From my own experience and from hearing about others experience with hens, once a hen goes broody, she innately knows what to do and doesn't need any help. And when they do go broody, it's almost impossible to get them out of it. However, I have a two year old Booted Bantam hen that decided to go broody for the first time a few days ago, and she doesn't seem to know what to do. She decided to start sitting on her eggs right before dusk a few days ago, and she constantly sat on them for the next two days. I know she is definitely broody. Besides not leaving the nest, she got upset with me a day after she first started sitting when I had to take away some eggs, since she was sitting on way too many eggs and two golf balls. But then, for no particular reason, she hopped out of the nest after two days of sitting while I was outside feeding the other animals and stayed off of the nest for the rest of that day, the night, then the next day too. Then, earlier today, I found her sitting on the nest again, and she's still sitting on them now.
I don't understand why this is happening. Booted Bantams are suppose to be a breed that easily goes broody, which she didn't, but now I'm finding that she doesn't know how to incubate eggs? I didn't even know it was possible for a hen to go broody, randomly decide she doesn't want to be broody anymore, then go back to sitting on eggs again.
I don't understand why this is happening. Booted Bantams are suppose to be a breed that easily goes broody, which she didn't, but now I'm finding that she doesn't know how to incubate eggs? I didn't even know it was possible for a hen to go broody, randomly decide she doesn't want to be broody anymore, then go back to sitting on eggs again.