Early signs of broody?

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Jeffross1968

Jeffross1968

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I was wondering if there are any early signs, prior to sitting on eggs and not getting up, that a hen is about to go broody? Or is it something that just happens out of the blue?
 
My hen made those funny little 'chuck-chuck' noises and scooted around with her head down and her feathers fuzzed out.

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I've only had one hen go broody. What I noticed is that she would spend more and more time in the nest box after laying her egg. For example, it would normally take her an hour. The next day would be two hours, and so on. After about day 4 or 5 (and 5 hours in the nest), she slept in the nest box rather than roosting. Freaked me out, I tell you, until I did some research. So I gave her some fertile eggs and she became a mommy
smile.png
 
Signs of a broody:

Some hens will do these even if not broody:
Puffing up on the nest
Screeching
Pecking

Signs of a more serious broody:
Plucking feathers from belly
Soft clucking sounds
Staying on nest longer than normal

And the final sign of a definite broody:
On the nest, even at night
Quit laying eggs

Not all hens will exhibit ALL the signs. I've had broodies that plucked their belly feathers and some that didn't.
 

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