Can seeing babies turn a hen clucky?

[User395221]

I have 2 separate houses/runs (got new girls and the isa browns were mean to them, so I separated them). One run has some new babies in there, because I got some fertile eggs to put under a clucky/broody hen and she and another hen have hatched out those eggs and have the babies now....

One of my hens in the other house has "gone peculiar". I hope she's clucky and not sick, she walked around ok when I made her get out of the nest box, but she just wants to stay in there and she's making clucky noises.

My question is whether seeing the other "family" with the babies can trigger cluckiness, or whether it's just coincidence/time of year/she was going to go clucky anyway. I saw her looking in at the babies the other day and making noises.

 

[azygous]

Yes, it's possible, but more likely it's coincidental in your hen's case, it being spring down your way.

I had a hen go partially broody after being exposed to chicks brooding in the run. They were six weeks old when Su-su adopted them and took over nurturing them. It wasn't just an overnight fluke, either. She kept at it faithfully until they were four months old.

I know she was broody, because she went "clucky" as you say, although she skipped the nest sitting since she already had chicks on the hoof.

 

[User395221]

Thanks. I was hoping it was "all over" now the babies are there (the other girls haven't joined in the cluckiness), but it was not to be... I hope Marcy gets over it. I closed the run yesterday, but she was determined to get back in. It's hard to know whether she just wanted to lay me an egg, so I gave in and let her back in.

sigh. It's hard not to worry about your chooks. LOL