BSL - broody? Sorry if this has already been addressed

MrPaw

Songster
Mar 21, 2019
110
180
149
Zone 8a Washington, North Carolina
My BSL started laying an egg a day about two weeks ago. Out in the open the first two days! I put her in the nest and now she knows where to go. She's very tame and I can put my hand under her and capture the eggs in the nest, even from other hens. They like the same nest. I have a EE who will stand over the BSL and drop her egg. Anyway, for the last two days she screams!! Almost a blood curdling scream if you get near her while in the box. She lets me get the egg but she'll sit there for an hour or so. Today, she screamed up a storm because the hens were using the nest next to hers. So I thought to take one of my BO's egg and put in front of her. She rolled it right under and is looking pleased as punch. Now let's see if she will stay there. I'm wondering if my taking the egg from her every day has thrown her cycle off. If she takes another egg today and stays in the next tonight, should I assume she is broody? How long do I have to put fertilized eggs under her to finish this broody cycle? Count me a hopeful happy step-momma!
 
She sounds very broody.

I would give her a week before giving her fertile eggs.
 
She lets me get the egg but she'll sit there for an hour or so.

Is she sitting the nest for just an hour or staying there all day? If just the hour then I think she’s just experimenting with broody behaviour.

My BSL did the same when she started laying, sitting on the nest for a while and puffing up her feathers while walking around. She broke herself but went broody three months later, I bought her some chicks on day 21 and now she’s happy as Larry.
 
I would not let a such a young bird hatch....nor hatch pullet eggs if all your girls just started laying. Have had a few do that, pretty easy to break them by tossing them out of the nest a few times a day.

But...these are my go to signs:
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.
 

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