How Do You Know When They're Actually Broody?

[NorthernHomestead]

I have a hen who lays an egg and sits on it for hours. When I go to collect she makes all the broody noises and aggressively pecks. Same behavior for the past four days. Today when I took the egg, the fake egg that was in the box rolled out. She glared at me and tucked it back under her.

The thing is - that egg is always there and she isn't always sitting in the nesting box. So is she broody? I set a different hen up with a clutch that was displaying similar behaviors and she gave up after a few hours. The next day I took the eggs and put them in an incubator (she only sat with them for a few hours tops and then they spent the night unattended - we'll see if they'll hatch).

So how do you know if a hen is truly broody and not just broody for a few hours?

 

[Ridgerunner]

My test is that a hen needs to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of in her normal sleeping spot before I give her eggs. Not just one night, that might be a fluke. Two consecutive nights.

 

[RoyalChick]

My test is that a hen needs to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of in her normal sleeping spot before I give her eggs. Not just one night, that might be a fluke. Two consecutive nights.

Same here. First night is a good indication along with all the broody noises, but second night is confirmation.

 

[NorthernHomestead]

I'll see if she's still sitting on that fake egg tonight and tomorrow. If she's still there, I'll move a couple of the incubator eggs under her. I'll add more every day. It'd save me the trouble of raising them if she's actually broody.

We dispatched most of the young roos that were in that coop last week. There's plenty of room in there and the chickens are less rambunctious that live there.

 

[BoundlessLove]

The aggressive pecking is a good sign.

 

[eworms]

As others have said, does she stay in the nesting box two nights in a row? A broody hen has to get up at least once a day, often more, to eat and drink so you will see her out of the nesting box sometimes by day. Often, others will go broody too and sit on her eggs while she's up, if they don't have their own.