Do you think she could be broody???

[needtohatch]

I have a hen who has been sitting on a nest for one night only off and on over the last month. She will set over night then abandon it in the morning. She has been very agresive pecking at me when I stick my hand in there and really making noises. She normally has eggs under her, but 2 nights ago she sat and defended air. Now tonight she is back in the nest box with three eggs under her, but acting very different. It is almost like she does not even know I was there. I even lifted her a little to see if she had any eggs. Never once made a sound or tried to peck. Could she finally be broody? I have really been wanting one to go broody, but don't want to get my hopes up. Any ideas?

 

[Ridgerunner]

According to the Henderson Breed Chart, RIR are infrequently broody. Sounds like broodiness may have been bred out of them so they will lay more eggs. However, I'm sure several people have had great success with broody RIR's.

Your hen sitting on the nest one night, then off the next for a month sounds unusual. To me, it sounds like she wants to go broody but isn't quite sure how. If she sits on the nest every night for a week or so, you might risk some eggs under her, but with her history, I would not be surprised if she just quit. I personally would not trust her.

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html