I just dealt with that situation. My broody sat on the nest for about 2 weeks and she just lost so much weight. I started just taking her out in the evening and locking the doors to the run and the coop. She would get something to eat and something to drink and poop but then would want to go back in. I just continued for the next week to take her out every morning, mid day and in the evening I would lock the door for about two hours. She has snapped out of it now over the past couple days! She is hanging with the flock again, thank God! She came out this morning with the rest of the flock! Maybe tonight she will go on the roost. If you want to hatch out some eggs I would wait until she acted like that for the next week. When they are truly brooding, they will not leave the nest for anything!View attachment 1715992 Hey,
I’m a year into chickens and wondered if I have a broody hen and how do I know for sure.
Here’s a little info to start, I collect our eggs once or twice a day. I was gone all day yesterday so when I went out last night around 6:30 there was a hen on a nest. She made dinosaur sounds when I walked in. I was out about 20 minutes and she was still there when I was heading back in so I left her alone. My husband went out later to lock everyone up and she was still on the nest. This morning she wasn’t on there but there were a couple of eggs in the nest. What do I do? Leave the eggs there and see if she spends more time in there. I’ll be leaving for work in a bit and will be gone all day. If she isn’t broody, I don’t want to leave the eggs sitting. If she is, I wouldn’t mind her hatching a few eggs. Do I mark them? This is an area I’m completely clueless in.