Do broody hens still lay? And would I need to separate her if I purchase fertile eggs for her?

[Txpollock]

I have come to the conclusion, while reading through posts, that I have a broody hen. She’s around a year old (give or take a couple months since she was recently given to me) and has been laying well since before I got her. But now she is on the nest day & night and does the whole flattening thing and growls at me any time I open the nesting box. Thing is, I take the eggs out daily since they’re not fertile but I noticed that she hasn’t layer any eggs herself since 4/30 ( so 4 days now). I can tell because she’s a smaller bantam breed of some sort (feather on her feet) and her eggs are really small. How long will this last if I keep taking the eggs from her? And would it serve me well to buy fertile eggs and give them to her? Would I need to separate her if I do that? She shares a coop with an Americana, another (much smaller) white bantam, & a (possibly) Red Star (again….given to me). They all seem to get along fine but she does growl at the others when they enter the coop but shows no other aggression. The small white bantam even gets in the box with her to lay and then leaves her to her brooding. I have 7 other chicks (5 week old) in a separate coop but my chicken yard is 16’X32’ so we have plenty of space if I need to separate. We are in the process of covering the entire chicken yard because we lost several to predators in the past and I do t want it to happen again. Right now they obviously can fly over the 5’ high cattle panels lined with chicken wire. I tried clipping wings but to no avail. But I digress…..just in case this post was totally confusing:
#1. Will a broody hen still lay if I continue to take eggs from her (even though she hasn’t laid in 4 days)
#2. Should I buy fertile eggs for her to hatch?
#3. If I buy fertile eggs for her to hatch, will I need to separate her from my others?

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

It will be hard to stop her from going broody, trust me. so it might be a good idea to get her some fertile hatching eggs, you can often find them on Craigslist and eBay. If you don’t want chicks there is probably a thread for breaking broody hens somewhere. if you do end up letting her hatch eggs it’s probably a good idea to separate her so she doesn’t steal more eggs for her clutch.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you want her to hatch chicks, then get her fertile eggs. Make sure to mark the eggs you're hatching and take away any non fertile eggs. Even though you don't have roosters you don't want her sitting on excess eggs that take up space with no possibility of hatching.

Broody hens don't lay, so that's normal. If they did they'd stagger the development of their eggs, which would be undesirable.

 

[Txpollock]

I’d love to have more chicks! So that may be my plan….thank you! I wasn’t too sure if she was too young still. I’ll give it a go! I’d love to see

If you want her to hatch chicks, then get her fertile eggs. Make sure to mark the eggs you're hatching and take away any non fertile eggs. Even though you don't have roosters you don't want her sitting on excess eggs that take up space with no possibility of hatching.

Broody hens don't lay, so that's normal. If they did they'd stagger the development of their eggs, which would be undesirable.

that makes sense….I guess originally I was concerned about her being egg borne….but after reading more I gathered that she just stopped laying because she’s broody.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

I’d love to have more chicks! So that may be my plan….thank you! I wasn’t too sure if she was too young still. I’ll give it a go! I’d love to see

that makes sense….I guess originally I was concerned about her being egg borne….but after reading more I gathered that she just stopped laying because she’s broody.

Goodluck with your hatch!
It is really sweet to watch mother hen care for her chicks Enjoy!
And of course if you have any questions along the way you can ask all you like, plenty of helpful peeps on here to answer you

 

[Lumley Farm]

I have come to the conclusion, while reading through posts, that I have a broody hen. She’s around a year old (give or take a couple months since she was recently given to me) and has been laying well since before I got her. But now she is on the nest day & night and does the whole flattening thing and growls at me any time I open the nesting box. Thing is, I take the eggs out daily since they’re not fertile but I noticed that she hasn’t layer any eggs herself since 4/30 ( so 4 days now). I can tell because she’s a smaller bantam breed of some sort (feather on her feet) and her eggs are really small. How long will this last if I keep taking the eggs from her? And would it serve me well to buy fertile eggs and give them to her? Would I need to separate her if I do that? She shares a coop with an Americana, another (much smaller) white bantam, & a (possibly) Red Star (again….given to me). They all seem to get along fine but she does growl at the others when they enter the coop but shows no other aggression. The small white bantam even gets in the box with her to lay and then leaves her to her brooding. I have 7 other chicks (5 week old) in a separate coop but my chicken yard is 16’X32’ so we have plenty of space if I need to separate. We are in the process of covering the entire chicken yard because we lost several to predators in the past and I do t want it to happen again. Right now they obviously can fly over the 5’ high cattle panels lined with chicken wire. I tried clipping wings but to no avail. But I digress…..just in case this post was totally confusing:
#1. Will a broody hen still lay if I continue to take eggs from her (even though she hasn’t laid in 4 days)
#2. Should I buy fertile eggs for her to hatch?
#3. If I buy fertile eggs for her to hatch, will I need to separate her from my others?

I have only had chickens for three years, and this forum is so informative. I read somewhere that you can get your hen out of her 'broodiness' by separating her for 72 hours. Literally not more or less. When I don't hear that little 'broody chirpping', I know it is time to rejoin the flock. I have done this three times with three different hens, and it works every time for me, and them!!!

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

I have only had chickens for three years, and this forum is so informative. I read somewhere that you can get your hen out of her 'broodiness' by separating her for 72 hours. Literally not more or less. When I don't hear that little 'broody chirpping', I know it is time to rejoin the flock. I have done this three times with three different hens, and it works every time for me, and them!!!

When you say broody chirping, do you mean the babies or the little sound the broody makes when she's laying on the eggs.

 

[Lumley Farm]

When you say broody chirping, do you mean the babies or the little sound the broody makes when she's laying on the eggs.

the hen herself, and I only hear it when she is not on the nest/eggs

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

She hasn't chirped back to me the past two days, only the day another hen went to her spot to lay. I think she was ticked off and telling me all about it. I'm giving her one more week and I'm going in there to get her. When I say there I mean here: