Broody hen no eggs?

Yes, this is normal. Some broody hens are just content to sit in the nest box, thinking there are eggs under her. From what you describe, she's definitely broody. The broody stare and broody sounds really make me grateful that chickens are not any bigger than a few pounds. Some of their sounds remind me of Jurassic Park.

Do you want her to incubate and hatch out chicks this time of year, with winter coming on? If so, do you have access to fertile eggs? Do you want her to incubate in the nest box, or have a separate area where other hens are not adding their eggs and potentially breaking hers?

If you want to break her broodiness, put her in a wire cage with food, water and absolutely no bedding of any kind for 2 or 3 days. It helps if the cage is off the floor, so air can circulate under it. She should resume laying in 10-14 days.

song of joy said:

Yes, this is normal. Some broody hens are just content to sit in the nest box, thinking there are eggs under her. From what you describe, she's definitely broody. The broody stare and broody sounds really make me grateful that chickens are not any bigger than a few pounds. Some of their sounds remind me of Jurassic Park.

Do you want her to incubate and hatch out chicks this time of year, with winter coming on? If so, do you have access to fertile eggs? Do you want her to incubate in the nest box, or have a separate area where other hens are not adding their eggs and potentially breaking hers?

If you want to break her broodiness, put her in a wire cage with food, water and absolutely no bedding of any kind for 2 or 3 days. It helps if the cage is off the floor, so air can circulate under it. She should resume laying in 10-14 days.

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We have a roo so yes we have fertile eggs. I was fine to let her hatch some if that is what her little heart desired. The coop is well insulated so I am not concerned from a temp stand point. But knowing she has sat this long with no eggs makes me think I may have to break her this time and see what happens next time if there is a next time.

Many broody hens will sit for at least a week longer than the 21-day incubation period, so you could still put eggs under her if you wish.

does anybody have an issue with the other hens in the flock bullying the brooder?

Here we are 5 years later, and I am experiencing what this thread was discussing.

I have a broody Golden Comet (didn't think they went broody). It's been 3 weeks (at least). I first did the whole warm Epsom salt bath thinking she might have a stuck egg ... but she pooped just fine ... tail up ... perky when released. I did the lice check and dewormed the flock. Then I switched to physically removing her from the nesting box every morning and put her in a separate run to eat and be able to assess if she's still pooping OK.

Immediately after removing her to the run, she is in a "trance-like" state (as the original creator of this thread described), but then she shakes it off and dives into to the food. Her poop is fine, her tail up and she is quite sassy. I leave her in the separate run for at least 30 minutes so the other girls can use the nesting boxes ... but once I let her go ... she b-lines it to the coop to sit on other girl's eggs.

To answer the last question in this thread ... YES ... there is one other girl in the flock of 8 that picks on my broody hen. But on the flip side, when I lock the broody hen out of the hen house she too can be quite the bully toward other girls. Go figure ... good 'ol pecking order, eh?

So I haven't tried the wire bottom cage yet ... gotta figure out where to put as it won't fit in my coop. Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!