Broody hen leaves the eggs (Help needed)

[Chelsea-85]

Dears all,

I am new to broody hens since this is the first time ever I had a pullet goes broody.
Yesterday, when I went to the coop to get an egg under one of my pullets, she pecked at me many times and did not let me get the egg, her feathers got bigger, she puffed up, flattened her back and spread her wings wide and started clucking. I asked a friend of mine; he said that she has gone broody.
I got 7 fertilized eggs under her, at first she sat down on them, later she left to another nesting box and slept far away from the eggs. This morning she sat down on them again but she left once again.

What should I do? Is there any broody that leaves the eggs?

 

[Chelsea-85]

Any help please?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Sometimes first time broody pullets don't really get it right.
If you can, I would put her in a space with only one nest (with the eggs) so she doesn't have other options.
A setter will still get off the nest about once a day to eat, drink, defecate and stretch. Depending on ambient temperature, that could be anywhere from 20 minutes to a couple hours.
I've had a hen sit for days and all of a sudden go back into the wrong nest.

 

[Chelsea-85]

Thank you dear, the first thing I did was separating her and putting her into another box with the eggs; she sat on them at first, later she went out and tried to go back to the other two in front of the coop, so I put her back into the original coop with a new box of the eggs. But still she sits on them and leaves after a while, on and off. I don't know, maybe she doesn't do it right.

 

[aart]

I've had birds peck and puff and flare when taking egg from under them,
even the ones who are fairly tolerant of me doing that,
it doesn't mean they are broody.

I don't separate a broody until she exhibits more broody behaviors like this:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, doesn't 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.

 

[Chelsea-85]

Thank you very much my friend, probably she is not quite broody based on your comment. Thank you so much, I will look forward to other signs.

 

[chickens really]

I confine my Broody to a crate and lock her in. I remove her every couple of days to eat, drink and poop. Then I lock her back inside the crate. That way no other Hen lays eggs in the crate and she doesn't try nesting any place else.

 

[Shadrach]

Dears all,

I am new to broody hens since this is the first time ever I had a pullet goes broody.
Yesterday, when I went to the coop to get an egg under one of my pullets, she pecked at me many times and did not let me get the egg, her feathers got bigger, she puffed up, flattened her back and spread her wings wide and started clucking. I asked a friend of mine; he said that she has gone broody.
I got 7 fertilized eggs under her, at first she sat down on them, later she left to another nesting box and slept far away from the eggs. This morning she sat down on them again but she left once again.

What should I do? Is there any broody that leaves the eggs?

As @ChickenCanoe mentions, pullets in particular, can sit for a bit and then change their mind. Sometimes they get the idea first time, other times it can take a few attempts.
What may help you in the future is the following.
Hens lock to nest sites, not to eggs so once a hen has sat it is really important that you don't disturb her if you want her to continue to sit.
Yes, you can gather up the hen and eggs and lock her in a broody coop of some sort.
A hens natural instinct is to get off her eggs every day to eat, drink and often dust bath as well as associate with her group for a while. If you confine a sitting hen they will hold their poo until it is impossible fro them to hold it any longer in order to not foul their nest.
You don't say where this hen chose to sit, but if the site was secure from predators then I would have left her.
Playing with a sitting hens eggs, (taking them out to candle them, showing them to friends etc, moving them around, may produce deformities and health issues in the chicks that hatch.
The orientation of a hens eggs in the first three and the last three days has been shown to have a significant impact on clutch success.

 

[aart]

Yes, you can gather up the hen and eggs and lock her in a broody coop of some sort.
A hens natural instinct is to get off her eggs every day to eat, drink and often dust bath as well as associate with her group for a while. If you confine a sitting hen they will hold their poo until it is impossible fro them to hold it any longer in order to not foul their nest.

Well, that's why you give enough space to do those things...
....you don't just lock them into a nest sized place.

 

[Shadrach]

Well, that's why you give enough space to do those things...
....you don't just lock them into a nest sized place.

It seems some people do.