Is my hen broody or just laying in a different spot?

[LittleRedCoopLady]

So, I'm new to broody hens, as I've never had one before. My blue LF Cochin has two eggs of her own and one of our golden comets in a nest in our coop (not in the nest box). If she were broody wouldn't she just stay on the eggs? Should I leave the eggs there until she does go broody? Is this how it works? Thanks so much for any help you can give!

 

[starri33]

So, I'm new to broody hens, as I've never had one before. My blue LF Cochin has two eggs of her own and one of our golden comets in a nest in our coop (not in the nest box). If she were broody wouldn't she just stay on the eggs? Should I leave the eggs there until she does go broody? Is this how it works? Thanks so much for any help you can give!

is she staying in the box longer than it takes to lay a egg? if she's not, she's not broody, there is no way to make her go broody, it's a hormone thing, if she starts staying in the nest box longer than it takes to lay a egg and screeches at you and pecks you when you go to collect the eggs, she's more than likely broody. When my first hen went broody, she'd stay in the nest box most of the time, screech at me, hiss and try to peck me (bite me) she'd do the same to any hen trying to get in there with her. if you decide that she really is broody, you will want to mark the eggs under her that you want her to hatch and then check for unmarked eggs, those are fresh ones that the others have managed to slip in.

 

[EggWalrus]

When they begin staying on the eggs, and puff up & growl at you while sitting on the eggs, then they are broody. They may even peck you if you try to move them off the eggs.

 

[LittleRedCoopLady]

is she staying in the box longer than it takes to lay a egg? if she's not, she's not broody, there is no way to make her go broody, it's a hormone thing, if she starts staying in the nest box longer than it takes to lay a egg and screeches at you and pecks you when you go to collect the eggs, she's more than likely broody. When my first hen went broody, she'd stay in the nest box most of the time, screech at me, hiss and try to peck me (bite me) she'd do the same to any hen trying to get in there with her. if you decide that she really is broody, you will want to mark the eggs under her that you want her to hatch and then check for unmarked eggs, those are fresh ones that the others have managed to slip in.

That's great advice! Thanks! So, I guess I'll go ahead and collect her eggs. Since they don't lay everyday, will she be on the nest for many days prior to the 21 required to hatch them out?

 

[LittleRedCoopLady]

When they begin staying on the eggs, and puff up & growl at you while sitting on the eggs, then they are broody. They may even peck you if you try to move them off the eggs.

So, should I keep all of her eggs in there?

 

[EggWalrus]

So, should I keep all of her eggs in there?

I'd keep on collecting her eggs, put them in egg cartons unwashed. Be sure to turn the cartoned eggs 3 times a day. You can use a pencil to write the date on the eggs, leave about 3 in the nest, and collect the oldest each day. If a hen has a tendency to go broody, she will need a few eggs in the nest to sit on, otherwise you might break her broodiness if she never has any eggs to sit on.

 

[aart]

These are my go-to signs of a broody hen:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?
Are there feathers in the nest, and missing from her breast/belly?
If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

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[LittleRedCoopLady]

Good advice! Thanks!