How to tell if she is getting ready to get broody?

[rubyrogue]

I am still new to the wonderful world of chickendom. I got my hens when they were already laying because even though i have done the incubating and brooding before(though i never got to keep them long enough to enjoy them) I just dont have that much time to spend with properly taking care of chicks right now. One of the hens i got is 2 years old the previous owner said she went broody last year. She is a cochin/RIR cross. I was thinking that if she went broody, I could put some fertile eggs under her and let her hatch them out. I know she wont want to get off the nest when she is broody but what signs can i look for that she may be gearing up to get broody? Her bahavior today makes me think she may be wanting to go broody but like i said i am still new to chicken behavior. I know she layed already today because she is the only one of my hens that lays a cream colored egg. I keep one fake egg in both nest boxes. When i got home i was going to enclose their nestboxes a little more to make my hens feel more secure as they have been laying UNDER the boxes. Well i went out to the coop and she was in one of the boxes. like i said she already layed today and o took that egg out. She was fussing over the fake egg and one other egg that someone had layed in that box. She was making her nest all pretty and for the 15 min i watched her she turned both eggs a couple times and fluffed up the bedding around her. So i left her alone for about another 20min. when i came back she was still in the nest. I went into the coop and she reluctantly came out while i fixed the boxes. She stood in the doorway of the coop screaming at me the whole time stretching her neck out so i hurried and finished. As soon as i left the coop she went back to the nest and is now sitting on the two eggs again fussing over them. Is this a good sign she may be going broody? Should i get some fertile eggs? Or should i wait and see if she really goes for it?

 

[LarryPQ]

Sounds broody. You could give her a couple of eggs/golfballs for a week and then sneak a chick or two under her. Might be easier than going through the whole "hatching" process. I ended up doing that with my girls. I tried to let the first 2 hatch the eggs, but they stunk at it. So the next two broodies got chicks from the incubator or fellow BYCers.

 

[suzettex5]

I agree, she's showing some good signs.... You can look to see if she is pulling any chest feathers out- they do that sometimes to expose the warmer skin to the eggs and chicks. They will also 'puff up' at you and kinda growl, or cluck aggresively when you go close to them while they're on the nest. Mine took 5 days to finally decide to actually stay on the nest, so you may want to wait a few days to be sure she doesnt give up in the begining. Personally, I wouldnt put any super special eggs under a first timer, just in case, ya know? Since I just have hens for eggs, if one goes broody, I mark the eggs with a pencil, and let her have at it. I can afford to lose a few eggs, but if we get chicks, well, we're thrilled! A broody hen is pretty cool as far as I'm concerned, and they usually make good mommies.
Side note- They will take a few days to lay their clutch, and may get up a bit in between to eat and drink and poo, but as time goes by, they get up less and less, so provide food and water near their nest so they dont get too thin. They will take on pretty much any egg you slip under them, but be careful not to overload her or she wont be able to hatch any of them, 1 to 8 is usually a good number, 8 being more for the standard size hen. I'm not sure how many a bantam can handle.

Good luck

 

[KonaChikMan]

I have a question that kinda relates to this subject. It has been MANY years since I had anything to do with chickens so suffice it to say I am a born-again newbie. I have a couple of Americana/Black Giant pullets that I got from a friend who has both breeds running open ranged on his property. He estimated they were about 4 months at the time so I'm guessing they are about 6 months or so. I live in a residential area so I keep them cooped up and I can't have any roosters. My girls started laying eggs a couple weeks ago giving me an average of 3 eggs every 2 days. About 3 days ago they stopped laying eggs and won't leave the nest. I have 2 separate nests in the one coop (roughly 8lx6wx4h) but they insist on cuddling with each other in only one of them. They seem very agitated whenever I check on them and don't eat very much. Usually they are very animated and very excited when I feed them, especially when I bring them some vegetable scraps from my garden (organic, no pesticides) but now they are just very cranky. They are not lethargic or slow because when I try to pick one up she gets very defensive and pecks at me instead of just relxing when I pick one up. Their behavior kinda seems like they are brooding but aren't they a little young to be doing that? I looked for any leakage or stuck eggs but there is nothing wrong as far as I can tell. My friend has no idea of what is happening either. Any ideas what might be going on?

 

[LarryPQ]

broody. Try putting your hand under them. If you lose a finger, broody. If they are first-timers, it may be easy to break them, just keep tossing them out of the boxes and taking the eggs.

 

[suzettex5]

Konachickman- They do sound broody, and yes, a young hen can go broody. I've heard of hens (or'pullets') going broody over their first egg! It happens every so often. Could they be moulting? How are they as far as feathers go? Could they be really cold and trying to just stay warm? Idk, but they sound broody. They can go broody without a rooster around, that has no bearing on their little chicken hormones

(i believe) Just keep taking the eggs and keep a close eye on them to rule out any kind of diesease or cold.

Good luck!

 

[KonaChikMan]

I'm in Hawaii where average temps range from around 82 during day and no lower than 68 at night this time of year so I don't think cold is a problem. Their droppings look OK, not extra runny. I keep feed available all day (both scratch and egg layer) and change fresh water every day but they are not eating much for the last couple of days. I am dropping a few radish and clover leaves on them every day so they have something to eat without leaving the nest (those disappear eventually so they must be eating them). I used to be able to hand feed them but now they just want to peck at me. Their feathers are all intact although they are looking a little more ruffled than usual. They probably are just brooding but I will keep an eye on them anyway. I will update in a couple days if anything changes. Thanks for the helpful info.