I do contend thatmost times it's actually a good
thing to do.
(08:03):
Most experts and you can readon the internet about this most
experts will agree that breakingthat hen from being broody when
you're not wanting her to hatchis overall best for the bird's
health.
So whichever method you choose.
Just make sure to do this inthe most humane way that you can
.
Don't expect her to go back tolaying.
You know, if you know she'sbroken from being broody, she
(08:26):
won't go back on the nest.
Two or three days down the road, okay, she still hasn't gone to
the nest.
I feel pretty confident she'sbroody, but there's no eggs
coming from her.
This is going to take a coupleof weeks for her egg cycle to
get started up and going again.
So be patient with her.
Keep an eye on her.
Just make sure she doesn't goback.
I have had hens that stayed offfor about a week and just went
(08:47):
right back to it.
Some of them are just really,really tough to break.
But hope this helps.
Internet's a great, greatsource.
Don't go in for people doingthis really harsh methods and
scaring the bejeebies out ofyour birds and doing something
really drastic.
Harsh methods and scaring thebejeebies out of your birds and
doing something really drastic.
You know the chicken gel isabout the best thing that you
can do.
Ease them into a cool bath isalso good for the birds as well
(09:10):
to help cool their bodytemperature down.
But I mean, don't dunk them inice water or anything shocking
like that.
So, guys, if you've got anyquestions or comments, please
let me know.
Always love to hear back fromyou.
We'd love to hear anysuggestions you have for any
future podcasts.
Also, if you heard the onebefore this one always looking
for someone to interview and totalk with on the show.
(09:31):
You don't have to be an expertin chickens, you just have to
really love these birds and wantto talk about your birds.
So let me know.
You can find me atchickenseverydayatyahoocom.
The email address ischickenseverydayatyahoocom.
Give me an email.
I'd love to chat with you aboutbirds.
(09:52):
Talk with you again soon.
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
That's all we have time for today.
I really hope you enjoyedlistening to the podcast.
Be sure to watch our videos.
So, on behalf of my Papa, gary,and me, sylvie, thanks for
listening.
Are we ready, pawpaw?
Hello friends and welcome toChicken.
Every Day, a podcast for you,the backyard chicken enthusiast,
and mine.
Your host is my Pawpaw, gary,Gary Valerie of Senla Backyard
Chickens.
Here we have fun while sharingideas and learning how to care
for our foul-feathered friends.
Check out our videos at Senlathat's C-E-N-L-A Backyard
(00:24):
Chickens on YouTube, tiktok andFacebook.
So, without further ado, let'sstart today's show.
How was that?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hello friends, gary, with CENLA Backyard Chickens
here with you again, and rightnow I have some broody hens.
Chances are you may beexperiencing that yourself and
if you're doing this for thefirst time, you may be, you may
have some questions.
You may be curious about what'sgoing on with them.
You may not even be sure what abroody hen is and if you have a
(00:56):
chicken acting this way thenyou're going to find out today.
But I mean to put it simply abroody hen is a hen who decides
she wants to be a mama.
She, she wants to hatch eggsand raise some chicks.
It's a natural behavior, it'sinstinctual with them and for
hens it's driven by hormonalshifts and it gives them strong
maternal instincts.
She's going to have an increasein body temperature, sometimes
(01:18):
as much as 110 degrees.
Normally chickens have about101 degree body temperature, 101
or so, and some breeds are moreinclined to go broody than
others.
So if you have silkies andcolchins and arpingtons and some
of the other broodier gals,like light brahmas and the
sussex, just about any breed cango broody, but these, you know,
(01:40):
are really really good at itand there's breeds, like some of
the mediterraneans, that havehad the broodiness almost
completely bred out of them overthe years and and that leghorns
and acanas and maracas andcertain other hybrids like that
even like, I think, an isa brownis a tough chicken that you
know hardly ever goes broody.
