How to know when a chicken is broody "enough"

[Vickydolittle]

What are some telltale signs that chickens are broody enough to put down some hatching eggs/try to make her adopt some chicks?


ALSO, if she's in the favorite nesting spot, should you let her have it or try to move her to a different one?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If she sits day and night except for a daily foray of eating, drinking, defecating and dust bathing, she's ready. What happens in her head tomorrow or next week is a different story.
You could put real or fake eggs under her and see if the behavior changes.
You can leave her where she chooses as long as you mark her eggs and remove any volunteers. I prefer to remove her to her own space. I have small broody apartments for that. It makes life so much simpler.

Simple chicken keeping is enjoyable chicken keeping.

 

[Vickydolittle]

If she sits day and night except for a daily foray of eating, drinking, defecating and dust bathing, she's ready. What happens in her head tomorrow or next week is a different story.
You could put real or fake eggs under her and see if the behavior changes.
You can leave her where she chooses as long as you mark her eggs and remove any volunteers. I prefer to remove her to her own space. I have small broody apartments for that. It makes life so much simpler.

Simple chicken keeping is enjoyable chicken keeping.

Yes, i like how simple it is right now, I'd just also like to have more without having them in my house again
One of mine just started signs, but she's also only almost a year so I doubt she's totally ready

 

[wrathsfarm]

I go by 2 FULL night's in the nest box to hopefully insure she's committed.

I also like separating my broody's and do it just before hatch day unless 1 is getting bullied then I will separate sooner. All my nest boxes are moveable and that's how I do it. I move the whole nest box to a brooder under the poop boards or connect it to a dog crate if needed.
I wait for a time she gets off the nest to relieve her self and then move the nest to the brooder area, and when she comes back looking for her nest I place her in the brooder and she settles right in. I've had no fails doing it this way with 9 broodys last year.

I feel this gives her 100% focus on her eggs and chicks with no interference for the first few days of motherhood but still part of the flock.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Yes, i like how simple it is right now, I'd just also like to have more without having them in my house again
One of mine just started signs, but she's also only almost a year so I doubt she's totally ready

I understand your concern about her age. And I think a repeat brood hen is more reliable. However, how does a pullet/hen become a serial broody if she doesn't begin raising chicks?
I once had a building housing 10 pullets that just began laying eggs. 8 of the 10 went broody at the same time about 3 months after beginning to lay. 7 of the 8 stayed broody and successfully hatched.

 

[Ridgerunner]

how does a pullet/hen become a serial broody if she doesn't begin raising chicks?

Bingo!!! I've had a lot of good luck with first time broodies and I've occasionally (but rarely) had bad luck with hens that were successful when they were first time broodies. A lot of people I respect on here seem to not like first time broody hens but I have no problem giving them eggs or chicks. Much more often than not they are very successful.

I go by 2 FULL night's in the nest box to hopefully insure she's committed.

Same here. There are many signs a hen may be broody, may be about to go brood, or may not quite go far enough to be worth giving eggs. If a hen spends two consecutive nights on a nest I consider her safe to give eggs to.

ALSO, if she's in the favorite nesting spot, should you let her have it or try to move her to a different one?

Different people do it different ways. I let mine incubate and hatch the eggs in the flock and raise the chicks in the flock from hatch. Some people like to isolate the hen during incubation, during hatch, and even after hatch. We all have different set-ups, different goals, different flock make-ups, different experiences, and many other differences. To me it makes sense that we do things differently.

There are risks and benefits doing it different ways. I have a large coop and a lot of room outside. My broody hens do a great job of taking care of their chicks. If you have a small coop, an elevated coop, or very limited space outside isolation makes more sense.

It doesn't bother me to have other hens laying in the same nest, I just remove any eggs that don't belong daily. Some people are worried sick if that happens. Some bad things can possibly happen, but that doesn't mean they are inevitable. But if they worry you enough don't try it.

 

[Mrs. K]

As Ridge runner states, we all have different ways of doing things, and we are giving advice based on our own coop/run set up.

Personally, I have tried moving the broody and had wrecks with that. Once she sat on my nest for a week - then went back to where she thought was good - in another building on the two days I was gone. Nada.

I have 4 smallish nests. My hens for years, have picked one of those and sat in it. It is a couple of feet off the ground. I leave her be - every two or three days - if I don't catch her off the nest, I will carefully take her off the nest and check the egg count.

I do generally keep fake eggs in the nest, but not when I have a broody hen. On occasion, I have had one go out for her daily, and come back and get on the wrong nest. I don't have that as much if I remove the fakes. NOTE: if this happens, and even if the eggs are cool, just stick them back under her, and they will hatch!

The day before she hatches, I put fresh bedding in the coop. I have never had a chick injured getting down. However, if you get one that hatches several hours earlier than the others, they may get rambunctious enough to get down to the floor and the hen will leave the remaining eggs. If that happens, I just move those eggs to her on the floor, and she will tuck them right under her, and finish the hatch. Got 100% pullets last time.

I do put water close by and feed, but generally my hens have them outside within 24 hours. The layer flock has been giving the broody hen a great deal of space for weeks, and they do not bother her or those strange fluff balls she seems to be talking to. She tends to hang in a corner, on the edge of the flock. Once in a while after a couple of days, a chick will not be paying attention and get close to a layer, who will give a peck, but Mamma interferes and correct chicken society begins. At this time, my whole flock goes to chick feed with oyster on the side.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch is good advice. Some eggs don't develop, some start and quit, some get broke. Celebrate the live ones, don't stress over the others, 50% is something to aim for, but a lot of eggs don't hatch.

Mrs K

 

[Apis mellifera]

I think the breed has a lot to do with readiness. Once mine try to remove skin off my hands, they're ready!

 

[Mrs. K]

emove skin off my hands, they're ready!

Or take your arm off at the elbow!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Bingo!!! I've had a lot of good luck with first time broodies and I've occasionally (but rarely) had bad luck with hens that were successful when they were first time broodies. A lot of people I respect on here seem to not like first time broody hens but I have no problem giving them eggs or chicks. Much more often than not they are very successful.

I grew up with 2 huge connected hen houses that would hold about 150 birds between them. As an adult, I built a few coops around 95 to 99 sq. ft. to avoid getting permits required for 100 square and larger. Several were much smaller. Mostly prototypes of various test designs I conjured.
At one time I had 8 in my backyard. 3 of the smaller units were built for trios. They were small but almost open-air hardware cloth covered with large pen space. However, when one was unoccupied and I had a hen start sitting, I would move her into her own space. For me it was the most ideal situation. New pine shavings bedding and new excelsior nest pads. A feeder and automatic water. All I had to do each day was verify the water was working. Otherwise, I ignored them. Due to the fresh bedding, I could easily tell how many times they would defecate. It was usually once a day but not always. They would skip a day occasionally. In most nest boxes I used both plastic and excelsior nest pads. I once thought I'd switch the hen to plastic when I moved her from the main coop to her apartment. She refused to sit on the eggs. I panicked. I replaced the plastic pad with excelsior (which she had been using). She immediately went in and sat on the eggs. That hatch proceeded without fail.