Broody or Bust: Can You Handle a Sitting Hen?

[BYC Project Manager]

Have you ever stared into the eyes of a hen who has decided it’s her destiny to become a mama? Welcome to the broody zone—a place of pecked hands, growling fluffballs, and unpredictable emotions (hers and yours). Whether you're excited, anxious, or just curious about how to handle a broody hen, this quiz is your ultimate test.

Let’s find out: Are you ready for the feathery rollercoaster of broody behavior… or are you headed for a bust?

QUIZ:​

1. Your hen suddenly refuses to leave the nest box. What’s your first clue she might be broody?
A. She's laying an egg a day.
B. She puffs up and growls when you come near.
C. She leaves the nest to eat and scratch.
D. She’s been there for an hour—must be tired.

2. You try to collect eggs and she pecks you. What do you do?
A. Leave her alone.
B. Wear gloves and grab the eggs anyway.
C. Respect her decision and let her hatch whatever’s under her.
D. Run. Just run.

3. How long does a broody hen typically sit to hatch eggs?
A. 10 days
B. 14 days
C. 21 days
D. 30 days

4. You don’t want chicks. What’s a good way to "break" a broody hen?
A. Put ice cubes in the nest.
B. Move her out of the coop.
C. Use a wire-bottom cage with food, water, and airflow.
D. Yell, “Snap out of it!”

5. Can a broody hen still lay eggs?
A. Yes, daily.
B. No, she stops laying.
C. Only every other day.
D. She lays twice as much.

6. You want to give her fertile eggs to hatch. When’s the best time?
A. Anytime—just toss them in.
B. Right at the start, within a day or two of sitting.
C. After 10 days of sitting.
D. Once she lays 10 eggs herself.

7. Can you move a broody hen and her nest?
A. Never—she’ll explode.
B. Yes, but carefully and during nighttime.
C. Only if she’s pecking other hens.
D. Only if she gives verbal consent.

8. A broody hen leaves the nest once a day to:
A. Sunbathe and do yoga.
B. Eat, drink, poop, and stretch.
C. Find more eggs.
D. Gossip with the flock.

9. You find her sitting on golf balls. What does this mean?
A. She’s learning to play.
B. She’s confused.
C. She’s in full broody mode and anything round will do.
D. You’re being pranked.

10. Should you let a first-time broody hen hatch eggs?
A. Only if she’s been trained.
B. Sure—some do great right away!
C. No—only experienced hens.
D. Yes, but only fake eggs.

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Answers:​

1. B
2. B
3. C
4. C
5. B
6. B
7. B
8. B
9. C
10. B

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How Did You Do?​

0–3 correct:
Hen-dangered! You're not quite broody-ready. Do a little more reading and observing before entering the feather zone.

4–7 correct:
Cluck-worthy Contender! You’ve got a solid start, and with a bit more experience, you’ll be a broody boss in no time.

8–10 correct:
Broody Boss! You know your way around a nesting box like a seasoned flock whisperer. Your hens are lucky to have you!

Conclusion:​

Whether you’re just curious or deep in the fluff and feathers of broody hen life, this quiz gives you a peek into the quirky world of sitting hens. Share your score, your broody adventures (or disasters!), and your favorite hen mama stories.

 

[Debbie292d]

Raising and breeding silkies is tough when you're dealing with constantly one or more being broody. Right now, there's four in our broody jail, but I've had five of twelve of our breeding hens in here. We just won't tolerate them being broody as it's not healthy and it's wasting precious egg-laying time.

Many of us have something like this. The 2x4 is all they get to perch on so air can go underneath them, like mentioned above.



After finding some will pace or be awkward, tipping the waterer and/or feeder, we went with ones that can't be tipped. The feed is in a stainless still little feed bucket with hooks to hook on the cage. The water is a verticle nipple bottle. None of them are used to the verticle as they came from horizontal ones, but they catch on quick.

It takes about four to five days to break a broody this way.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Broody Boss.
My little Phyllis has been broody for like 2 months now and won't stop- even if she isn't laying on any eggs. She thinks that I'll let her this time because she has hatched chicks for 2 years in a row now. Last year, along with Rose and Dottie, and the year before, she co-parented with RoseAnd I never really see her come out of the nest often at all.

I just love letting her hatch chicks because I know that it makes her happy, but her babies always end up being feral

 

[FrostRanger]

Have you ever stared into the eyes of a hen who has decided it’s her destiny to become a mama? Welcome to the broody zone—a place of pecked hands, growling fluffballs, and unpredictable emotions (hers and yours). Whether you're excited, anxious, or just curious about how to handle a broody hen, this quiz is your ultimate test.

