Brooding chicken

[kaleb kirkland]

will brooding chicken stop brooding if they get chicks

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. A hen will happily hatch fertile eggs and brood chicks. If you do not want to hatch chicks, then you can break her broodiness. This link explains how - https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/181289/how-to-break-a-broody-hen

Best wishes
CT

 

[drumstick diva]

Some breeds are intensely broody, and after one set of chicks is on their own, they go right back to trying to hatch out more eggs.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, kaleb kirkland, and

! Happy you joined our community. Best of luck with your broody hen.

 

[QueenMisha]

Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you. Giving a hen chicks can break her of broodiness, however in some cases she may reject and kill the chicks. It will depend on the hen. The chicks must be young (1-3 days) for introduction to be successful.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[LaurasLeonard]

How do I know if my hens want to brood??? I pick up the eggs daily, maybe I'm not giving them a chance. Thanks

 

[LaurasLeonard]

How do I know if my hens want to brood??? I pick up the eggs daily, maybe I'm not giving them a chance. Thanks

 

[Teila]

Howdy LaurasLeonard

Some hens will go broody and some will not. While leaving the eggs in the nest may encourage a hen who is in the early stages of going broody; if a hen is not prone to going broody, no amount of eggs in the nest box is going to turn her.

If a hen is broody she will sit on whatever she can, including an empty nest, a rock, a fake egg; pretty much anything

Usually, with broodies, there is no doubt as to whether they are broody or not.

Some signs that a hen is broody are:
Sitting in the nest box for an extended period of time; only taking a break once or twice a day to have something to eat and drink and deposit a huge and rather smelly broody poop.
Fluffing up and/or screeching and pecking if you try to move her.
Stealing or gathering eggs from another nest box and sitting on them.
Choosing to sleep in the nest box rather than on the roost.
Constantly running back to the nest box no matter how many times you move her [not to be mistaken for actually wanting to lay an egg].

One way to test if a hen on the nest is broody is to place an egg in front of her; if she rolls it under and snuggles onto it, you likely have a broody.

I have some serious broodies

Planking because she can not actually get to the nest:


Trying to break into the coop:


Fluffing up:

 

[Lindastev]

I think I have my 1st brooding hen! The nests are raised so do I need to put her on the floor in a somewhat protected area? I worry that she won't eat and drink. How many days will she set on her eggs? Any suggestions wound be great thank you!