Broody? Is She??

[theron]

how do you tell if a chicken has gone broody? My silkie keeps getting on and off of the golf ball and when she is setting on it, I tried to remove it, and she pecked me and hissed. She has also been having these ginormous poops that are about the size of an egg. Is she broody? Can the bird also tell if the egg if going to hatch? Thanks for the input.

 

[hinkjc]

She typically won't get off the nest while you're there if she is broody. Some hens bite when they're trying to lay an egg too, so that's not a good sign of broodiness.

I have an araucana girl who is broody right now. She sits in the nest box all day and all night. She'll come out for a quick snack, but the majority of the time she stays in there. When I look in at her, she growls and puffs up her feathers to make herself look big. She is very vocal and clucks in protest as she does not want to be bothered (or anyone stealing her eggs). lol

 

[evonne]

i have a little banty cochin that i think really wants to brood, but most she's done is 6 hours... i wouldn't call her broody untill she's on the nest 23 hrs a day for 2 days... one night could be a fluke.. and she may still give up after 3 or 4 if she only thinks she's ready.. lol... you know young mothers....

 

[Kiwibird]

Broody hens also have a higher body temperature, tend to flatten themselves out over the nest so that they appear shorter and wider, and often pluck their breasts to contact skin to eggs. They smell different - that is their bodies, not just the infamous broody poops (which don't smell quite as bad if you feed nothing but wheat for the duration).

 

[dianneS]

If she flat out refused to get off that nest no matter how hard you try to get her to move, she's broody. I have hens I could literally pick up and turn them over on their backs and they'll just screech at me, but not move a muscle. If I take her off the nest, she has a hissy fit and it right back on it again.

 

[CamsCluckinChicks]

I have a Blue Silkie pullet that has gone broody. Almost 48 hours on her egg. I haven't ventured into incubating as of yet, so I'm relying on Mother Nature to do her thing.

Baloo (my Blue Silkie - I know, so original! LOL!) puffs out and hisses, growls and bites when I try to pet her or feel under her. She is very tame and usually loves to be handled by everyone in my family! She'll even 'chase' us to get extra attention...now she bites! She is also really grouchy with the other pullets in the coop, but she lets Marley (Polish cockerel - his baby, as there no other males in the Crib) approach her...and I swear I saw him take her food!!

They're planning a family, aren't they?

Cami