Broody or just annoying me

[Mshadows89]

Hello i have a 10 month old brahma was laying eggs the stopped i noticed her sleeping in the nest box 2 nights in a row but in the morning she wants to go out and always the first 1 to go out she does get fiesty when i take the eggs she starts looking for eggs so i throw 2 under her she tucks them right in is she planning on going broody its nov the weather is fairly warm here as well. Ohh she doesnt get picked on and she looks perfectly healthy any pointers

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are several signs that a hen may be thinking about going broody. When off the nest they tend to walk around fluffed up and giving a constant pucking sound to warn other chickens away. They may be defensive of the nest, growling if you get close or they may peck you if you stick your hand in there. If you take them out of the nest and set them on the coop floor they often sit there for a bit, then either go back on the nest or run off to eat, drink, and poo before returning to the nest. They spend a lot of time on the nest. I've had hens do many or most of all these and not be fully broody enough to trust with eggs. I've had them run around like this for two weeks and never flip over to full broody mode. I've had some that eventually did. And I've had some that seemed to flip instantly, no warning whatsoever.

A hen stores up excess fat before she goes broody or even starts laying eggs. It's this excess fat she mostly lives off of so she can spend most of her time on the nests. She will lose weight but it's fat put there for that purpose. A broody will still come off the nest on her own to eat, drink, and poop. She instinctively should know to not poop in her nest so she can hold for some big drops. I've had a hen come off the nest twice a day for over an hour each time, especially in warmer weather. In cooler weather I've seen a hen come off for about 15 minutes once a day. Many times I never see a hen off her nest but since she is not pooping in her nest I know she is coming off. All these had good hatches.

My test to see if a hen is broody enough to trust with eggs is that she spends two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her normal place. It sounds like yours may be ready.

If you want to break her from being broody get back with us. We can give you pointers. If you want her to hatch eggs also get back with us. You have a lot of different ways you can approach that so I'll save typing a bit until I know you are interested. To me the most important thing is that all the eggs you want her to hatch need to go under her at the same time. If all you want her to try hatching are those two and they started at the same time, mark them so you can identify them now. If you want her to hatch others start collecting them now. And get back with us. We can start that conversation.

 

[Mshadows89]

There are several signs that a hen may be thinking about going broody. When off the nest they tend to walk around fluffed up and giving a constant pucking sound to warn other chickens away. They may be defensive of the nest, growling if you get close or they may peck you if you stick your hand in there. If you take them out of the nest and set them on the coop floor they often sit there for a bit, then either go back on the nest or run off to eat, drink, and poo before returning to the nest. They spend a lot of time on the nest. I've had hens do many or most of all these and not be fully broody enough to trust with eggs. I've had them run around like this for two weeks and never flip over to full broody mode. I've had some that eventually did. And I've had some that seemed to flip instantly, no warning whatsoever.

A hen stores up excess fat before she goes broody or even starts laying eggs. It's this excess fat she mostly lives off of so she can spend most of her time on the nests. She will lose weight but it's fat put there for that purpose. A broody will still come off the nest on her own to eat, drink, and poop. She instinctively should know to not poop in her nest so she can hold for some big drops. I've had a hen come off the nest twice a day for over an hour each time, especially in warmer weather. In cooler weather I've seen a hen come off for about 15 minutes once a day. Many times I never see a hen off her nest but since she is not pooping in her nest I know she is coming off. All these had good hatches.

My test to see if a hen is broody enough to trust with eggs is that she spends two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her normal place. It sounds like yours may be ready.

If you want to break her from being broody get back with us. We can give you pointers. If you want her to hatch eggs also get back with us. You have a lot of different ways you can approach that so I'll save typing a bit until I know you are interested. To me the most important thing is that all the eggs you want her to hatch need to go under her at the same time. If all you want her to try hatching are those two and they started at the same time, mark them so you can identify them now. If you want her to hatch others start collecting them now. And get back with us. We can start that conversation.

Yeah i want her to hatch eggs i only gave her 2 eggs for a test to see if shell take the job seriously then ill give her some brahma and silkie eggs at least 14 eggs shell cover them all plus the nest box is big and also secluded

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is the nest available to the other hens? Sometimes the other hens will lay eggs in the broody's nest.

Once you collect all the eggs you want her to hatch, mark them. I use a black sharpie. Then swap them out for the other two sacrificial eggs at the same time. That starts the clock. Then, every day, after the other hens have laid, check under her and remove any that don't belong. As long as you remove them daily they are good to eat.

When the eggs start to hatch, put food and water where the chicks can get to them after the hen brings them off the nest. That's all I do, everything else is left up to the hen.

 

[Mshadows89]

Is the nest available to the other hens? Sometimes the other hens will lay eggs in the broody's nest.

Once you collect all the eggs you want her to hatch, mark them. I use a black sharpie. Then swap them out for the other two sacrificial eggs at the same time. That starts the clock. Then, every day, after the other hens have laid, check under her and remove any that don't belong. As long as you remove them daily they are good to eat.

When the eggs start to hatch, put food and water where the chicks can get to them after the hen brings them off the nest. That's all I do, everything else is left up to the hen.

Yeah ill do that and yeah the hens lay in the same nest box im gonna mark them and let her work till she goes full broody