broody pullet - Ask Extension
I have four hens & two pullets. one of my pullets has gone broody. it is December. don't think the chicks would survive if they hatched in the wi...
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broody pullet #221974
Asked December 06, 2014, 5:32 PM EST
I have four hens & two pullets. one of my pullets has gone broody. it is December. don't think the chicks would survive if they hatched in the winter.. these are not all her eggs. I only gather them two or three times a week in the cold months. your thoughts please.
Blount County Tennessee
Expert Response
Pullets are female chickens that have not yet started to lay eggs, so it is unusual for a pullet to go broody. Broodiness is genetic - and some breeds are more prone to go broody than others.
I would recommend gathering eggs every day, especially in the cold months. This will help with food safety as well as discourage your chickens from going broody. If you only have hens and pullets you are not likely to have chicks. Do you have a rooster with them? Winter is not a good time to hatch out eggs, but if you provide the chicks with supplemental heat they should be okay.
I would recommend gathering eggs every day, especially in the cold months. This will help with food safety as well as discourage your chickens from going broody. If you only have hens and pullets you are not likely to have chicks. Do you have a rooster with them? Winter is not a good time to hatch out eggs, but if you provide the chicks with supplemental heat they should be okay.
Thank you for responding. Yes, I have a rooster LOL (my bad). The broody one is 8 months old. We call them pullets until they have their first molt. In my 25 years of raising chickens I have not had one go broody in December. Or one so young. I will give her plenty of straw since supplemental heat is not possible. Her mother was very broody but not in winter. Thanks again.
You can candle the eggs to see if there is any embryonic development and even worth letting her sit on the eggs. If not, you can try and break her of the broodiness. Putting her in a cage in the middle of the poultry house for a few days, along with food and water, has been successful in breaking hens of broodiness. Otherwise, you can let her hatch out the chicks.
