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Buff Orpington Gets “Broody”

22 May 2011

Daisy is setting on unfertile eggs.

I’ve written about “broody” hens before. But Daisy has never been broody before. “Broody or setting” means the hen’s instincts tell her to hatch some of the many eggs she has been laying. In the wild the hen will lay a clutch of eggs. When she has layed enough, she will spend about 21 days setting on the eggs, keeping them warm, until they hatch into chicks. Awwwwww…………

Now, I shouldn’t have to explain this to you, but you need a rooster to have fertile eggs that will hatch. We don’t have a rooster so the eggs that our hens lay can never become chicks. If I want the hens to hatch eggs, I have to buy fertile eggs or buy little chicks and put them under the setting hen. No one ever said that hens were the smartest creatures in the world. They don’t understand when you slip some chicks under them, and remove the eggs she’s been sitting on, they are not their own. They just mother them as if they were!

All fluffed up, clucking, clucking, clucking.

Daisy has been acting “broody” for about a week. She is all fluffed up and clucking, clucking, clucking. She continued laying eggs every day. But today, when I reached into the egg box she gave me a threatening growl………… “Don’t touch my eggs,” she warned. Daisy has never pecked me. She is the sweetest hen in the world. I gently pushed her from the nest and gave her some hen scratch (treat). But she was back on those two eggs in about five minutes.

We will continue to take her off the nest to eat and drink. We’ll remove the unfertile eggs beneath Daisy. We’ll put buckets in the nests in the late afternoon after all the hens have finished laying for the day. We will put her on the roost at night. Other than putting her in a cage by herself, that is about all you can do to discourage a hen from setting on unfertilized eggs. Why don’t we get her some chicks? Because when we built the henhouse and run, we were only going to have 3-4 hens and it is quite small. But I got “chick fever” and, as a result, have five lovely hens. It wouldn’t be fair to any of the hens to crowd in a few more. So, Daisy dear, get over it. I know your biological clock is ticking but it isn’t going to happen. Motherhood is just not in the cards for you, sweet girl, but if I ever have the room for more chickens, you will be the first to get those little ones you’d like to have.

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13 Comments to “Buff Orpington Gets “Broody””

  1. Tiffany HernandezMay 23, 2011 at 11:22 am

    Just saw the most amazing thing around noon today. Daisy was in the next box with one of the black and white hens (I am pretty sure it was Poppy). Poppy layed an egg almost at the edge of the box and as soon as she stood up, Daisy leaned over and moved the egg underneath her with her beak!! She means serious business! Now Poppy is not leaving and there is all kinds of fidegting going on. Even one the ladies in the box next door came over to see what the fuss was! So interesting how driven she is. I hope she does not get too depressed šŸ™ Best of luck getting her through this! – Tiffany

  2. Tiffany HernandezMay 25, 2011 at 3:04 pm

    She won’t even come out for her yogurt and watermelon scraps.

  3. Gail RogersMay 28, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    Good job on fixing the edge of the nest box so Daisy can’t get in.
    I’m the one who called you from the mountains above Fresno.
    She was so determined to get behind that board. I’m so glad you were home to take my call.
    Of course, as soon as she heard you two coming to the enclosure, she stopped trying so hard. I guess she thought you were going to bring treats.
    Glad I could help!!
    I’ll be watching…as I do several times a day~

  4. LeeJune 4, 2011 at 3:35 pm

    Wow, I wish I would have seen that! The girls have to occasionally share a nest. Two nests for five hens is plenty. But when one is broody, she occupies it constantly and that makes thing tight. Yes, Daisy is determined. I’m getting a little worried about her because she has lost a lot of weight. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.

  5. Karen RasoreJune 8, 2011 at 8:04 am

    My buff Orpington is doing the same thing. It’s been a week. I only took her off once and she chased the other girls around. She was very mad. She is so sweet she hasn’t tried to peck me when I have gotten the eggs but I haven’t gathered them as often as usual because I thought she would get over it. Well, thanks for writing about this. No rooster and no babies for my Dolly but hopefully she will get over it.

  6. LeeJune 8, 2011 at 12:51 pm

    It’s so hard to watch these beautiful hens go through this. They loose weight and obviously are uncomfortable any time they are not snuggled in nest. Nature is sometimes cruel! Thanks for your comment. I hope both our beautiful blonds are back to their old selves soon.

  7. Tiffany HernandezJune 10, 2011 at 12:47 pm

    How is she doing? I see a new exclusion fence in the run – are you thinking of trying something to help her?? Good luck! I check on her everyday!

  8. Tiffany HernandezJune 10, 2011 at 12:48 pm

    Just saw the note on the board about Tulip. Thought it may be for Daisy! Hope she is ok too!

  9. Aimee DickensonJune 13, 2011 at 8:11 am

    May I suggest a healthy chicken tonic for your girl?
    Carrot Water Tonic:

    Ingredients:

    6 carrots (leave the peel on)
    1 clove garlic
    Adult dose of Vitamin C
    Adult dose of Echinacea
    2 cups water

    This really helps boost the immune system. This is a big dose, but it may not hurt to give to the whole flock. Hope it helps!

  10. Tiffany HernandezJune 13, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    I noticed today she spent part of the afternoon off the nest box and in the run. This is the most I have seen her out in days. She may be coming out of it!!

  11. Joe KrolJanuary 10, 2013 at 9:57 pm

    Hi,

    I am considering starting to raise a backyard flock of my own and in the limited amount that I have read so far the Buff Orpingtons might be the way I go.

    I am looking for egg layers and for meat as well. But having 3 kids that LOVE animals and I know will want to pick them up I have also heard that these birds are particularly docile is that true? I don’t want a huge flock but was thinking about 10 birds. If I have a coop with 3 nesting boxes is that sufficient?

    Thank you for this wonderful site and I will be a regular visitor.
    Joe

  12. LeeJanuary 22, 2013 at 5:49 am

    I love my Buff Orpington. She has always been the tamest of all of them. She will jump up in my lap if I set down in the garden.

  13. LeeMarch 21, 2014 at 7:18 am

    There’s is not much you can do to stop her from “setting”, Tristian, She is going through a cycle of about 21 days that, if she had fertile eggs, she would be trying to hatch them. Since we don’t have a rooster, our eggs are not fertile and will not produce chicks.. To discourage “setting” take her off the next as often as possible to encourage her to eat and drink. Take her out of the nest at night and put her on the roost with the other hens. If you can keep her out of a nest during the day, do so. We cover our boxes with a piece of plywood. She will not lay eggs during this time. Be patient. She will soon be herself again.

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