Is broodiness contagious?

[timetoroost]

Good morning!
I have a flock of 12 Australorp Hens that are 15 months old. They did so well over the winter, but we are struggling a bit this Spring with production. Finally I figured out one had gone broody. Given that I had just bought 18 new chicks, I didn't want to complicate the groups by giving her some eggs to hatch. I finally ended up using the cage method, as she was extremely determined to return to her nest (and appeared to be stopping others from using the favorite spot...which is why i thought egg productions was down). That worked! But within a couple of days, I notice another hen starting the process. I spent a day trying to relocate her since she had just started the broodiness (thinking she wouldn't be so determined and I wouldn't need to cage her...... wrong....) and over the course of the day, 2 more are doing the same thing! Sheesh! Is it because they are all the same age? Or just hens living together? They have a big beautiful fenced in area to free range. Will I be going throught this with all of them over the next few weeks?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The elevated wire bottom cage is tried and true. It is also most effective the first few days of broodiness.
If you have breeds that have a tendency to go broody, I believe it can be contagious, per se.
They see one hen hanging out in the nest day and night. They may think, "hey, I would like to raise a family too."
I have had multiple hens broody at the same time on more than half of the occasions. I once had 9 pullets in the same building that had just started laying. 7 of the 9 went broody all at once and one of the remaining two joined them part time.