Help I think my hen is broody!!!

[Chquinta]

all my girls (4) laid eggs yesterday but when I was filling up there food container I saw my EE go sit back in the nest and thought I know you laid me an egg why are you back in there, so I figured she would get out so I left and came to check on them and night and she was still in there tried to get her and she pecked me so I let her be. I'm assuming she is going broody and is sitting on a ceramic egg. I don't know if I'm ready for chicks if I decide I'm not what do I need to do. PLEASE HELP TIA..

 

[nchls school]

all my girls (4) laid eggs yesterday but when I was filling up there food container I saw my EE go sit back in the nest and thought I know you laid me an egg why are you back in there, so I figured she would get out so I left and came to check on them and night and she was still in there tried to get her and she pecked me so I let her be. I'm assuming she is going broody and is sitting on a ceramic egg. I don't know if I'm ready for chicks if I decide I'm not what do I need to do. PLEASE HELP TIA..

With my silkies I let them brood dummy eggs and after a few weeks they go back to laying. I know this doesn't work with some breeds. I know of broody hens that sat for a couple of months or longer. You can also put the hen in another pen without a nest box until her broodiness stops. Chicks are fun though. I have 3 silkies with 14 chicks and it is quite enjoyable to watch them. Nothing special is needed; the hens do all the work.

 

[Chquinta]

Ok this is my first time any of my hens have gone broody and I didn't think it would be them I have 29 week BO that I figured would be first and I'm still waiting on the to give me my first egg. So I think I might want to try hatching chicks, I have a rooster in there with them and I know he mates with all of the 4 hens multiple times aday so I would think all the eggs they lay are fertile correct. I'm thinking I might get a kennel and give her a separate area to brood in.

 

[Ridgerunner]

She might be broody or she might not. I’ve had hens show practically all the signs of being broody yet not kick over into full broody mode. They are living animals and don’t all read from the same book. My test to see if a hen is truly broody is that she needs to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of roosting in her normal place. If she does that, then I am willing to give her eggs to hatch.

If you hatch eggs, you can count on some males. Do you have a plan for that?

The odds are tremendously good that all eggs are fertile. You can crack some eggs and look for the bull’s eye if you want, https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/16008/how-to-tell-a-fertile-vs-infertile-egg-pictures but in your case I would not worry. If the eggs you crack are fertile, then the ones you don’t crack should be too.

You can either isolate the hen or let her hatch with the flock if you wish. There are benefits, disadvantages, and risks with any way you do it. Again, living animals don’t come with guarantees of how they will behave. If you let her hatch with the flock save up all the eggs you want her to hatch, mark them (I use a black sharpie), and start them all at the same time. Then every day after the others have finished laying, remove any eggs that don’t belong. As long as you remove them every day you can still use them.

If you isolate her, fix up a predator-proof pen, give her a nest, food, water, and some room to go poop. A broody hen knows to not pop in her nest but she doesn’t know to not poop in her food or water so you might be doing some cleaning. I suggest trying to make the nest fairly dark. That seems to help them accept the move. Then move the hen at night using as little light and commotion as possible. Have fake or sacrificial eggs in the nest at first until you see that she has accepted the move, then give her the real eggs. Leave her locked in there until the eggs hatch. That way she does not go back to her old nest and other hens do not get in there to lay in her nest.

There are a lot of variations on all this, we all do things differently. I wish you luck!

 

[Chquinta]

Well she was still in there when I went to give them some left over bread and she came out ate bread some water and pooped while she was doing that my red jumped in laid her egg came out then went back in and squatted over the egg and my broody came back screaming at her to get out and she was poking her head in there just waiting finally she turned around to come out and they did a stare down and then she got out the broody jumped in there and fluffed up and say on my reds egg along with the fake. Anytime anyone would come close she would scream at them.

So I have 8 eggs from the past 2 days I haven't washed or put up been sitting in the basket can I mark those eggs and let her sit on them?

 

[nchls school]

Well she was still in there when I went to give them some left over bread and she came out ate bread some water and pooped while she was doing that my red jumped in laid her egg came out then went back in and squatted over the egg and my broody came back screaming at her to get out and she was poking her head in there just waiting finally she turned around to come out and they did a stare down and then she got out the broody jumped in there and fluffed up and say on my reds egg along with the fake. Anytime anyone would come close she would scream at them.

So I have 8 eggs from the past 2 days I haven't washed or put up been sitting in the basket can I mark those eggs and let her sit on them?

Yes, you can.

 

[Ridgerunner]

So I have 8 eggs from the past 2 days I haven't washed or put up been sitting in the basket can I mark those eggs and let her sit on them?

Yes, you can.
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[Chquinta]

Ok awesome I'm gonna try and hope it works.. Thanks

 

[Chquinta]

Ok I put six eggs under her and she was ****** I took her out to get the other egg from today she screamed off and went to drink and pooped a lot and then ate and then she went back in there.

Does it matter if it was like 73 degrees in the house while the eggs were in the basket and now put them out there for her to sit on. I hope it works. Is there a way I can check after so many days if there are chicks growing in there?

 

[Kev]

It does seem she may be broody. If she also stays firm on the eggs at night instead of roosting with the other chickens it is a pretty sure sign.

Since other chickens have access to her nest.. IMO your first concern would be either moving her or screening off her nest to keep the other hens from going in there and/or prevent her from accidentally going back to wrong nest- especially if you have the row of nestboxes setup.

A hen trying to sit on a nest the other hens like to lay their eggs in is asking for trouble with broken eggs- you saw some signs of how this can happen.. her fussing and stare down with the other hen.. and other hens can push themselves inside while she is still on.. eggs can get trampled and broken.

If you are up for it and can check on her daily for the duration, something simple like a wire front placed securely over her nest front will keep the other hens from bothering her- but, you will need to take this off and either she comes out for toilet/feed break or you have to gently take her out... wait until she is done(make SURE she at least poops- it is normal for it to smell really horrible), drinks some water and eats some before being allowed back onto her nest. Then place wire back on.

Hens normally do not eat or drink while on the nest, so do not be concerned about having either right by her..