broody hen?

[ninjascrub69]

every time my hen goes to her nest to lay an egg she spreads her wings over her eggs and makes sure they're all under her, but she still lays her egg and gets off the nest for the rest of the day. The nest only has 5 eggs in it, does she not have enough eggs? or is she just not broody?

 

[ninjascrub69]

anyone?

 

[Cowgirl71]

Doesn't sound like she's broody to me...

I know mine are broody when...

(1) They stay on the nest overnight (rather than roosting with the others)
(2) When I lift them out of the nest and set them on the ground, they puff out all of their feathers, usually clucking, and sometimes aggresive to the barn cat, Jemimah, who literally lives with the hens (usually they barely glance at her).

Jemimah uses the chicken door, drinks out of the waterers, eats out of the feeders, sleeps in the nest boxes, and rubs and scratches herself on the hens, LOL.

 

[ninjascrub69]

oh well, i'll get some broodys when my modern game hens start laying.

 

[kano]

Quote:
This are signals....he is all bristly, wth the wings open, clucking ( cluck, cluck, cluck,) she sleeps in the nestbox, she does't move and try to peak you if you touch her.....she changes a lot.

 

[pgpoultry]

Hens often behave like this in the run up too being fully broody.

Almost all of mine have spent longer and longer in the same place sitting on an egg they have just laid for longer periods of time over 3 or 4 days....then they just stay there all the time. At this stage I give them fertile eggs.

Sandie

 

[PunkinPeep]

I agree with pgpoultry. It sounds like she may be still collecting her clutch and isn't ready to set yet. I have those that do this from time to time. Sometimes they go fully broody, and sometimes they kind of give up. When they're full on broody and spending all day and all night in the nest, then i will give them some eggs.

 

[ninjascrub69]

Quote:
I'm letting the eggs collect in hopes that she will go broody, but she probably won't because she's a red comet (i think)