Broody Hen question

[TT43]

My hen is showing signs of being broody. She sits on all the eggs, all night and half the next day but then leaves for hours to look for bugs, etc with the others. Then the eggs get cold. Is she broken, lol?

 

[centrarchid]

If she comes back, probably not. My hens come off the nest for an hour or two each day to forage. Clutch temperature drops to ambient, yet hatch rate good.

 

[aart]

My hen is showing signs of being broody. She sits on all the eggs, all night and half the next day but then leaves for hours to look for bugs, etc with the others. Then the eggs get cold. Is she broken, lol?

You should not leave eggs in the nest all night, gather them daily.
Use fake eggs o you want to 'bait' a 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.

 

[TT43]

She does stay fluffed up most of the time when she's out foraging and is very moody. So I should take all of the eggs and put fakes in there? For how long and when do I leave the real eggs?

 

[centrarchid]

Need to clarify her use, egg production or chick production as a broody hen.

 

[TT43]

You should not leave eggs in the nest all night, gather them daily.
Use fake eggs o you want to 'bait' a 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.

She's the one on the left. She's the oldest (9 months) and normally the nicest.

 

[TT43]

Need to clarify her use, egg production or chick production as a broody hen.

Idk, I'm new at this. Doesn't really matter to me. We've been eating the eggs so far but it would be nice to have some littles as well.

 

[aart]

She does stay fluffed up most of the time when she's out foraging and is very moody. So I should take all of the eggs and put fakes in there? For how long and when do I leave the real eggs?

Yes. Leave them until you see this the behaviors I listed above.
Do you have a rooster?

Idk, I'm new at this. Doesn't really matter to me. We've been eating the eggs so far but it would be nice to have some littles as well.

things t think about before allowing a broody to hatch:
-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'?

 

[TT43]

Yes. Leave them until you see this the behaviors I listed above.
Do you have a rooster?

things t think about before allowing a broody to hatch:
-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'?

We have plenty of room and yes, we have a rooster and fertile eggs. Some should be hatching in the next day or so from an incubator. We plan in eating most of them.

 

[centrarchid]

We have plenty of room and yes, we have a rooster and fertile eggs. Some should be hatching in the next day or so from an incubator. We plan in eating most of them.

You may even find a market for excess laying pullets. I am having to make changes to growout more to point to point of lay than originally anticipated, and despite not being stellar egg producers, I bet most will be easy to sell.