broody hen for the first time, need advice!

[birdbrain5]

my little RIR bantam has been sitting in the nest box for a couple days, i took her out lastnight and put her up on the roost and took two eggs out of the box, one was hers one was not. she went back in, and this morning when i went to see her she didnt want me touching her at all and shes usually very sweet! should i let her set eggs? i dont know if theres anything under her now.. ive never had a broody before so i dont know what to do or expect.. will she lay more eggs and continue to sit? or was she just trying to set those two eggs that were under her? should i put them back under her? shes only in with my other pullet because i lost one of my other hens so now my other pullet seems lonely since shes always in the nest box. also, should i add another box so the pullet has somewhere to lay? im not even sure this hen is fertile anymore, i seperated her from the rooster almost 2 weeks ago... any advice would be great!

 

[elmo]

Once a hen goes broody, she typically won't add any more eggs to the clutch. Eggs could still be fertile up to two weeks after access to a rooster had ended, but that's a bit uncertain. If you want chicks, take some eggs that you know are fertile and slip them under your broody.

Usually it's best to separate the broody from the rest of the flock so eggs don't get added to the clutch and end up giving you a "staggered hatch" : when eggs don't start incubation at the same time, they won't hatch at the same time. It also helps avoid problems of the broody being scared off the clutch by another hen, etc.

 

[birdbrain5]

ok, can i break her of being broody if i wanted to? how would i do this? also, if i put my hand in there she makes noises at me, is she going to attack me? lol

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
It's not that easy. If you have a cage that has a wire bottom it's the best thing to use. Put her in there without any bedding or anything. The key is to make sure she has air flow on her bottom. I was able to break one in 3 days like this. But sometimes they say it can take up to a week!

Good luck!

 

[Ridgerunner]

These threads may help you, whichever way you decide to go.

Isolate a Broody? Thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=213218

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