Broody hen or what??

[Areeba]

Hi there,
Hope all of you are fine. i have a hen, sitting on her eggs during night but at day time she runs and plays with other girls just sits for sometime.. she is still laying....so is she broody?? what are the signs for broody hen??
Thanks,

 

[aoxa]

Signs of a broody hen:

• Sits day and night on the nest
• Will kill you if you touch her eggs.
• Screams bloody murder if you approach her.
• Walks around like she has to poop (wings spread and poofed out)
• Bawks while she walks. Little tiny sounds. If you have ever seen a hen with chicks, you'll know what sound I mean.
• Holds her poop while on the nest, and lets a rip as soon as she leaves.
• The poop will stink more than your brain can imagine. I mean repulsive, deathly smells. Something has died in her bowels.
• She will stop laying.

Sounds to me like she is threatening to go broody, but not quite there yet.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

That does not sound like a broody hen to me. It seems like she is just sleeping in the box. Was she roosting before? Is she being picked on by the other birds? How high are your roosts?

Usually when a hen goes broody she will rarely eat or drinking and spend all day and night in the nest. She will lose some of her belly feathers and because she is not eating will usually lose some weight. She will not lay any eggs while she is broody. It is a very significant behavior change.

I would try to figure out why she doesn't want to roost. Block off the boxes at night so she can not sleep there and hopefully she will start roosting again and break this habit.

 

[aoxa]

That does not sound like a broody hen to me. It seems like she is just sleeping in the box. Was she roosting before? Is she being picked on by the other birds? How high are your roosts?

Usually when a hen goes broody she will rarely eat or drinking and spend all day and night in the nest. She will lose some of her belly feathers and because she is not eating will usually lose some weight. She will not lay any eggs while she is broody. It is a very significant behavior change.

I would try to figure out why she doesn't want to roost. Block off the boxes at night so she can not sleep there and hopefully she will start roosting again and break this habit.

I would agree with this - especially if your hen is not holding her poop. If she is holding her poop, she is definitely showing signs of broodiness.

 

[Areeba]

thanks for the quick response. Hmm...yea she was roosting before with the other girls but now she sits in her nest box. when i wakeup i see heaps of poop out of the nest box. when i open the coop door to give them treat she also runs for that

 

[aoxa]

thanks for the quick response. Hmm...yea she was roosting before with the other girls but now she sits in her nest box. when i wakeup i see heaps of poop out of the nest box. when i open the coop door to give them treat she also runs for that

Then she is not broody, and is only sleeping there for who knows why. Chickens make us play guessing games daily, don't they?

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Make sure your roosts are higher than your nests or this will be a continual problem. Chickens can be mean so it is possible that she is getting pecked at on the roosts and went looking for a safer place. You can watch them as they go to bed and see if anything is going on. If something is, maybe add one more roost so she can get away if she wants. The roosts could be too high or too crowded. Or, she could just be silly. Silly is just as likely as anything else.

I would block off the nest just before bedtime and then watch them go to roost. Once she has roosted a few nights you can stop blocking it and she should just go with the new routine.