Can a 6 month old chicken become broody?

[Cynjay]

Is she even laying yet?
A bird will not likely go broody until after she starts laying.
It's normal for birds to hiss when disturbed on the nest.
Also normal for new layers to spend a lot of time on the nest while they get things figured out...some older birds do that too.

My go-to signs of a broody are.....
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.

Yes she is laying. She is doing everything you have described. I have to get her out of the nest cuz she won't eat or drink. Someone said to put her in a cage so she will stop.

Thanks!

 

[aart]

Yes she is laying. She is doing everything you have described. I have to get her out of the nest cuz she won't eat or drink. Someone said to put her in a cage so she will stop.

Thanks!

Sometimes with young birds you can just keep tossing them out of the nest multiple times a day. Have broken a few like that.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(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.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.

 

[Cynjay]

Sometimes with young birds you can just keep tossing them out of the nest multiple times a day. Have broken a few like that.

If you don't want her to hatch out chicks, IMO it's best to break her broodiness promptly.

My experience goes about like this: After her setting for 3 days and nights in the nest (or as soon as I know they are broody), I put her in a wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller wire on the bottom but no bedding, set up on a couple of 4x4's right in the coop or run with feed and water.

I used to let them out a couple times a day, but now just once a day in the evening(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.

Tho not necessary a chunk of 2x4 for a 'roost' was added to crate floor after pic was taken.
View attachment 2305376

Thanks!
I'm going to try that!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Well I guess I can answer my question myself I set up the new nest, and went to put in new straw for the regular nests. My suspected broody hen came in to check out the nest right away. When I returned with the eggs, she was sitting in the new nest. I had to bring her out in order to put the eggs in. She hopped right in after. So now she is stuck to those eggs I just hope she does not give up on them.

I was just thinking, if she could get broody after only laying eggs for 4 weeks, I sure hope the others don't get this way. I have 3 more Hedemoras the same age.

Birds seem to pass broody codes to each other.

 

[Cynjay]

Birds seem to pass broody codes to each other.

gosh I hope my other 7 don't join her!