Let’s find out: Are you ready for the feathery rollercoaster of broody behavior… or are you headed for a bust?

QUIZ:​

1. Your hen suddenly refuses to leave the nest box. What’s your first clue she might be broody?
A. She's laying an egg a day.
B. She puffs up and growls when you come near.
C. She leaves the nest to eat and scratch.
D. She’s been there for an hour—must be tired.

2. You try to collect eggs and she pecks you. What do you do?
A. Leave her alone.
B. Wear gloves and grab the eggs anyway.
C. Respect her decision and let her hatch whatever’s under her.
D. Run. Just run.

3. How long does a broody hen typically sit to hatch eggs?
A. 10 days
B. 14 days
C. 21 days
D. 30 days

4. You don’t want chicks. What’s a good way to "break" a broody hen?
A. Put ice cubes in the nest.
B. Move her out of the coop.
C. Use a wire-bottom cage with food, water, and airflow.
D. Yell, “Snap out of it!”

5. Can a broody hen still lay eggs?
A. Yes, daily.
B. No, she stops laying.
C. Only every other day.
D. She lays twice as much.

6. You want to give her fertile eggs to hatch. When’s the best time?
A. Anytime—just toss them in.
B. Right at the start, within a day or two of sitting.
C. After 10 days of sitting.
D. Once she lays 10 eggs herself.

7. Can you move a broody hen and her nest?
A. Never—she’ll explode.
B. Yes, but carefully and during nighttime.
C. Only if she’s pecking other hens.
D. Only if she gives verbal consent.

8. A broody hen leaves the nest once a day to:
A. Sunbathe and do yoga.
B. Eat, drink, poop, and stretch.
C. Find more eggs.
D. Gossip with the flock.

9. You find her sitting on golf balls. What does this mean?
A. She’s learning to play.
B. She’s confused.
C. She’s in full broody mode and anything round will do.
D. You’re being pranked.

10. Should you let a first-time broody hen hatch eggs?
A. Only if she’s been trained.
B. Sure—some do great right away!
C. No—only experienced hens.
D. Yes, but only fake eggs.

---

Answers:​

1. B
2. B
3. C
4. C
5. B
6. B
7. B
8. B
9. C
10. B

---

How Did You Do?​

0–3 correct:
Hen-dangered! You're not quite broody-ready. Do a little more reading and observing before entering the feather zone.

4–7 correct:
Cluck-worthy Contender! You’ve got a solid start, and with a bit more experience, you’ll be a broody boss in no time.

8–10 correct:
Broody Boss! You know your way around a nesting box like a seasoned flock whisperer. Your hens are lucky to have you!

Conclusion:​

Whether you’re just curious or deep in the fluff and feathers of broody hen life, this quiz gives you a peek into the quirky world of sitting hens. Share your score, your broody adventures (or disasters!), and your favorite hen mama stories.

View attachment 4182621

1. B I've certainly encountered the angry pancake before, although Basil made dinosaur noises rather than growled


2. This depends a bit for me, I usually leave hens alone when they're in the nest box, if I suspect a hen might be going broody, I'll leave her alone and come back later, if she's still there by evening I'll know she's broody and I need to set up the broody jail. If I were letting her hatch though, I would pick B especially since I don't have a rooster so extra eggs would be guaranteed infertile and even if I did, I would still want to avoid a staggered hatch


3. C iirc


4. C Worked both times I needed to break a hen


5. B And she won't lay again for a few weeks even after you break her, the sooner you break her the sooner she'll lay again


6. B with the caveat that you wait 2-3 days to make absolutely sure she's broody and determined to set


7. B but unless you have a good reason it's best to move her where you want her right at the beginning as moving her can break some hens sometimes


8. B


9. C, all the hormones can make them a bit silly, some are so determined they'll even brood woodchips or absolutely nothing


10. B, some hens can be a bit unreliable the first time but many to great, just depends on if you want more chicks at the time

10/10 it seems. I've been through it twice and fortunately neither time either were mean broodies nor were they hard to break.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

My best hen went Broody recently and knowing her personality I was skeptical, but since she's never done that before, I let her try.
She incubated ONE Egg for 2 Weeks then left because she saw everybody else eating Watermelon.
I finished the Egg in the Incubator. Didn't want her work to go to waste.