Broody a month into laying?

[Wainbowmudd]

My BO started laying a month ago and has started to exhibit broodiness already. She’s still laying and not in the nest all day but definitely more than usual and growls if you dare disturb her. Is there any harm in just letting her go? She will not be hatching chicks. Or do I have to break her of it?

 

[Wainbowmudd]

 

[bobbi-j]

My BO started laying a month ago and has started to exhibit broodiness already. She’s still laying and not in the nest all day but definitely more than usual and growls if you dare disturb her. Is there any harm in just letting her go? She will not be hatching chicks. Or do I have to break her of it?

I would wait until she’s sitting on the nest day and night for a couple of days at least before I worry about it. If she does indeed go broody, you can either wait her out and keep taking her eggs away, or put her in a broody buster. @aart has great pictures of one, and experience on using it.

 

[aart]

My BO started laying a month ago and has started to exhibit broodiness already. She’s still laying and not in the nest all day but definitely more than usual and growls if you dare disturb her.

Lounging in the nest and growling if disturbed does not necessarily mean she's broody.

These are 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.

​

If she is broody and you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

 

[Wainbowmudd]

I think it’s definitely coming. I haven’t seen her out of the box today. It’s bedtime and shes not heading to the roost like usual. I feel bad trying to break her

 

[RoosterML]

My advice get some fertile eggs and give them to her. Yes I had a Maran last year I’m not even sure she gave me a dozen eggs before she went broody.

 

[aart]

I think it’s definitely coming. I haven’t seen her out of the box today. It’s bedtime and shes not heading to the roost like usual. I feel bad trying to break her

Check for the other signs I posted.
She'll be fine being broken, the sooner you catch it the better and easier it will be...but...


You'll need to decide if you want her to hatch out some chicks, and how you will 'manage' it.
Do you have, or can you get, some fertile eggs?
Do you have the space needed? Both for more chickens and she may need to be separated by wire from the rest of the flock.
Do you have a plan on what to do with the inevitable males? Rehome, butcher, keep in separate 'bachelor pad'?


When I have a broody and want her to hatch I wait until she's been in the nest most the day and all night for 2-3 days...along with those other signs I posted.

Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.
Then I give her fresh fertile eggs and mark the calendar.

I like them separated by wire from the flock, it's just easier all around.
No having to mark eggs and remove any additions daily, no taking up a laying nest, no going back to the wrong nest after the daily constitutional.

I remove barrier about one week after hatch. The chicks are usually safe it's the broody who has to 'fight' her way back into the pecking order...which can be quick or take a few days.

Lots of space helps for re-integration.


If you let her hatch, no matter how you set it up,
this is a great thread for reference and to ask questions:
It's a long one but just start reading the first few pages, then browse thru some more at random. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/broody-hen-thread.496101/

 

[Wainbowmudd]

Thanks for the advice. She slept in the box last night. I took her egg and the fake egg she was sitting on.

I definitely don’t want any more chickens, we are content with our 6. I don’t have any males so no chance of it naturally occurring thankfully.

I’ve seen a couple people say they just keep collecting eggs and let them naturally come out of it... is this a bad idea? I’m tempted to try it.

She is taking up part of the box that only one other chicken lays in and she resorted to the other side yesterday so I’m not too worried about her taking up space.

 

[aart]

I’ve seen a couple people say they just keep collecting eggs and let them naturally come out of it... is this a bad idea? I’m tempted to try it.

Better to break them asap, IMO.

A newly laying pullet can be easy to break.
Toss her out of the nest multiple times a day,
and put her on the roost at night(might have to block nests).

But using a crate is quicker and easier on everyone in the long run,
especially if you don't have time to do the nest tossing.

 

[bobbi-j]

Better to break them asap, IMO.

A newly laying pullet can be easy to break.
Toss her out of the nest multiple times a day,
and put her on the roost at night(might have to block nests).

But using a crate is quicker and easier on everyone in the long run,
especially if you don't have time to do the nest tossing.

Agreed. A broody hen typically only gets off the nest once a day to eat and drink. They lose good body condition while they set. (I’m not against having a broody hatch, I let them hatch when I have them, and mint have ever been harmed by it.) If you’re not going to have her hatch chicks, there is no reason to let her get in that condition.