Broody or Not, that is the question..?

[Taffy57]

Hi guys,
I have a Light Sussex hen that can't seem to make her mind up !
I know Light Sussex are not known for their broodiness, but the hen in question is my hen that loves to be stroked and petted and within days of me saying to my Son, that I bet she'll make a good brood hen as she's very calm and not at all skittish, she started sitting on a small clutch of eggs.

She stayed on the eggs all night, but then in the morning when the other chickens came out of the coop, she left the eggs and didn't return all day. This behaviour has continued for the last week, but then yesterday she came off the eggs, fed, drank & pooped, and quickly returned to the eggs. Hooray at last she's got the idea but then after lunch she left the eggs and didn't return until bedtime, by which time the eggs were cold ! When she is on the nest if you put an egg in front of her, she immediately drags it under her belly, so I'm a little puzzled. While she is displaying broody behaviour, she keeps deserting the nest, but why...? She is only 9 months old, so is this likely to be the reason or is it simply that her hormones are not yet strong enough to keep her focused , or is this typical of Light Sussex hens.

Any help or advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks Steve...

 

[rosemarythyme]

She might be going broody but isn't committed yet. She may continue on for a while and then just break on her own, or finally decide to set for real. If she'll stay on for 2-3 days and nights, you can start considering putting eggs for hatching under her at that point (before that I would just leave fakes for her to sit on, if not just plain old empty air).

 

[Taffy57]

She might be going broody but isn't committed yet. She may continue on for a while and then just break on her own, or finally decide to set for real. If she'll stay on for 2-3 days and nights, you can start considering putting eggs for hatching under her at that point (before that I would just leave fakes for her to sit on, if not just plain old empty air).

Hi Rose,
Yes a friend of mine suggested that once the weather warms up then he thinks she'll then get serious about sitting on the eggs. Our current night time temperature is still producing frost on several nights per week, so I can understand his logic. Thanks for the tip on fake eggs, I'll give that a go and see what happens.
Thanks Steve...

 

[aart]

I'd wonder why she is spending the night on a nest......she may be being bullied off the roost? I don't let my bird sleep in nests.
I also don't leave eggs in nests overnight, but gather them all up every day, leaving one fake egg in each nest as 'bait'.

First question.....do you want her to hatch out some chicks?
Do you have space for more birds and a plan to deal with the inevitable 50% males that will hatch?


My go-to signs of a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

 

[Taffy57]

Hi, the hen in question is most definitely not being bullied, she is actually the top hen and although she has a sister of the same age, she is the dominant hen.

Yes I would like her to hatch her own chicks because I was hoping to eventually have a self perpetuating flock.

As for culling excess birds, I have already had to euthanize 5 surplus roosters, so dont see this as a problem, after all it's no different to culling for the table really.

I am now down to 4 hens & 1 rooster after 2 of what we thought were hens, turned out to be roosters, although they were late developers, so space is not a problem at the moment, in fact 8 hens & 1 rooster would be my target.

The hen in question has laid an egg today and has stayed on the nest for the last 5 hours and coincidentally the sun is out and the temperature is considerably warmer, so perhaps the temperature is having an effect after all.

Thanks Steve...

 

[aart]

The hen in question has laid an egg today and has stayed on the nest for the last 5 hours and coincidentally the sun is out and the temperature is considerably warmer, so perhaps the temperature is having an effect after all.

Increased daylight length(more than anything else) and warmer temps definitely get the hormones flowing, which is the real 'broody maker'.
Hope she goes for you!

As for culling excess birds, I have already had to euthanize 5 surplus roosters, so dont see this as a problem, after all it's no different to culling for the table really.

Yep. I slaughter the cockerels at about 14 weeks old. Still tender enough to grill for that crispy skinned deliciousness.

Have you had a broody before?
Lots of ways to manage them.
Here's how I do it:
When I have a broody and want her to hatch I wait until she's been in the nest most the day and all night for 2-3 days...along with those other signs I posted.

Then I put her in the broody enclosure with fake eggs in the floor nest, she won't like being moved, but if she is truly good and broody she will settle onto the new nest within a half a day.
Then I give her fresh fertile eggs and mark the calendar.

I like them separated by wire from the flock, it's just easier all around.
No having to mark eggs and remove any additions daily, no taking up a laying nest, no going back to the wrong nest after the daily constitutional.

I remove barrier about one week after hatch. The chicks are usually safe it's the broody who has to 'fight' her way back into the pecking order...which can be quick or take a few days.

Lots of space helps for re-integration.

 

[Taffy57]

Wow, lots of info, thanks for the useful tips. I do have another question if you don't mind..?

The hen in question has just left the nest and gone to join her buddies up the back garden, which is well away from the nest. The strange thing is that although as previously mentioned, there are actually only 4 hens, we have just had 5 eggs laid this morning ! I always believed they would only lay one egg per day, so has anyone else ever had a hen lay twice in the same day...??

Cheers Steve...

 

[aart]

I always believed they would only lay one egg per day, so has anyone else ever had a hen lay twice in the same day...??

Supposedly it can happen...usually the extra was left behind from the day before.
Often the extra is soft shelled, which far more common.

 

[Taffy57]

Supposedly it can happen...usually the extra was left behind from the day before.
Often the extra is soft shelled, which far more common.

Hi Aart,
No soft shells or strange shaped eggs, however one of the younger hens did miss laying yesterday and although she was still eating, she did seem a little lethargic, so maybe you're right and it was her that managed to lay twice today..?

 

[aart]

Hi Aart,
No soft shells or strange shaped eggs, however one of the younger hens did miss laying yesterday and although she was still eating, she did seem a little lethargic, so maybe you're right and it was her that managed to lay twice today..?

I've never seen it happen, and it just doesn't seem possible since it takes 20 hours to fully shell an egg.