Is my hen broody or should i take the egg?

[kylen2007]

I got my first egg today! Woo hoo! Lol! Anyways, my hen (Annabelle) is sitting on it. She is the one that laid and we recieved a rooster (Claude) by accident. Hatchery said he was a pullet. Claude is not a pullet but has a beautiful crow. Annabelle let me pick up the egg but she is wanting to skt on it. I saw claude mount her and her squat for him. I want to know what makes a hen be considered broody. Is it the fact she is sitting on her egg? I am certain it is fertilized bc he got get her twice in the last 5 days that i witnessed. Also will ahe continue to lay everyday while she is sitting on the egg?

 

[HighStreetCoop]

She's broody if ALL she does is sit on the nest. It's not uncommon for them to linger after they lay. You honestly don't want her hatching her pullet eggs (the small ones they start out with. The shells are too small and the chicks won't be healthy, if they even hatch.

 

[bobbi-j]

I seriously doubt she's broody if she's just laid her first egg. A broody hen will sit on the nest day and night, only getting off once, maybe twice a day to eat, drink, poop and maybe dustbathe. She will growl, peck and give you the "stinkeye" when you come near her and her nest. She will flatten herself down on the nest. A hen will stop laying eggs when she is broody.

 

[kylen2007]

Idk what time she laid. She allowed me to pick up the egg. I suppose ill wait til morning to see if she is still on it. she didnt lay it in the nesting boxes. Should i move her and the egg to a nesting box to get her to start laying in there? I had gold balls in there but she chose to hide in the coop behind the bedding bag and lay it.

 

[donrae]

Take the egg and bump her off the nest she made, unless it's a place you want her laying. She's not broody at this point and you might as well not waste the egg, go ahead and eat it. New layers often spend a lot of time on the nest, they just seem to like the coziness of it.

If she happens to stay on the nest for 2 days and nights in a row, you can consider her broody. She'll also stop laying eggs. At that time you can set all the eggs you want her to hatch under her, all at once. You don't want eggs to build up one a day or you can have a staggered hatch and lose a lot of chicks when she leaves the nest. If another hen has access to where she's setting, be sure you mark the eggs you want her to hatch so you can pull out the other hen's eggs if they get added to the nest.

 

[kylen2007]

Thanks! When i went back out to check on them she was out in the run foraging with the other girls. So looks like ill have a small breakfast tomorrow. She laid inside the coop bug not where i wanted her to. I have nesting boxes with golf balls in them but the only actioon they get is the hens kicking out the straw. Is there a way to redirect where she has chosen to lay?