Chicken (hatching egg)

[Dollie 1]

How long will a chicken seat on a egg to get it hatched,witch way will she act&will she get up to eat or drink,we have one that is on a nest &is very aggressive.What should we do with her

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If the egg is fertile it will hatch in 20-21 days, if it's infertile they will sit on eggs until they start to stink sometimes. If your hen is broody, she will sit on a nest and growl, puff up and act aggressively. You can put her to work hatching fertile eggs, or you can break her of her broodiness by putting her in a wire bottom pen off the ground so that she can cool her underside, which will break her from the broodiness, which is a hormonal state, it will take from 2-7 days depending on how long she has been broody.

A broody hen will get off the nest once a day to eat, drink, poop, and dust bathe, for around 15-20 minutes, then she returns to her nest.

 

[Dollie 1]

I think we have a Broody chicken,she puffs up an makes funny noises and is very aggressive.she is not laying on a egg,an the other chickens don't want anything to do with her.what do we need to do with her. HELP!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

OldHen is at least real close to right. I’ve had eggs under a broody hatch two full days early. Others I trust have said they’ve had eggs hatch more than three days late under a broody. It’s not always 20 or 21 days. Most will hatch pretty close to 21 days but the range is greater than that. Darn chickens are just not consistent in much of anything they do. Other than the 20-21 day comment, that advice is spot on.

Before I type a whole lot, which I often do, you need to tell us what you want to happen. Do you want her to hatch eggs? Do you want to break her from being broody? Do you want to get some day old chicks and let her raise them? I could fill two or three pages trying to cover all of these situations.

But you need to check to see if she is truly broody before you do too much. From what you say she probably is broody. I’ve had plenty of hens act broody but not really be broody. It is a hormonal thing and sometimes hormones can play tricks. My test to see if a hen is truly broody is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her normal spot on the roosts. I’ve had hens spend one night on the nest and then stop, but I’ve never had a hen spend two consecutive nights on the nest and then break on her own. As inconsistent as chickens can be I’m sure others have but I haven’t seen it.

 

[Dollie 1]

There is no egg,but is very aggressive to any body that goes by her,she puffs up ,squacks an trys to bite you.The other chickens don't want anything to do with her.She wouldn't get off the nest. What shell we do,anything else you need to know.

 

[Dollie 1]

What do we do with her there is no egg ,an she is very aggressive to anybody that goes by her

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you want her to hatch eggs or do you want her to not be broody anymore?

If you want to break her form being broody, do what OldHen said. If you want her to hatch eggs, tell us and we’ll talk ab out it.

 

[beginnergirl]

I just had a pullet who was acting broody (growling, sitting on nest, puffing up her feathers when anyone got near her). She stopped being broody after we had a cold snap here (34F). I let her out in the yard in the morning when it was cold. Usually I wait until later in the day. At first she didn't leave the nest but for some reason went out to free range.

Thankfully for me she stopped sitting on the nest. I kept removing eggs. She was NOT happy but did not peck me. Just made a lot of noise when I reached under her. She refused her favorite food when she was on the nest and though she did get off the nest briefly to eat and poo, she lost weight in the 5-7 days she was acting broody.

So do decide what you want to do so your girl won't lose too much weight. My girl probably wouldn't have kept eggs viable as she did roost at least one night.

 

[Dollie 1]

I would perfer that she not hatch a egg now .So what do we do ,with her now

 

[beginnergirl]

Look at the post from Old Hen likes dogs in this thread or search broody breaking. As my name says, I am a beginner but the gist is to put your girl in a crate or dog kennel inside the coop. There are harsher methods but my chickens are pets and I wanted to be gentle with my girl. By keeping your hen with the others, it will be easier to integrate her with the others.