Brooding at 7 months

[Bocephus1]

I have a speckled Sussex that is 7 mos. old that seems to be brooding. How common is this at this age? She’s been laying for almost 2 mos. She lays the smallest eggs of my 5 but they also seem to have the strongest shells.
For now, she seems to brood all morning and will come out in early afternoon. I have been finding eggs from her. I just hope she doesn’t brood regularly.
Thanks for your input.

 

[THEChIcKeNwhisperer354]

Chickens usaly only go broody in the spring if you want to stop this you can take the eggs from her but, if you don't then seperate her from the flock or the other hens will kill the chicks.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If you don't want her to brood, don't let her. If you do want chicks, if she isn't the bottom two birds in the rankings, you can leave her with the flock to hatch out. Makes integration easier in my opinion.

 

[Yardmom]

Not uncommon for a pullet to become broody after they have been laying for a month or two. A serious broody hen will stay on the nest day and night. Chickens can go broody anytime of year. I have a pullet similar in age that hatched chicks in February. I along with many others let broody hens in with the flock. Moms can be great protectors. If you do let her set, make sure all eggs start at once. Do not let others add eggs.

 

[Bocephus1]

I forgot to say. There are no Roos in my small flock. Also, don’t think I want to grow the flock any larger, otherwise the coop will get too crowded.

 

[Bocephus1]

Also wanted to ask. Should I disturb her in the morning to get her off the nest?

 

[Yardmom]

Start by taking away eggs as much as possible. Yes you should take her off the nest if you can. You said she is still laying, so make sure she has a chance to lay first. If she insists on staying on the nest day and night even after you have removed all eggs you may need to cage her to break her broodiness.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you don't want to hatch, best to break her, especially since she's still young and may not have as much fat reserve as an older bird.

Broody jail: Put her in an isolation cage with some food and water, in sight of the others (in the coop if it's not too hot or in/near the run is ideal). A wire cage elevated to air flow under her would be the best option, however I've used everything from a brooder to a dog exercise pen.

Keep her in the cage around the clock for about 2 days. At that time, if she's shows fewer signs of broodiness (puffing up, flattening down and growling, tik tik tik noise) you can let her out to test her. If she runs back to the nest at any point (usually they don't do it immediately, but maybe after 15 minutes, maybe an hour) then she's not yet sufficiently broken and needs to go back to the cage for another 24 hours. Then let her out and test her again. Repeat until she's no longer going to the nest box.

IF the isolation cage is not safe for overnight stay (i.e. sits outside the run) then put her on the roost at night, and retrieve her from the nest box the next morning and put her back in the cage. It may take a little longer this way but better than letting a predator get to her.

 

[aart]

I have a speckled Sussex that is 7 mos. old that seems to be brooding. How common is this at this age? She’s been laying for almost 2 mos. She lays the smallest eggs of my 5 but they also seem to have the strongest shells.
For now, she seems to brood all morning and will come out in early afternoon. I have been finding eggs from her. I just hope she doesn’t brood regularly.
Thanks for your input.

Sounds more like a 'lounger' than a broody.

Here's my go-to signs of a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

​

 

[adstowe]

If she's still laying and comes out in the afternoon that doesn't sound broody to me. Maybe confused teenager hormones. IF she is broody you need to break her of it though. You have no rooster, so the eggs aren't fertile and having her spend a month trying to hatch them is not a responsible approach.