Is My Hen Broody? What Should I Do?

[TheAlarmCluck]

if you put eggs in that nest where she goes, she will stay there for 21 days or until the eggs hatch, which sometimes can take up to 25 days depending on various factors. just put the eggs in the nest where she wants to be. you should have chicks within 3 weeks.

OK. How many eggs should I give her? She isn't that big so I was thinking she could handle around 5 or 6.

 

[NatJ]

Here's what I would do:

Think about whether the nest is a good, safe place for the hen to hatch chicks.

If the usual nest is not safe, then set up a safe nest (maybe in a dog crate or a separate pen.) Then put some fake eggs in the new nest, put the hen there, and shut her in. Make sure you also provide food and water. Then watch what she does for the next two or three days.

You can also be collecting eggs during that time, that you want her to her hatch.

She might sit on the nest in the new place. If so, after about 2 days and 2 nights, give her the eggs you want her to hatch. Give her all of them at the same time, so they will all hatch about the same time. Do not add more on later days.

Or she might refuse to sit on the new nest. If she paces back and forth (trying to go back to the old nest), just let her do that for 2 or 3 days. By the end of that time, she will not be broody any more, and you can let her out to go back to normal life.

If the current nest IS a safe place, you do not need to fuss with moving the hen. But I would give her fake eggs now, and let her sit on them for about 2 days & nights, just to make sure she really means it about being broody. When you give her the real eggs, mark them somehow (pencil works fine). Then check each day, and take out any new eggs (because other hens might lay in the nestbox even while she is broody.) Later eggs would hatch later, and you want all the eggs to hatch within a day or so of each other so the chicks are the same age.

For how many eggs, just make sure they do not stick out around the edges. I'm guessing she could handle almost a dozen, but that is purely a guess, and less is certainly fine.

 

[violeth]

OK. How many eggs should I give her? She isn't that big so I was thinking she could handle around 5 or 6.

I never give my hens more than 4 eggs