Confusing hen

[Lady Who]

I have this Brahma bantam hen, she 8 months old now and her name is Blondie

she has never laid a egg in her life but is vary broody. she doesnt sit longer then an hour. i dont know what to do. iv tried breaking her, put her in a cage, not let her near a nesting box, ice/water, est but she just wont stop!

i really need some help

 

[junebuggena]

Leave her be. She's not broody, she's 'practicing' laying. Broody hens sit on the nest all day and all night long. Brahmas can be slow to mature, so she is likely getting ready to start laying. Broodiness is triggered by hormones. If she isn't laying yet, her body will not produce the hormones needed to induce broodiness.

 

[Lady Who]

she goes out of the nesting box and throws staw on her back then goes back up, is that still practicing?
that explains alot but its ok to keep letting her in the nesting box?

 

[junebuggena]

Pullets that are just starting to mature can behave very strangely. Just leave her alone. All that time in the nest boxes will eventually lead to an egg. Removing her and interrupting her 'process' constantly will only cause her stress and may possibly lead to her getting egg bound.

 

[twisted-acres-farm]

Pullets that are just starting to mature can behave very strangely. Just leave her alone. All that time in the nest boxes will eventually lead to an egg. Removing her and interrupting her 'process' constantly will only cause her stress and may possibly lead to her getting egg bound.

X 2 In other words just leave her be.

 

[Ridgerunner]

A broody hen does not get on the nest for an hour and leave. She zonks out on the nest, getting up maybe once or twice a day to eat, drink, and poop. The rest of the time she is on the nest. The way I tell if a hen is serious about going broody is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her regular spot. They can sometimes act broody but it’s just an act unless they are spending practically all day and every night on the nest.

A pullet getting ready to lay starts looking for a safe place to use as a nest. Her spending time in the nest is a good sign she will probably start laying soon. Any chicken can sometimes do strange things, at least strange to us, but when they are maturing and getting ready to lay hormones kick in. Those pullets can really do some weird stuff. Though to be honest what you describe doesn’t sound all that strange to me.

Yes, leave her alone. The more I interfere the more problems I cause. It’s not just the risk of her becoming egg bound. She may decide the nest isn’t a safe place to lay after all and start laying where you don’t want her to.

When you are seeing it for the first time some of this stuff can cause worry. But after a whole you realize chicken TV can often beat anything on cable or satellite. Never be afraid to ask a question on this forum, if you are not sure of something you’d be silly not to ask. But this is more chicken TV stuff, not a cause for worry.

 

[Lady Who]

ah ok, thank you.
what if she been doing it since she was 16 weeks old? and she 34 weeks now :/

 

[twisted-acres-farm]

Brahma's are at least in my experience extremely slow in starting to lay. I would still to the above advice.

 

[azygous]

Your Brahma pullet is "playing house" and it's a natural precursor to laying. They can make a terrible mess during this period, but it's necessary to their development.

You've been given some excellent advice, and all I might add to it is not to expect an egg until the days begin getting longer again, as opposed to losing length as they are now.

Relax, know you have a perfectly normal chicken and go focus on other things until after the new year begins. Then you might see a little pullet egg in that messy nest box.