What’s the deal with you chicken people??

[NatJ]

That’s interesting I knew roosters didnt sit on eggs, but they should. Eagles do, Bluejays, mockingbirds… hm

I'm pretty sure those birds pair up, on male with one female.

With chickens, while the hen is broody, the rooster is still watching over his other hens. So he still has a "job" to do in the flock, even if he is not helping sit on any of the nests.

 

[z3lda3]

I'm pretty sure those birds pair up, on male with one female.

With chickens, while the hen is broody, the rooster is still watching over his other hens. So he still has a "job" to do in the flock, even if he is not helping sit on any of the nests.

Right! That’s right! Roosters have a harem! Too busy for chicks got gals to service.

 

[z3lda3]

Sort of like that.

The body of a broody hen is making different hormones than a non-broody hen, so it is not quite like just distracting her. But sort of like that.

Do the other hens treat her differently? Is the broody one cranky like I can be, when I’m hormonal lol

 

[fluffycrow]

So “no babies under my butt, no eggs on your plate”

Yup. Although she'll stop laying for a few weeks either way. Although she'll usually return to laying sooner if she's broken right after going broody, as NatJ said

 

[z3lda3]

Yup. Although she'll stop laying for a few weeks either way. Although she'll usually return to laying sooner if she's broken right after going broody, as NatJ said

And all hens go broody I’m guessing?

 

[fluffycrow]

And all hens go broody I’m guessing?

Nope. I had been keeping chickens for 11 years before I had my first broody. Before that I had one borrowed, and that was unsuccessful. Red Sex Links will almost never go broody. At least mine never did. I have seen some that will

 

[z3lda3]

Right! That’s right! Roosters have a harem! Too busy for chicks got gals to service.

I’ve only raised from chicks. Will a rooster accept a full hen into the flock?

 

[NatJ]

Do the other hens treat her differently? Is the broody one cranky like I can be, when I’m hormonal lol

Yes, they definitely do act differently.

When the eggs hatch, the hen will want to keep all other chickens safely away from her babies. I've seen hens that insisted on 10 feet of space in all directions (this is a problem in small coops!)

While she is broody, the hen mostly sits on the nest and ignores the rest of the flock, who mostly ignore her unless they want to lay eggs in her nest. But when she does come off to eat, she practices the "leave me alone" behavior that she will use after the chicks are hatched. The other chickens mostly respect that, although not always (they may say, "you belong at the bottom of the pecking order. I won't tolerate you acting like that!")

And all hens go broody I’m guessing?

Nope. People have been deliberately breeding less-broody and non-broody hens for a long time.

Some hens go broody frequently, some rarely, some never.

I've had one hen that laid 13 eggs and went broody. After hatching & raising chicks, she laid 13 eggs and went broody. She basically did that all summer long-- great if you want to hatch lots of chicks, but awful if you want eggs.

I've had some hens that would go broody in the spring, once each year, and not the rest of the time.

And I've had ones that never went broody.

There are some breeds that are more prone to going broody than others, but breed is never a guarantee (some hens just do not read the breed description!)

In general, the hens that lay the most eggs per year are the least likely to go broody (because broodies are not laying.)

 

[RoyalChick]

Oh, well, sing Dance Magic to them and flap their wings! Baby Shark is not a hard and fast requirement, it just needs to be a song that will make people look at you as though you should be wearing a straight jacket.

Like the chicken in the tub isn't enough to achieve that?!

 

[z3lda3]

Nope. I had been keeping chickens for 11 years before I had my first broody. Before that I had one borrowed, and that was unsuccessful. Red Sex Links will almost never go broody. At least mine never did. I have seen some that will

I’ve got 4 red sex link so no broody for them I’ve got 2 legbars and Cochin bantams… hm I think I know the answer but I’m going to ask anyway, can bantam “fancy-wink wink-“ standard sized hens?