Help my hen has gone broody

[doglikeme3]

My hens are about 1 year old and I am new to owning chickens. For the past 2 days, my hen has sat in the coop sitting on eggs. I did a little research and concluded that she must be broody. What do I do from here? It is the beginning of summer where I am at (central CA) and it has been getting in the low to mid-90s. Should I be worried or am I just overreacting?

 

[SilverBirds]

Do you have a rooster and if so do you want her to hatch chicks? If not it's best to break her. You can do this by putting her in a dog kennel with food, water, and a roost. Leave her in the kennel for around 48 hours. This method normally works well for most birds.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I've had success just putting hens out of the coop repeatedly over a few days. If you catch it early sometimes this will work. Move her, collect the eggs, repeat if you have the time. If not the above method is the standard. I've never had to use it.

 

[doglikeme3]

Do you have a rooster and if so do you want her to hatch chicks? If not it's best to break her. You can do this by putting her in a dog kennel with food, water, and a roost. Leave her in the kennel for around 48 hours. This method normally works well for most birds.

I do in fact have a rooster and am on the fence about chicks, my main concern is her getting adequate food and water as the hen house does better at trapping heat than releasing it.

 

[SilverBirds]

I do in fact have a rooster and am on the fence about chicks, my main concern is her getting adequate food and water as the hen house does better at trapping heat than releasing it.

Where I live it gets into the high 90Fs and I've had hens broody just fine. Here are two options.

1. You can leave her in the coop to sit on her eggs. You'd have to mark them and check them everyday so that you know other hens aren't sneaking into the nest to lay more eggs.

2. You can move her into a separate pen. It is advised to do it at night. There is a chance she gets confused and leaves the nest but this is a maybe.

 

[doglikeme3]

If I let her hatch the eggs, will she want to do it all over again once they hatch?

 

[SilverBirds]

If I let her hatch the eggs, will she want to do it all over again once they hatch?

She'll raise the chicks first. She may go broody again immediately after she's raised the chicks, or it may be a few weeks, months, years before she's broody again. What breed is she?

 

[doglikeme3]

I am not sure, but she has brown and white feathers and lays green/olive eggs. So maybe an olive egger. But that is just a guess. And if she were to go broody immediately after would we be able to break her then?

 

[SilverBirds]

Some breeds are more likely to go broody then others so I was just curious.

 

[doglikeme3]

Some breeds are more likely to go broody then others so I was just curious.

oh ok