Hen in nest box over 24 hours?

[RipsRidges2]

One of my hens has been in the nest box over 24 hours. She has always been gentle, but when I put my hand near her she screams and pecks pretty hard. Over night she did move from one nest box over to the next. Also noticed that her feathers appear to be puffed out slightly, which I assume is to help her stay cool because it gets quite warm in the coop. I did put a fan in there for the girls. Any Thoughts ??? Thanks

 

[Teacherchick18]

One of my hens has been in the nest box over 24 hours. She has always been gentle, but when I put my hand near her she screams and pecks pretty hard. Over night she did move from one nest box over to the next. Also noticed that her feathers appear to be puffed out slightly, which I assume is to help her stay cool because it gets quite warm in the coop. I did put a fan in there for the girls. Any Thoughts ??? Thanks

Could she be broody? We had the same thing happen to us. She was in it for 3 days. When we finally checked on her to see what was up we found her on top of 12 eggs. We don't have a rooster so I replaced them with fertilized eggs I acquired and she's still sitting. I have never hatched under a broody hen before so I really don't have much advice or experience. (I've been posting questions about broody hens, but so far I haven't gotten any responses) Hopefully someone else around here can shed some light?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Classic broody behavior

 

[Eggcessive]

She sounds like she is broody, wanting to hatch eggs. If you don't want that, you should isolate her in a large dog crate with food and water, but no badding. place a roost in it if possible. She needs to stay there for 3-5 days. If you do want her to sit on eggs, they should be collected and then placed under her all at once, and marked with the date. This way, if another hen lays in her box, you can remove those eggs. I would give her a couple of days before putting the eggs under her, to make sure she is really broody. Here is a list of threads to click on and read about how others handle their broody hens:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/search/398106/?q=broody+hen&o=date&c[title_only]=1

 

[RipsRidges2]

She sounds like she is broody, wanting to hatch eggs. If you don't want that, you should isolate her in a large dog crate with food and water, but no badding. place a roost in it if possible. She needs to stay there for 3-5 days. If you do want her to sit on eggs, they should be collected and then placed under her all at once, and marked with the date. This way, if another hen lays in her box, you can remove those eggs. I would give her a couple of days before putting the eggs under her, to make sure she is really broody. Here is a list of threads to click on and read about how others handle their broody hens:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/search/398106/?q=broody+hen&o=date&c[title_only]=1

I have 5 hens, no roosters. I do have 2 ceramic eggs in the nest box. Should I remove them? I do collect 4-5 eggs everyday and don't leave eggs overnight.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have 5 hens, no roosters. I do have 2 ceramic eggs in the nest box. Should I remove them? I do collect 4-5 eggs everyday and don't leave eggs overnight.

Broodiness is hormonal ..... a hen will brood an empty nest add happily as a full nest

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is another good link on breaking broody hens: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/05/broody-breaker-when-hens-mood-to-hatch.html

If a hen tends to go broody, they will do it in summertime. My chickens are mostly from hatcheries, and some that I have hatched from shipped eggs. At least half of mine go broody, sometimes more than once in a year. It tends to spread through the flock, so don't be surprised if another goes broody soon.

 

[13ChickenGirl]

Sounds like a Broody mama!! You have 3 choices, 1. Buy a chick Or two and slip them under at Night.
2. Have her sit on eggs for 21 days. But depending on where you are at, this summer heat might not be too good.
3. The broody breaker, which is a wire bottomed cage. I have never tried it so you will have to ask someone else.