Goodness Gracious it's been a Broody Spring!

[Dhkoenig]

Such a crazy spring with the broodys! One of my little "cookies and cream" hens has been broody twice already this season and it was less than a month apart. One of my sweetest girls who has never been broody decided to give it a try. Luckily she was easier to break. Here is the one that has me scratching my head...

Fancy Pants, our 4 year old Buff Orpington has been "broody-ish" for about 3 weeks! She is laying and perches at night and comes out during the day if I come out with goodies, but she spends almost half the day acting broody in the nesting box! She hisses and her hackles go up if I go anywhere near her in the coop (was never like that before unless she was broody - which happens at least once a season with her) and sometimes she walks around with the telltale cluck-cluck-cluck sound, but she is only doing the fanning-out-her-feathers/hissing maybe once or twice in the past two weeks. So weird, its like she is "kinda broody but not really broody" and this has been ongoing for a few weeks. Anyone ever had this?

Meanwhile we have FIVE bird's nests around our house this year - usually we have one, and at the most two. Is there something in the air that is making everybody wanting to be moms?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have bunch going broody, being broody, and being broken constantly here. Mostly my bantams. Some breeds and lines are more prone to it, and others it's been bred out of. Usually one is all it takes to give others the idea if they were thinking about it.

I've had what I call walking broodies. They cluck and screech, but never really set. Since being broody is a hormonal phase I would assume it's normal for some to be stuck in between. I usually just break them like any other broody.

 

[Dhkoenig]

I have bunch going broody, being broody, and being broken constantly here. Mostly my bantams. Some breeds and lines are more prone to it, and others it's been bred out of. Usually one is all it takes to give others the idea if they were thinking about it.

I've had what I call walking broodies. They cluck and screech, but never really set. Since being broody is a hormonal phase I would assume it's normal for some to be stuck in between. I usually just break them like any other broody.

Oh my gosh YES she is a walking broody! I love that term. Thanks so much for the affirmation and I will get on with the broody breaking! Thanks!

 

[NightingaleJen]

We also have had a pretty busy rotation in and out of broody jail, to the point we had to buy a second crate for the purpose. I think five or six of our twenty-two girls have gone broody this spring, three of them more than once. A friend who also has chickens has had a few of her girls go broody as well.

One of our hens went broody, was broken of it for about a month, then went back to full, growling, hyper fluffy, turkey tail, ticking broody mode for 22 days despite jail and pampering (hey, it was worth a shot). We succumbed and gave her chicks from the feed store a week ago, and she is much better. Wildly protective, but better. Now to figure out when to let her and her wee brood out to wander with the others!

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Same here. I currently have two orpingtons who are trying to hatch a rocks since I took their eggs. I also have a little porcelain D’Uccle that never seems to stop being broody this year since January she just wants to sit on all of the eggs!

 

[NightingaleJen]

They can be so funny. Typically I gather the eggs into a basket just sitting in the coop, but it was of course in full view of the broodies. One of them literally charged toward the basket when I let her out after three days to see how she was doing. Lesson learned. Hurrah for dish towel concealment!