How young is too young to go broody?

[Rooneytune]

My darling EE Bertram Van Munster has been in the nest box for a few hours with nothing to show for it. She has been laying every other day for about the last 3 weeks. I picked her up and found a brown egg (she lays blue green) and set her in the other box. Is this normal? do they often "hang out" for a while with out accomplishing anything?

Just went out again and she was pack in the first box, this time with a blue egg under her. I had to pick her up to get the egg and then tried to shoo her 0out of the coop, but she just hunkered back down. She is only about 5 months old....

 

[Beaker Duck]

We had a little D'Uccle who started laying eggs around 5 or 6 months old. She was the only one laying at the time. An egg a day for about 5 days, and then she went broody. She stopped laying, and was sitting on an empty nest, extremely determined to hatch those pine shavings.
We also have had a few who like to sit and PRETEND they are laying eggs, and hog the favorite nest for hours on end, then get up and just walk away without producing an egg.
Chickens are weird, and yours is normal- as normal as chickens can be.

 

[spiritdance]

My blue and splash silkie sisters both started laying at 5 months, laid for about two weeks, then both went broody and will not come off the nests! I really don't want broodies right now because I worry about the effects of the heat on them. I've placed a fan to blow into the boxes, but unless I go out frequently and boot them off the nest they don't drink enough water for my comfort in this weather.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I just had a 19 week old Ameraucana go broody after laying about 7 eggs.

 

[shepan2]

I'm so glad you asked the question (about broody age)... My 5 month old speckled Sussex is on her 2nd day of nesting...I'm letting her go formit. If any hatch, it will be the end of august and the chicks will have time to feather before winter...kind of exciting..will be my first hatch!