Broody vs Egg Bound- How do you know?

[VHoff]

No reason why the OP can't buy some fertile hatching eggs to set as many people do.
I would be wary of putting a bird in a broody buster cage in winter. Certainly need to make sure she has a good roost to stand on as it would be too easy for her to get frost bitten toes in a wire cage if it's a cold climate.
As she is just young and not used to being handled and perhaps not fully committed to being broody yet, it might be a simple matter of lifting her off the nest a few times during the day and placing her on the roost at night after dark with the other girls for a few nights to discourage her.
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Really? I hadn't heard of this method. It certainly can't hurt to try. Thank you!

 

[VHoff]

UPDATE:
I just took my hen out of her nest and am able to add a few more "yes" answers to the broody question list: she pecked and growled at me, fluffed herself up and did the tail thing once she was on the ground, and was clucking non-stop. There was also a "normal" size egg for her in the nest. She was FAMISHED and ate up a storm once she was on the coop floor. There aren't any apparent bald spots on her body, but I think it's pretty safe to say she is going broody, so I'm going to attempt rebrascora's low-impact suggestion about removing her repeatedly from the nest during the day and physically placing her (if needed) on the roost at night. If this doesn't seem to help I may escalate from there.
Thanks again to everyone for jumping in with your suggestions-- as a new chicken keeper I feel much like a new father worrying about every little thing with a newborn, so it's reassuring knowing that this community is there to offer help and reassurance. It does take a village!

 

[rebrascora]

To break a broody you are essentially trying to prevent her from maintaining a slightly higher than normal body temp. The broody buster cage does this by putting her in a cage with no bedding and air flow underneath to cool her underside for a few days. Standing on a roost at night in winter will achieve a similar result and if you put her there after dark, she cannot see to get down and return to the nest, so she has to stay until morning. If you kick her out of the nest a few times during the day as well, that might be enough to cool her off and discourage her, especially as first time young broodies are often not fully committed to brooding like seasoned broody hens usually are.
Of course some people dunk them in a bucket of cold water each time they find them in the nest but at this time of year that is not recommended! Breaking broodies in winter should be somewhat easier, purely because of the cooler ambient temperature making it more difficult for them to maintain that increased body heat, especially when you deprive them of a comfortable nest to snuggle into.

 

[rebrascora]

Good to hear that you have confirmed she is broody and not sick. Good luck breaking her. I hope she isn't too stubborn! They are funny when they are broody..... it so changes their personality.... and it is wonderful to watch them hatching and raising young chicks.... best chicken TV ever.... but it's not a great time of year for it and it is something that you should give plenty of consideration to before jumping in otherwise you end up overrun with chickens in short time and whilst having young pullets added to the flock, the unwanted young cockerels that cause mayhem are less welcome and difficult to rehome.... then you have to try to get into the mindset of processing them..... so it is better to think long and hard before setting any eggs.

 

[VHoff]

To break a broody you are essentially trying to prevent her from maintaining a slightly higher than normal body temp. The broody buster cage does this by putting her in a cage with no bedding and air flow underneath to cool her underside for a few days. Standing on a roost at night in winter will achieve a similar result and if you put her there after dark, she cannot see to get down and return to the nest, so she has to stay until morning. If you kick her out of the nest a few times during the day as well, that might be enough to cool her off and discourage her, especially as first time young broodies are often not fully committed to brooding like seasoned broody hens usually are.
Of course some people dunk them in a bucket of cold water each time they find them in the nest but at this time of year that is not recommended! Breaking broodies in winter should be somewhat easier, purely because of the cooler ambient temperature making it more difficult for them to maintain that increased body heat, especially when you deprive them of a comfortable nest to snuggle into.

That's great info to have-- I had no idea it was an issue of body temp regulation! There's definitely a learning curve to this, but having little "emergencies" helps to move up that curve a lot faster. Thanks!

 

[VHoff]

Good to hear that you have confirmed she is broody and not sick. Good luck breaking her. I hope she isn't too stubborn! They are funny when they are broody..... it so changes their personality.... and it is wonderful to watch them hatching and raising young chicks.... best chicken TV ever.... but it's not a great time of year for it and it is something that you should give plenty of consideration to before jumping in otherwise you end up overrun with chickens in short time and whilst having young pullets added to the flock, the unwanted young cockerels that cause mayhem are less welcome and difficult to rehome.... then you have to try to get into the mindset of processing them..... so it is better to think long and hard before setting any eggs.

Agreed! I look forward to chicks, but would prefer spring so I can avoid some of the issues cold weather introduces. While I derive no joy from it, I accept processing as one of my responsibilities as a chicken keeper, but if I can avoid unnecessary cockerels that would be best.
You've been great- thanks!

 

[CannedMonster]

My neighbor had a game hen that was broody for probably almost two months.
I kept remarking how pale she looked.
I was concerned about her.
This happened last summer.
Phoebe goes broody every year.
We decided to go to Tractor Supply and get sex-link & Wyandotte chicks (4 total) and my friend carefully and gently put the chicks under Phoebe at night.
Worked like a charm!
Phoebe was no longer broody and I got 4 pullets raised by a very smart hen out of the deal!

 

[CannedMonster]

Putting sex-link chicks or fertilized eggs from a sex-link cross under a broody would solve the problem of cockerels.
In my neck of the woods, sex-links are sought after as they are very good layers and you know they’re pullets.
If I couldn’t keep the pullets myself I know I could sell them in my area especially if I only had 3 or 4.

 

[rebrascora]

If you decide to graft young chicks onto a broody it is best to let her be broody on a nest of sacrificial eggs or golf balls for at least a couple of weeks before trying to swap the chicks for the eggs. There is also a chance that a first time broody will not accept chicks like that as it is such a sudden shock..... during the final days of incubation, a broody hen starts to bond with the chicks inside the eggs and they talk to each other. This helps prepare her for when they hatch. If she hasn't experienced hatching chicks before and doesn't have this pre hatch bonding time and suddenly finds strange little beings in her nest and doesn't figure it out, it can end badly.

If you hatch sex linked eggs, the cockerels are still to cull and killing cute little day old chicks is harder than full grown adolescent males that will at least make dinner.

 

[VHoff]

Putting sex-link chicks or fertilized eggs from a sex-link cross under a broody would solve the problem of cockerels.
In my neck of the woods, sex-links are sought after as they are very good layers and you know they’re pullets.
If I couldn’t keep the pullets myself I know I could sell them in my area especially if I only had 3 or 4.

That's probably exactly what I would do if it was the end of winter, but I fear more serious cold is coming.