Brooding Hen

[Laguna Chicken]

I have a hen (Americana) who has been sitting on fake eggs in the nest box for 4 days. She still lays an egg a day, which we take out.....I was wondering how long she should be allowed to sit on fake eggs? We initially put 2 fake eggs in the nest box because we had one hen (Plymouth rock) who her egg outside of the nest box. Placing 2 fake brown eggs in the nest box was recommended by the attendant at the feed store I frequent. I didn't expect the blue egg layer to sit on brown eggs. New to raising chickens......

 

[donrae]

If she's still laying eggs, she's not broody. A broody hen doesn't lay anymore and sleeps on the nest. Sounds like you hen's just found a cool place to hang for a while!

 

[Laguna Chicken]

She sleeps in the nest box. Could she be sitting on the other blue egg layer's eggs. She just fluffs up when I reach under her. I have taken her out of the nest box, but she just goes back in. When you say a broody hen doesn't lay eggs, is it for a period of time or permanent. She just turned a year old in April. Do you think she will ever lay again?

 

[donrae]

When the hormones in a hen's brain tell her to hatch eggs, she stops laying. In her mind, however many eggs are under her are her clutch. An egg needs to incubate 21 days. If she continued to lay eggs, the first ones would hatch and the last ones would only be partially developed. She quits laying so all the eggs hatch over a 2 day time frame, to ensure the most surviving chicks. She then does not lay until the babies are older, anywhere from 4 weeks on to 8 weeks is a normal time frame to start laying again.

If you don't have a rooster and don't want chicks, I'd encourage you to look around here for threads on breaking a broody. Several techniques work well. First thing would be taking the fake eggs out and keeping eggs out of the nest. Past that, you need to prevent her access to the nest.

 

[Laguna Chicken]

Donrae- thank you for your help. I feel like I'm taking Chickens 101! I had no idea what I was getting into when I adopted these chickens a few of months ago. I am not finding raising chickens as easy as others have stated, but I do enjoy their personalities. Thanks again for responding.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Break a Broody Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2176186#p2176186

Donrae is right. A hen that is truly broody stops laying eggs for exactly the reason given, but she will start back when she finishes raising her chicks or is broken from being broody. Plus it takes a lot of energy and nutrition to make and lay an egg. A broody setting on the nest usually eats only once a day so she doesn’t eat enough to make eggs. And when she is raising chicks, she can’t take time off from taking care of the chicks to lay an egg. Are you absolutely sure another hen isn’t laying that brown egg? And is it a normal size? A broody shouldn’t be eating enough to make a regular sized egg.

A broody will set on golf balls, ping pong balls, plastic Easter eggs (any color), ceramic eggs, turkey, goose, pheasant, or duck eggs, or just her imagination.

My normal test to see if a hen is truly broody enough for eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of in her normal roosting place. Sounds like yours is doing that. A broody will spend most of the day on the nest also. In hot weather I’ve seen a broody come off the nest for over an hour at a time sometimes twice a day to eat, drink, and poop. In cold weather they normally come off less often and for shorter times.

There are other things that indicate a hen might be broody. When she’s off the nest, she walks around fluffed up and making a regular pocking sound. They are often defensive of their nests, but I’ve had plenty of hens that are not broody fluff up and peck me if I reach under them when they are laying an egg. I’ve had broodies that did not peck me when I reach under them. If you take them off the nest they might immediately go back to the nest or they might eat, drink, and poop while they are off, but they do return to the nest.

I’ve also had some fake being broody, pocking or spending a lot of time on the nest. The hormones are acting up but they have not kicked over into full broody mode. That’s why I do that two night test. They often continue to lay eggs before they kick over to full broody mode.

I have a broody right now that walked around for a few days making that pocking sound and a bit fluffed up, then spent one night on the nest. The next night she was on the roost, but the net two nights she was on the nest. I gave her some eggs about a week ago and she is doing great.

If yours is still laying an egg and is spending every night and most of the day on the nest, something just doesn’t sound right, especially if it is a regular sized egg. Maybe her body hasn’t full kicked over to full broody mode? There are millions upon millions of chickens. Maybe you got the one chicken in the whole world that just doesn’t get it right, but that just doesn’t sound right. There has to be something going on.

Something I have seen happen, though this has been with younger chicks that were raised by a broody. The broody takes them to the roost and protects them there, but when she weans them she leaves them on their own. I’ve seen another hen become so mean to them that they quit roosting and find a safer place to spend the night. That could be on the nest. I’ve never seen a grown hen do that, but I don’t know how much room you have on the roosts. Each of us have our own unique situations.

Anyway, I suggest you try to break her. I’ve found that raised wire bottomed cage to be effective.

Good luck. And trust me. It’s not usually this dramatic.