How do you know if a hen is broody?

[Jacquej57]

This morning one of my Rhode Island Reds was in the largest nest box when I went to let the girls out. No biggie...I figured she was laying. I kept going back and checking and she was still in there 4 hours later. I finally convinced her to move so I could grab the eggs that were under her. It's a favorite box and there are always 4-6 eggs in there. Once I took the eggs she grumbled and complained, and then came out of the box, shook herself, and wandered off muttering to herself. My daughter has fertile eggs, and if she wants to set, I'm happy to let her. How do I know if she is broody or just felt like hanging out this morning?

 

[Iluveggers]

This morning one of my Rhode Island Reds was in the largest nest box when I went to let the girls out. No biggie...I figured she was laying. I kept going back and checking and she was still in there 4 hours later. I finally convinced her to move so I could grab the eggs that were under her. It's a favorite box and there are always 4-6 eggs in there. Once I took the eggs she grumbled and complained, and then came out of the box, shook herself, and wandered off muttering to herself. My daughter has fertile eggs, and if she wants to set, I'm happy to let her. How do I know if she is broody or just felt like hanging out this morning?

If she continues to go back in, and stays in the next 3-4 days for the majority of the day, I’d say you could try to let her hatch. Of course, you could give her some fake eggs, and if your daughter hatches her chicks, in a few weeks slip 2-3 under your broody at night. Lots of options if indeed she is broody. She may snap out of it, she may not.

 

[aart]

Here are my go-to signs of a broody.....
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

 

[Jacquej57]

Thank you! She was definitely doing the cluckcluckcluck thing when I took the eggs and booted her out of the box. But I am happy to have her hatch out some chicks. So much easier than brooding them myself. And I was thinking about getting a few more chicks before winter to replace the few we lost before we figured out the predator that was picking off my pullets. Stray tom cat....shot gun blast over his head and a walk through the shelter belt with my dog every day took care of that issue.