Right now I've got a blueamericana and a golden cuckoo
(02:03):
maran that are broody and ifyou're curious about how you
know if your hen's broody firstoff she's going to quit laying,
then she's going to actuallystay in the nesting box.
Almost every time you go outthere you're going to find her
in the nesting box and she'sgoing to be very irritable when
you get to her.
She's going to be reallyprotective of her nest and she
(02:30):
wants a nesting box that shefeels like is going to be safe
and dark and it's a protectedarea where she can hatch her
eggs out.
When you get up to the boxwhere she's at, she's going to
fluff her feathers and you'regoing to hear all this growling
from her.
She is not going to like thatat all.
She's going to flatten herselfout over the box because she
wants to get the most surfacearea that she can for the eggs.
You're going to hear thatbroody cluck, that cluck, cluck,
cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck,cluck, cluck, cluck cluck.
You know that broody heads do.
(02:51):
When you do see them off thenest and they go to the bathroom
, there's what's called a broodypoop and it is a mess and it's
usually going to be big, stinkyand gross.
But I mean, this is whathappens, because she just holds
it in for so long that this iswhat happens when she finally
gets to go.
(03:11):
Personally, I think that unlessyou're going to raise chicks,
that a hen should be broken.
You should break a broody henNow.
You don't want to do that.
Like I said, if you want tohatch out chicks and, like I
said, while this is a completelynatural behavior, it isn't
always that healthy for the hen,especially if she doesn't have
fertile eggs to hatch.
You know broody hens.
(03:31):
They're going to drink less,they're going to eat less,
they're going to exercise less,all contributing to losing
weight, becoming dehydrated andoverall unhealthier.
And when they're allowed tostay broody for extended periods
of time, her health is bound todecline and most experts out
there agree.
If you're not wanting her tohatch or raise chicks, then
(03:53):
breaking her broodiness isactually best for the bird.
Usually, a hen's going to gobrood in the spring a minor kind
of late spring, early summerthis year, and, as with most
chicken facts, this is neverwritten in stone.
So if you want to know how tobreak a broody hen, there's
several ways that you can lookon the Internet to see how
people do it.
(04:13):
I always tell everyone, whateveryou do, be humane, be gentle
with your chicken.
Don't do this shock treatment.
There's several ways to do it.
You know.
Like I said, some of them areradical and not on the friendly
side, and most of those arereally not all that effective
anyway.
But the one that I use mostoften is a putter in a broody
(04:34):
breaker or gel, and for me I usemy brood box.
It's a small pen that I put mychicks in.
I still provide her plenty ofwater and food and, like I said,
that chick brooder doubles aschicken gel.
If I have more than two at atime, it's too small to put two
or three hens in, so I'll putthem in my grow out pen.
If I'm not using it at the time.
(04:56):
I'll put them in there and Iwon't allow them to have a nest
box or anything.
I'll keep them there a minimumof four or five days, sometimes
a week or more, but I'll givethem a test after four or five
days, if she's ready.
Her behavior starts to changeback to normal.
She quits growling when youwalk up there to it.
Now don't rush it, becausesometimes they'll fool you.
(05:16):
You let them out and they don'tgo anywhere near the nest and
you turn your back and prettysoon they're right back on the
nest again.
So, trust me, it's better to golong than to have to repeat
this Again.
It gets more unhealthy everytime you do it for the bird and
it just prolongs the inevitablethat we want to try to do.
I will also keep a small fanblowing on low or medium if the
(05:39):
weather's warm enough, just tohelp to keep her body temp down,
because, remember, her bodytemperature goes up when she
gets to be broody.
And the fresh water that wekeep in there, and the fresh
water that we keep in there andthe fresh food that she always
has to her.
We don't want her to suffer inany way, and that's my method
and it's one that's pretty wellwidely adopted by most people
(05:59):
that I know and probably one ofthe more humane ways to do it.
Sometimes I will also submergemy bird in water.
