Broody or Bust: Can You Handle a Sitting Hen?

[Squawkers]

I got all ten right! My only comment is I have never had experience with a grumpy broody. All mine have been as sweet as pie and have no problem with me messing with their eggs. My Brahma was the only one that growled but she never pecked. My ride island red was amazing. It was almost like she waited for me to come check on her for her go take a break. Seemed like she wanted me to watch her eggs.

 

[Chickensarecool123]

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.

View attachment 4182910

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.

View attachment 4182913

How would I break a buff orpingtons broodiness if I only have 2 chickens, I don’t want to separate her or the other chicken might be lonely

 

[Slothinc]

100% on the quiz… I have dealt with 20+ cases of broodiness in 2025 so far… some of the hens it has been multiple times. At the moment I have 3 broodies in the nest boxes, and one broody mama that I just gave chicks to. I tried to give them to two of the broody moms but the second one abandoned the chicks and went back to her “usual” nesting box. That’s okay, little miss Goldie is loving being a mom!

 

[FrostRanger]

How would I break a buff orpingtons broodiness if I only have 2 chickens, I don’t want to separate her or the other chicken might be lonely

You can place the broody jail in the coop, it's better that they can see each other anyways

 

[Chickensarecool123]

You can place the broody jail in the coop, it's better that they can see each other anyways

Thanks for the advice, but our coop is quite small and we let our chickens free range,

 

[16 and me]

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)T. 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

The zen stare. I love it! I have 3 giving me that stare right now... And one screaches like a Pterodactyl whenever anything comes within 30'. The other 2 just stare. Oh and what's the deal with the straw on the head? Are they attempting to camouflage or do they get bored just sitting and staring for 3 weeks?

 

[texsuze]

In the last 15 years of chickenhood I've had several varieties of broodies: some stay on Broody Planet for up to 7 weeks, some are around 3 weeks, some broody on/off/on/off throughout the year. All my girls have let me take them off nest boxes to provide food and water breaks, which they always do. Some will take a dust bath break before returning to the nest box. Some will take short free-range excursions with their sisters. No grumpies, no pecks, no attack broodies in all the years--go figure. Since I'm checking on them at least 2x/day I just let them do the broody thing and let nature be the guide. I don't hatch or raise chicks so that part of henhood doesn't come into play with my girls. Never had a hen crash and burn just because she went full broody for a while. YMMV

 

[Squawkers]

I got all ten right! My only comment is I have never had experience with a grumpy broody. All mine have been as sweet as pie and have no problem with me messing with their eggs. My Brahma was the only one that growled but she never pecked. My ride island red was amazing. It was almost like she waited for me to come check on her for her go take a break. Seemed like she wanted me to watch her eggs.

Funny timing! One of my hens is broody now. This is her first time so I wasn’t sure how she would behave. But she is just as sweet as all my others!! I’m getting pretty confused why everyone says their broodies are so mean

 

[Nym]

My Betty frizzle is a broody gal but will eat and dust bath during the hottest part of the day. The first time she was sitting, my dog missed her company and would poke her head in the nesting area to see what was up. Betty would hiss at her lol. On the day before her chicks hatched, Betty came wheeling and screaming from the coop to go feast on anything green she could find, scaring me and the dog! She hatched two beautiful pure Pekin girls and (until one died last week) still clucked over them when she's heading toward broodiness again. I would put all sorts of greens in the coop to see which ones she would alert the chicks to stay away from. A great experiment.

 

[The Sniper]

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

I got all of them right and Ive only ever had 1 broody, plus the 2 I have now I think the test is too easy