Rusty and Freckles seem to be taking turns at going broody. So far I have only had one broody at a time. Rusty has laid seven eggs in fourteen days and laid yesterday.
Today she kept going to the nest box and because she lays every other day I knew that she didn’t need to lay. I kept taking her out. Once I take her out she stays out for a few hours before returning again. She isn’t properly broody yet but she is on her way.
When I take Rusty out she puffs herself up and her tail is pointing straight up
Tail up in the nest box
Tail up out of the nest box
Now that I am more experienced with seramas I know that this tail up pose means they are are going broody. Luckily both Rusty and Freckles are completely docile broodies and they let me pick them up without any protest.
I have found that if I remove them from the nest box every time I go in they will come out of it in three days. It will then be about two weeks before they start laying again.
After a few moments Rusty is off and running and she will go into the run and scratch and dust bath.
Compared to past broodies I have had these girls are really easy to manage and I am now used to this little routine. Seramas are such easy girls to handle and I totally love this breed.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
She’s so very cute! Interesting about the tail position – it doesn;t take long for us to get to know our birds. Must be a pleasure to handle, after the horrors of Topaz, when broody!
She is cute. You are right, we get to know our girls. When Freckles first did this you asked if she might be broody but at that stage I hadn’t come across this before so I wasn’t sure. I now know that this is a feature of seramas. As soon as I lift the nest box lid and the tail goes up and over their back I know that they are going broody. It is lovely to be able to handle them with ease. It couldn’t be more different than the angry bird – Topaz.
I can so relate. My Penny keeps going broody too. They are so cute and so determined. Almost makes you wanna go get them some babies to raise up and get it out of their systems.
I know what you mean but it’s not feasible for me I’m afraid. At least the seramas come out of it quite quickly. Three or four days is usually all it takes. It does keep interrupting their laying though but it’s probably not a bad thing for them to take some breaks.
We soon learn all the signs, of our pets. Know when the are happy, know when they are ill, And with your girls know when they are broody.
We sure do know all the signs. I have become an expert in chicken language both visual and vocal.