when do chickens get broody?

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Question about broody hens and egg laying in general. I'm new at this. So If I have a rooster and he's in with my hens an my eggs become fertile they are atill fine to eat correct? And if I have fertile eggs it doesn't mean my hen will go broody right?
 
There is no difference between fertilized eggs and unfertilized eggs. They taste the same and are the same except for the possibility, under the right conditions, of developing into chicks.

I haven't had a rooster for a year now, and I have four broody hens. So, no, a rooster doesn't have any effect on whether hens go broody or not. It depends solely on a hen's DNA whether she will have than inclination.
 
That's all we have are fertilized eggs. But then, we have 4 roosters too. The fertilized eggs taste just fine. NO chicks, because they haven't been incubated by a broody for the 21 required days.

I have a new broody hen now. She is from our August 1st hatch. We didn't know if or who might go broody, as the large fowl we have do NOT have the broody genetics. This pullet is part OEGB, so she is happily sitting on her first hatch
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Fabidon said:
I could use some good advice.  I have a sex-link hen that is broody and been sitting on the nest for 3 days.  She is sweet and lets me remove the eggs but remains on the empty nest.  There are no roosters so no chance the eggs are fertile.  I picked her up to take her off the nest to put her near the water but she went right back to the nest.  I noticed she was very warm when I picked her up and she has no feathers on her chest.  Is that part of the brooding process or could she be ill?
I have Tetracycline on hand but don't want to administer any drugs unless necessary.  Should I separate her from the coop nests? Is what I explained normal behavior for a brood hen.  Oh yes, she is 14 months old.
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She's broody. They pluck the feathers from their bellies to get better heat and humidity on the eggs. She'll feel like a furnace under there!
 
Hello, I just found out that one of my 8 girls is broody. She is not sitting in any of the egg boxes, she has made her own bed on the floor of the coop. Its fall now and I don't think its a good idea for her to have babies when the cold weather is just starting to come. I don't have the time right now to care for the chicks. Its added work to separate them. Should I just keep taking her eggs from her nest? I'd much prefer she goes broody in the spring. Any suggestions?
 
PopVultureATX said:
Update: when I went out to feed my hens this evening, it was exactly the same case. She was in the box, making the angry sound. I refilled their food and water, and then just to test and see what happened, I opened the egg collection hatch and, despite her puffing up and protesting, I could easily pick her up out of the coop and put her on the ground so that I could collect the eggs. She was NOT happy, but I'm sure she'll get over it. I just hope she gets back to her lively self as opposed to sitting grumpily in a box all day on unfertilized eggs.
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One way is to feed them in the morning and then put a bucket over them until the next morning, she won't be happy but she will not be broody anymore, it's either that or wait the 21 days till the trance wears off. It always works for my hens
 

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