I think she’s broody...

[Kevin Magee]

Hi everyone, it’s been a while since I’ve needed assistance from the group. Everything has been going good with my girls up to yesterday. My wife and I had to go out of town for the day and did not get back until later at night, about 11:00 or so. I had gotten up extra early to get ready for our trip and unlocked the coop while the girls were all still asleep. I had left the girls with plenty of freshwater and filled the feeder up so they have plenty of food for the day. On return last night I went to collect eggs and lock up the coop. To my surprise I put my hand into the nesting box to find my Buff Orpington nesting in the box.
This hen is kind of prissy (my wife’s word’s lol) always fluffing her self up and dust bathing and cleaning herself. I do have an older hen who had grown up with three rooster’s. This hen is a daily egg layer yet on a regular basis is trying to mount the other three girls.
I have read other posts on the topic of broody or bound and it does sound to me like she may be broody. Her positioning of her body in the box is with her hind end in an upward position in her head is down.
I was thinking that maybe with my older hen showing her dominance and mounting the other girls, that maybe this may have triggered her broodiness. I was just looking for maybe some opinion’s from the group.
Thanks

 

[BirdLeaf]

If she’s broody, she will be extra aggressive while sitting on the eggs, may appear to be sitting somewhat flat, and will have LARGE smelly poops- very different from the usual chicken poops. She will also be reluctant to leave, but may do so for 10-30 minutes a day.

 

[Sleek28]

This is what our BO looked like when she went broody

 

[Lazy Farmer]

 

[CiscoChickens]

She's broody my friend. Buff Orpingtons are generally a very broody breed, so I would be surprised if it was something else.

 

[Kevin Magee]

If she’s broody, she will be extra aggressive while sitting on the eggs, may appear to be sitting somewhat flat, and will have LARGE smelly poops- very different from the usual chicken poops. She will also be reluctant to leave, but may do so for 10-30 minutes a day.

She does not seem to be extra aggressive. She really isn’t the most sociable of four girls. I let them free range a lot and the other three I can catch fairly easily but this BO does everything in her power to get away and not be picked up. I did rub her neck and back area while she was in the nesting box and she made some light cackling noises but once again again She did not peck at me or anything to that nature.

 

[Kevin Magee]

View attachment 1340117
This is what our BO looked like when she went broody

Yes this is kind of how she looks in the nest box.

 

[BirdLeaf]

Anytime I have a broody one, if I reach for them they peck me HARD! They’ve actually drawn blood before. Has she pooped in the box yet?

 

[Kevin Magee]

I’m really not sure. She is still in the box as of this morning when I opened the coop. I had to go to work afterwards. So I really have not had that much time to maybe try and move her out of the box yet.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

A good broody test in my experience is remove her from the nest. She may walk around all puffed up “buk buk buk” and hop right back in the nest.
They also do the hen pancake. You set her down, and she flattens out on the floor and won’t move.