Broody hen?

[PoultryLoverandfarmer]

So... today one of my hens laid an egg and.... She kept sitting on it I moved the egg to a different nesting box because that one was dirty and she went straight back to sitting on the egg.... My other hen tried to take over her egg to sit on and.... She would not get off the egg then the other hen wanted to lay an egg too.... I did have some grocery eggs and so I put them by her side and she took them... I don't know if she is broody and she made the other hen broody but I do have a rooster so there is a chance the egg is fertile.... any ideas if she is broody? I have never dealt with a broody hen in my life so.... Xd

 

[sourland]

Some hens will linger in the nest box for a bit after laying. If she stays in the nest over night, she is most likely going broody.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

She's not really broody unless she's sitting at ignt, and day. Also,she'll stop laying. Hens or ally le to sit on their eggs a while after they at them. I think it gives them a sense of accomplishment.

 

[Shadow Source]

So... today one of my hens laid an egg and.... She kept sitting on it I moved the egg to a different nesting box because that one was dirty and she went straight back to sitting on the egg.... My other hen tried to take over her egg to sit on and.... She would not get off the egg then the other hen wanted to lay an egg too.... I did have some grocery eggs and so I put them by her side and she took them... I don't know if she is broody and she made the other hen broody but I do have a rooster so there is a chance the egg is fertile.... any ideas if she is broody? I have never dealt with a broody hen in my life so.... Xd

Just today I had a hen that I thought was broody. She had laid an egg, but she was being kind of protective of the egg, she even growled at me. I gave her some dummy eggs just to see what would happen, and after about an hour she got off the eggs.

 

[aart]

Some hens will linger in the nest box for a bit after laying.

Yes, the 'Loungers'.

a different nesting box because that one was dirty

Why was it 'dirty'?
Are they sleeping in the nests at night?
If so, it's a bad habit,IMO, that would be good to break.
Makes for poopy eggs and hard to discern a broody hen.

As far as broody behavior here's some clues:
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 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.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

my hen has been sitting on a golf ball for four days, I have started picking her up and putting her in front of the water dish 2-3 times a day, the first day she didn't get off at all and is totally pale and m-e-a-n; when I locked her out of the nest box at night she slept inches from the nest that had "her" golf ball....ugh. I don't have a roo, I don't want her to be broody, any good tips to stop this!?

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

my hen has been sitting on a golf ball for four days, I have started picking her up and putting her in front of the water dish 2-3 times a day, the first day she didn't get off at all and is totally pale and m-e-a-n; when I locked her out of the nest box at night she slept inches from the nest that had "her" golf ball....ugh. I don't have a roo, I don't want her to be broody, any good tips to stop this!?

I had a hen do that. Go in after it's dark and place her on the roost. She should stay there.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

k, just got dark, let me see if I can move her, she pecked me yesterday when I pushed her down the ramp -- for food and water, so, today I picked her up and tucked her in my arm and she was ok (placed her in front of the water dish) and she was a little nicer, what a pain -- thanks! good luck @PoultryLoverandfarmer !!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I've tried putting broodies on the roost at night but they usually end up going back to the nest the next day.

To OP: if your bird is staying off the nest then that's great, but if not, you'll need to lock her up somewhere away from the nest until she no longer is trying to get back or displaying other broody behaviors. A wire crate with food and water is very good for this. It takes about 3 days on average to break them this way.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I've tried putting broodies on the roost at night but they usually end up going back to the nest the next day.

Mine do the same, but it still works for me. Takes about a week. In addition I have tried disrupting their routine by removing them from the nest several times during the day and hauling them off so they'd have to walk back, but that didn't seem to make any difference. I'm guessing 10-12 hours on the roost at night is enough to break them, even though they brood during the day. May not work for everyone's chooks, but it works for mine.