Broody with no eggs?

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

I have an older (5 years or so) hen who seems to have gone broody. She spent most of yesterday in the nest, and all day today. I’ve been out to check on her several times to make sure she’s ok, and she seems fine other than whenever I try to touch her she pecks at me. Yep, broody!! So this evening I went out to see if I could move her, she’s in a nest my younger chickens made on the ground, and when I lifted her up, there were no eggs!! Now I’m stumped. She was sitting on some yesterday, and when she briefly left the nest I collected them. But would she still continue to sit in the nest if there aren’t any eggs?!

Side note, while I was checking on her a damn RAT came flying our of one of our lower nesting boxes right at me! I hate those little critters!! I screamed loud enough for the chickens who were roosting to start gagggeling at me, and now I’m determined to find a chicken-safe way to rid my coop of those nasty vermin Any suggestions?

 

[sawilliams]

Normal, she will hatch the rocks if she has too. Look into broody breaking (typically a suspended or raised crate, no bedding with feed and water for a few days) or order some egg and hatch out some cuties (be prepared to decide what you will do with cockerels)

I had a broody set for 2 months, I didn't break her becuase we were moving and I didn't think i could insure time to make sue she was well and safe during the process. I thought for sure she would break with the move outs self but she didn't. Shortly after our move I got her 2 fertile eggs to sit on 1 hatched (the other saddly got broken early on). In all she sat for almost 3 months and as with some would not have given up untill putting her in a breaking cage or letting her hatch a chick

 

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

Normal, she will hatch the rocks if she has too. Look into broody breaking (typically a suspended or raised crate, no bedding with feed and water for a few days) or order some egg and hatch out some cuties (be prepared to decide what you will do with cockerels)

I had a broody set for 2 months, I didn't break her becuase we were moving and I didn't think i could insure time to make sue she was well and safe during the process. I thought for sure she would break with the move outs self but she didn't. Shortly after our move I got her 2 fertile eggs to sit on 1 hatched (the other saddly got broken early on). In all she sat for almost 3 months and as with some would not have given up untill putting her in a breaking cage or letting her hatch a chick

Wow three months?! That’s some serious dedication! Since I figured she was broody and I took all of her eggs yesterday, I took some out with me when I planned to move her. So now she has three. I didn’t end up moving her either because of the stupid rat scaring me.

We have one rooster to our 15 hens, so I figured IF all three are fertilized, and two of them make it, odds are good I’ll only get one roo, and he can just stay in the flock. I was just shocked she had no eggs and she was still so diligently sitting there! So if there were no eggs, and I didn’t break her broodiness or give her eggs, would she just sit there until she wasted away to nothing?!

 

[aart]

So if there were no eggs, and I didn’t break her broodiness or give her eggs, would she just sit there until she wasted away to nothing?!

She might. Best to decide and then manage, IMO.

I'd get rid of the rats before giving her eggs to hatch.....or put her in a rat-proof enclosure big enough for nest, feed, water, and leg stretching-pooping room.


You'll need to decide if you want her to hatch out some chicks, and how you will 'manage' it.
Do you have, or can you get, some fertile eggs?
Do you have the space needed? Both for more chickens and she may need to be separated by wire from the rest of the flock.
Do you have a plan on what to do with the inevitable males? Rehome, butcher, keep in separate 'bachelor pad'?
If you decide to let her hatch out some fertile eggs, this is a great thread for reference and to ask questions.
It's a long one but just start reading the first few pages, then browse thru some more at random.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/496101/broody-hen-thread


If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, best to break her broodiness promptly.
My experience went like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest, I put her in a wire dog crate with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop with feed and water.

I let her out a couple times a day(you don't have to) and she would go out into the run, drop a huge turd, race around running, take a vigorous dust bath then head back to the nest... at which point I put her back in the crate. Each time her outings would lengthen a bit, eating, drinking and scratching more and on the 3rd afternoon she stayed out of the nest and went to roost that evening...event over, back to normal tho she didn't lay for another week or two. Or take her out of crate daily very near roosting time(30-60 mins) if she goes to roost great, if she goes to nest put her back in crate.
Feed and water added after pic was taken.

 

[sawilliams]

Wow three months?! That’s some serious dedication! Since I figured she was broody and I took all of her eggs yesterday, I took some out with me when I planned to move her. So now she has three. I didn’t end up moving her either because of the stupid rat scaring me.

We have one rooster to our 15 hens, so I figured IF all three are fertilized, and two of them make it, odds are good I’ll only get one roo, and he can just stay in the flock. I was just shocked she had no eggs and she was still so diligently sitting there! So if there were no eggs, and I didn’t break her broodiness or give her eggs, would she just sit there until she wasted away to nothing?!

Yea it's no joke. If they don't self break they could very well waste way. On top of being broody gives more chance for parasites to take over especially lice and mites who will love the extra heat and the fact that the hen isn't dusting her self regularly

 

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

Ok so I took care of the rat problem, and I decided not to move her. The coop she is in is a larger one (appx 8x10) and the only hens who roost in it are my pullers from this past fall. None of them are aggressive. Also, luckily, the broody hen is one of the meanest in my flock so nobody messes with her. I have a new question now: yesterday she left the nest and about 10am and didn’t return till evening. So she sat on it for one full day and a half, left for half a day, and now she’s back on it. She had 4 eggs and I just set a 5th one next to her and peeked on her about 5 minutes later and the egg was gone. I’m assuming she grabbed it and stuck it under her. So my question is, will her leaving the nest for that long yesterday hurt the development of the chicks?

 

[aart]

So my question is, will her leaving the nest for that long yesterday hurt the development of the chicks?

Maybe she's not totally broody?
I don't give eggs until they've sat for 3 days and nights running.

 

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

Maybe she's not totally broody?
I don't give eggs until they've sat for 3 days and nights running.

Ohhhhhh. I didn’t think of doing that! I was so excited she went broody it didn’t even occur to me that she could be “not quite broody”. Well, so far today she hasn’t left the nest so I’ll leave her alone and see why she does. Will a hen stay “almost” broody? Or will she eventually commit and sit tight?

 

[aart]

Will a hen stay “almost” broody? Or will she eventually commit and sit tight?

They usually either commit or quit...but anything is possible.
Decide where you want her to set, it can be easier to have them behind wire wall or in a crate large enough for them to get up eat, drink, stretch, and poop. Then once you're sure she's broody put her there with fake eggs until she settles back in, then give her fresh fertile eggs.

 

[LovinThisFarmGirlLife]

Ok thank you! That’s very helpful advice