A couple of broody questions

[jmemom]

I have a BO that I think might be broody. There is one (and I can only assume it's the same one each time. I really don't know). Anyway, she is always slow to hop down from the nest to eat. Tonight she didn't come off of the nest to eat at all. She made a noise at me when I put my hand in. (I was giving her the egg that someone had laid on the floor.

) When I went back to check a few minutes later she had taken the egg but hadn't moved.

Did you have broody hens that "practiced" like that beforehand? Is that any sort of indicator that she has gone broody?

Also, if she is still there tomorrow, can I give her what ever eggs are laid tomorrow? I haven't gotten too many eggs per day lately

(but that's a whole other topic), so I can't imagine that she is sitting on more than maybe 5 right now.

Thanks!

 

[Johnn]

well most hens have to be chucked off there nest to eat so that natural and you dont really want to have different eggs in on different days because when the chicks hatch she might leave the nest but you never no you might be able to

 

[elmo]

It's not the best time of year to be letting a hen set eggs. The chicks would be hatching out in the dead of winter.

The other commenter is right; usually you don't want to be adding eggs to the nest after the hen has begun to incubate them because then they might not hatch within a few hours to a day or two of each other. A single day probably wouldn't make that much difference, though.

Is this hen sleeping in the nestbox at night? Usually that's a very good indication that she's well and truly broody.