I thought she was broody...but now

[chicklover16]

ok, so here's what happened, my RIR hen has been spending all her time in the nest boxes and she growls at us when we get near her, I thought she was broody so I took her out of the nest box, she walked back in, I dipped her in water, she walked back to her nest box, I stuck ice cubes under her, she sat on them. yesterday I lifted her out of the nest box again and set her on the ground, she just sunk down onto the ground where she was, I picked her up and set her somewhere else, she did the same thing, eventually she just walked back to her nest box, every time I take her out she either just plops down where she is or takes a dust bath and walks back to her nest box, is this normal behavior for a broody?

 

[ChicKat]

wow, she sounds determined----- do you have capacity for chicks? Do you want her to hatch?

My hen was broody---and I got some fertile eggs in the mail. The day before the eggs arrived, she was actually sitting on the nest when she had heat prostration-- (It is just too hot here right now for living things). Luckily I was there and she was saved......but she did abandon the nest (it was non-fertile eggs at that point). And some of the fertile eggs I ordered were broken in shipping so the other ones were probably too jarred to hatch anyway. Kind of a total wash out--yet still a learning expereince. If you had chicks hatch now---by next spring they would be old enough to lay----

 

[kidcody]

I'm glad to hear she is taking a dust bath! Sounds like she is broody!

 

[chicklover16]

thank you so much for your quick replies1 I'm glad she's not sick

 

[Happy Chooks]

I agree, she sounds really determined to have some babies.