Broody, or Confused?

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Perhaps.
Best of luck. If you want a broody hen, you can coax a hen by putting her in a small box with food and water, quiet and dark, and it can encourage some hens To go broody (need eggs / golf balls though to encourage her). Works best with breeds like silkies, Cochins, Etc.

 

[donrae]

I've just gotta say, that egg comes out of the hen at like a hundred degrees. You literally have to wait for them to cool off if you don't want warm eggs. They come out warm, and will stay warm as long as the hen is sitting there. They're fine to eat even if they've been under a hen for a day, and if they've been in a hot coop for a day or two. Your call, of course, but I'm seeing you're going to toss a lot of eggs.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'd also like to put in my 2 cents worth... It's not at all unusual for a pullet/hen to sit on the nest for a while after laying an egg. I never rush my girls off the nest. I figure that if they want to sit there after laying an egg, that's their prerogative. So, enjoy your new layer, let her do her own thing, I doubt very much that she's broody, perhaps just moody! Those first eggs are small, but they sure are tasty! That's why you got chickens in the first place, right?? An egg is not going to spoil by being in the nest for hours or even a day or more. A chicken without human intervention will return to the nest daily to lay eggs until she has a good sized clutch, then she'll set on them to hatch them. Those eggs sit in the warm weather for 10 or more days without spoiling!!!

 

[donnavee]

I'd also like to put in my 2 cents worth... It's not at all unusual for a pullet/hen to sit on the nest for a while after laying an egg. I never rush my girls off the nest. I figure that if they want to sit there after laying an egg, that's their prerogative. So, enjoy your new layer, let her do her own thing, I doubt very much that she's broody, perhaps just moody! Those first eggs are small, but they sure are tasty! That's why you got chickens in the first place, right?? An egg is not going to spoil by being in the nest for hours or even a day or more. A chicken without human intervention will return to the nest daily to lay eggs until she has a good sized clutch, then she'll set on them to hatch them. Those eggs sit in the warm weather for 10 or more days without spoiling!!!

I agree. I have some hens that just like to sit on the nest, sometimes for hours, and they aren't broody. As someone else said, if she sleeps there at night then she probably is broody.

 

[Jwhitty]

I'm getting 6 to 8 maybe even 10 brahmas in a few weeks after I finish the coop & yard... I live in town so I can't have a rooster.... I'm just looking to have fresh eggs right now & after Ivey my feet wet maybe in the spring I might get a few fertilized eggs & try hatching them out.... What happens if all my hens go broody when I'm just looking for eggs? What do you do if that happens?

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

I'm getting 6 to 8 maybe even 10 brahmas in a few weeks after I finish the coop & yard... I live in town so I can't have a rooster.... I'm just looking to have fresh eggs right now & after Ivey my feet wet maybe in the spring I might get a few fertilized eggs & try hatching them out.... What happens if all my hens go broody when I'm just looking for eggs? What do you do if that happens?

10 synchronized brahmas going broody? LOL. Good luck with that.
But, I guess it COULD happen. Rarely do 10 hens go broody at once, in one flock, unless its a flock of like 50.
But in that case, ya buy 50 chicks, throw 10 under each and watch 'em grow (if you have 10 broody hens, then you'd need 10 separate nests if you'd want to hatch chicks)

 

[Jwhitty]

Is there any way to stop a hen from being broody if your not planning to currently hatch out chicks????

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Is there any way to stop a hen from being broody if your not planning to currently hatch out chicks????

Don't leave eggs in the box. 'Bout it. But you can break them

 

[Jwhitty]

Copy that....