Chicken acting weird. Is she broody without a rooster around?

[cupman]

I have this chicken that used to go to bed every night in the coop. Two nights ago I noticed she was missing. I scoured the property and eventually found her in this little spot sitting on top of one egg. It was probably 90 minutes after she normally would have gone to bed. Again last night it was well past time for all the chickens to be in the coop but she was back in that same spot sitting on that egg. Is it possible she is going broody? My rooster was killed by a coyote and I have no mature roosters around that are mating with the hens. Anyone know what might be going on?

 

[sourland]

Just as roosters are not required for hens to lay eggs, they are not necessary for hens to go broody. Sounds like your hen is broody.

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to the world of broodies! I have never had a rooster and have broodies all the time. Constantly kicking them out of the hot coop and will find them sitting on nothing, protecting imaginary babies! These broodies growl at me all the time. LOL Wanting to be a momma has nothing to do with roosters.

Sounds like you got yourself a broody!

 

[Sonic Chicken]

See the two hens in my Avatar pic? Those are my broody ladies. Juno and Eleanor have decided they will sit side by side all day long guarding imaginary eggs. They don't even know what a rooster is...they've never been around a male chicken. I'm patiently waiting for them to get over it. I remove them from the egg box every morning and place them in the common yard. They scratch around a little bit and head right back to the egg box. Same routine in the evening. They don't seem to be losing weight, so I'm not worried about them. Another thing you might notice over time is that they pluck their own feathers to make a nice, soft nest for the imaginary eggs. Sometimes they will move down the row and sit on the other hen's eggs. Also, I've noticed they themselves have stopped laying while they are broody.

 

[henmad]

Sure sounds like she is going broody. Why not get some fertile eggs and put them under her?
Carefully move her to a more suitable spot first. If she's real broody it probably won't make a difference but I usually slip the eggs under them while their sleeping. Depending on the size of the hen, I find six to eight eggs to have a very high hatch rate.

 

[cupman]

Sure sounds like she is going broody. Why not get some fertile eggs and put them under her?
Carefully move her to a more suitable spot first. If she's real broody it probably won't make a difference but I usually slip the eggs under them while their sleeping. Depending on the size of the hen, I find six to eight eggs to have a very high hatch rate.

I was considering this but I am up to my ears in birds. I have something like 45 chickens and 3-5 roosters. I really need to downsize. Though I will admit I was considering going to Home Depot and building a cage to put around her to keep predators away. She is not going broody in the coop. My hens lay in about 3 different spots.. in my garden, in the coop and in this hollow tree by the coop. I will have to pass for now I think.

Any suggestions on what I can do to make her stop being broody? She is a dark cornish and has normally been very sweet. I can tell it really makes her irate when I pick her up off her spot. I've found holding her upside down reduces the incessant pecking and squawking.

 

[TwoCrows]

Holding them upside down is never a good idea. I have found that keeping them confined for a few days helps break the broodiness. Even an wire bottom, elevated cage to "air out" the bottom of the bird. The body temp of a broody rises so she can incubate eggs. So the cage method can help lower her temp. I have had some success with doing the "broody soak" in cold water. Fill up a tub of cold water and soak the entire bird up the to the lower neck for about 5 or 10 mins. This lowers her temp. It also gives her something to think about, preening all those wet feathers, than setting on eggs.

 

[little farmer]

You've got yourself a broody!! During this time, most hens won't lay eggs, so if you see a decrease in the eggs, that might be the case. I have no roosters at all, and my one hen has gone broody five times in less than a year.

 

[cupman]

All right then. I might just try to build a little shelter around her area. I didn't know holding them upside down was mean.. I actually thought it was creative. Shows what I know. She's a great hen, I feel bad. I'll figure out a solution this week.

Thanks everyone, I learned something new in this thread.