How do I know if my hen is Broody?

Date sort Score sort
horsepowerhaven

horsepowerhaven

In the Brooder
10 Years
Dec 20, 2009
65
1
39
Queen Creek, Arizona
I have a hen that has been laying on her (and my other hen's) eggs quite a bit. She does get off of them too. I've never dealt with this before, as I've only had hens for about 6 months now (I got them as adults).

Do broody hens get off the eggs? If yes, for how long? I'm trying to decide if I should collect the eggs or let her hatch them.

Also, it is really hot here in Phoenix right now. Should I collect the eggs and wait until fall when it is cooler for letting a hen hatch some eggs?

I just lost a hen exepectedly and I'd like to have a few more...

Thanks!
 
Broody hens typically puff up thier feathers and kind of "growl" when they are nesting and someone approaches. They spend very little time off the nest, certainly less than 30 minutes, maybe once or twice a day. Does you hen act that way??? And more importantly, do you have a rooster??? 'Cause nothing ain't hatching anyway unless you have a rooster
tongue.png
 
I just had a broody bantam cochin. She was ALWAYS in the nest box for 3 days straight. We took her out of the nest box, carried her around for a bit, put her back in the run with the rest of the hens, and as soon as we turn our backs she quietly slipped away and went back to the nest box. We have decoy eggs in the boxes, so we took them out of the one she was in, and she laid an eggs the first day, the then the next two days...no eggs. We placed her in a broody breaking box for 3 days and she is back hanging with the other hen. She was definitely broody. We don't have a rooster, and she was sitting on nothing but straw.
 
Yes, I have a Rooster.
big_smile.png


I have one hen that growls at me all the time if I reach under her to get eggs--but she isn't the broody one.

This chicken does growl if you reach under her, but she got off the nest for longer than 30 minutes today to eat and drink. But she has been spending way more time on the nest than she normally does...

Thanks--any other advice?
 
If you want her to hatch the eggs and have chicks, maybe you let her do that. I don't have a rooster or want anymore chickens at the moment, so I stuck mine in the broody breaking box.
 
She may be "thinking about" going broody, but it hasn't kicked in full force yet. Yeah, my BO will growl when she's on the nest, but nothing like a broody...lol. A broody will also wear a glazed/glassy expression...even when you pick them up off the nest. And as someone else mentioned, if you take her off and set her outside, she will generally make a beeline back to the nest, at least when in full force broody mood. My GLW acted "off" a few days before she went broody...I guess it hadn't set in full force yet. So maybe that's where your girl is??? But trust me, when if fills like you need a crowbar to pry her off the nest, she's there...
 
Where does she sleep at night? If she leaves the nest to roost with the rest of the chickens, she's not broody yet. If she sits tight in the nest, that's a sign that she's getting down to business.
 
Well, she was still laying eggs and getting off the nest for more than 30 minutes at a time, so I took the eggs away. I think it might be too hot here right now anyway, I need to check with some local feed stores.

I'd like a hen to hatch some at some point, but right now I just like eating the eggs. :)
 
I have a hen that sleeps in the nesting box but spends most of the day outside. I have fake eggs in the boxes and she sits on the same one everyday. Is this a sign of being broody or is my roost just too high. That's what I thought at first because she has never really got up there. But my roost is only ten inches higher then the nesting box she is in and there is a ladder up to the roost not to the box
 

Similar threads

M
Broody hen almost a mum
Replies
2
Views
386
Meginvic
M
RiDaGeckoGuy
What do I do
2
Replies
10
Views
762
RiDaGeckoGuy
RiDaGeckoGuy
PMD PerformanceHorses
Broody Hen
Replies
3
Views
851
MommyGirl
MommyGirl
WaterfowlsPoultry
    • Like
Hen became a mom, First time having chicks, any tips?
2 3 4
Replies
33
Views
557
WaterfowlsPoultry
WaterfowlsPoultry
BarnyardChaos
    • Like
Rooster forgot his job, or...?
Replies
9
Views
720
BarnyardChaos
BarnyardChaos

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom