Are Broodies always rudie...

[Bettyboop7499]

Okay, so now I have four broody hens!! Is broodiness contagious?! They are all the same age, I'm just shocked they are broody at the same time..

No, I am not letting all those eggs hatch! I'll let each set on a couple of eggs to keep natural process going. Remove the new eggs every day. I'm the predator of nature I guess Also, One isn't as sweet as the others..

Also, new in the coop, I had a young Silkie and EE Rooster on the top rung last Night! Maybe with the four nesting they sought an opportunity!

 

[Bettyboop7499]

I've just been watching a senior hen hustle a junior hen off a pile of eggs. I'm up to my twenty second case of broodiness this year.
I've taken to letting those I don't want to sit and hatch, sit for three days to make sure their egg laying cycle switches off. This helps give them a rest in the peak laying months and hopefully, may extend their lives a bit. I free range and have a multiple coop system and this allows me to take a course that others may not have the facilities to take. I do intervene at times, I've recently had to lock a broody hens sister out of the coop during the day because they were taking turns in sitting and while no eggs got broken and nobody got hurt, one of the hens hatched some chicks earlier this year and lost two through neglect basically. Not all hens make great mums.

How quick can they lay a clutch of eggs? The new one had a ton of eggs under her-I was like where did these come from! I did notice a hen had apparently laid an egg on the roost the night before. It was a soft shell-made a mess everywhere! But very abnormal.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I find broodiness is very contagious.

My non-broody hens will gift the broody ones many eggs.

 

[Shadrach]

How quick can they lay a clutch of eggs? The new one had a ton of eggs under her-I was like where did these come from! I did notice a hen had apparently laid an egg on the roost the night before. It was a soft shell-made a mess everywhere! But very abnormal.

One a day is normal but as @21hens-incharge points out below she's probably got her mates around to help out.

 

[Bettyboop7499]

Yeah, my RIR is nesting in the "favorite" nest box...most of the hens will find another box reluctantly but my Barred Rocks will sit Right on top of her!