As long as they don't freak out, I keep a little kiddie pool
out there and I keep it full ofwater.
They like to drink out of itand sometimes in the heat of the
summer they'll stand in it tohelp them cool off.
And I may submerse, you know,them in there and I not dunk
(06:20):
them or anything but just gettheir, their chest and their
bottom and everything in thereand kind of help them cool off,
especially whenever I put themback in the brooder and that
fan's blowing that cool air onthem.
It helps cool their bodytemperature down and that all
goes towards getting rid of thebroodiness in her.
To help you in this process,you don't want her to sit on any
(06:41):
eggs.
If she's on the nest in thenesting box, always keep the
eggs picked up.
I've heard heard, madampresident, on Chickenlandia, ms
Dahlia say she takes hers for acar ride, puts them in a box,
hauls them in the car and Iguess just the sheer shock of oh
, my word, what's going on, youknow, can help break that
broodiness.
I've never done that.
(07:02):
I have tried to usedistractions.
I've carried them around forextended periods of time.
Of course you set her down andyou don't want to set her down
anywhere near the nesting box.
Give her a chance to free range, get things off of her mind,
give her some nice snacks thatthey love, but always, if it's
convenient, block her access tothe nesting box.
(07:22):
Now, you don't want to do that.
If you're also blocking yourother hens that need the nesting
box because you want them to beable to lay like they want and,
if you're able, take her outand away from the rest of the
flock.
Even if it takes two weeks forthis to work.
She's going to growl andgrumble and ruffle her feathers
and be really, overall, pissedat you.
But helping this now woulddefinitely give her a better
(07:43):
chance to get through this inthe long run versus just letting
this extend.
This can go on for a month ormore if you just leave it and
let nature run its course andnot let her hatch anything While
the brooding hen can.
This sounds kind of harsh.
Like I said, I do contend thatmost times it's actually a good
thing to do.
(08:03):
Most experts and you can readon the internet about this most
experts will agree that breakingthat hen from being broody when
you're not wanting her to hatchis overall best for the bird's
health.
So whichever method you choose.
Just make sure to do this inthe most humane way that you can
.
Don't expect her to go back tolaying.
You know, if you know she'sbroken from being broody, she
(08:26):
won't go back on the nest.
Two or three days down the road, okay, she still hasn't gone to
the nest.
I feel pretty confident she'sbroody, but there's no eggs
coming from her.
This is going to take a coupleof weeks for her egg cycle to
get started up and going again.
So be patient with her.
Keep an eye on her.
Just make sure she doesn't goback.
I have had hens that stayed offfor about a week and just went
(08:47):
right back to it.
Some of them are just really,really tough to break.
But hope this helps.
Internet's a great, greatsource.
Don't go in for people doingthis really harsh methods and
scaring the bejeebies out ofyour birds and doing something
really drastic.
Harsh methods and scaring thebejeebies out of your birds and
doing something really drastic.
You know the chicken gel isabout the best thing that you
can do.
Ease them into a cool bath isalso good for the birds as well
(09:10):
to help cool their bodytemperature down.
But I mean, don't dunk them inice water or anything shocking
like that.
So, guys, if you've got anyquestions or comments, please
let me know.
Always love to hear back fromyou.
We'd love to hear anysuggestions you have for any
future podcasts.
Also, if you heard the onebefore this one always looking
for someone to interview and totalk with on the show.
(09:31):
You don't have to be an expertin chickens, you just have to
really love these birds and wantto talk about your birds.
So let me know.
You can find me atchickenseverydayatyahoocom.
The email address ischickenseverydayatyahoocom.
Give me an email.
I'd love to chat with you aboutbirds.
(09:52):
Talk with you again soon.
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
That's all we have time for today.
I really hope you enjoyedlistening to the podcast.
Be sure to watch our videos.
So, on behalf of my Papa, gary,and me, sylvie, thanks for
listening.
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