Is She Broody or is She Not???

[Susan Dye]

About 2 months ago my BO, Miss Betty, went broody. I broke her in 3 days using the crate method. She started laying again in about a week. So far so good. Now she appears to be going broody again. I recently read on here about someone whose hen has been going broody every other month for some time. Miss Betty had not gone broody but once last year, then again, as I said, about two months ago. Now, she is has all the signs of going broody but she is still laying. Four days ago, I went out to gather eggs at 10:30, Betty was on a nest and there was only one egg in the nest next to her. Two hrs later I went back out and Betty was still on the nest and there were 4 more eggs in the next nest over. Checked under Betty, and she had an egg. So, 6 hens, 6 eggs, all is good. She stayed off the the nest the rest of the day, but was back on the nest that evening. Fussed, pecked at me, puffed out her feathers, the whole nine yards when I removed her from the nest. Put up a barrier in front of the nests. She found a small gap in the barrier and I found her back on the nest at bedtime. Fixed the gap. Next morning I set up the crate. She couldn't wait for me to uncover the nests. Put her in the crate. She escaped. Put her back in, she escaped again. This time I saw where she was getting out and fixed it. She's smart and determined, but I'm smarter and more determined...I think. She managed to find her way back onto the nest again that evening and laid an egg. Yesterday, as soon as the other hens had laid their eggs, I, securely blocked the nests, and let Betty out of jail. She was very upset about not having access to the nests. She walked around complaining, she was in and out of the coop, she was ignoring food/drink/treats. All the signs of being broody right? Or am I jumping the gun? She's never continued to lay before when she was boody. But, if I leave her out of the crate, she won't leave the nest. And she's definitely intimidating the other hens. So, is she broody or not. Should I go ahead and leave her alone for a couple of days to see if she is going to keep laying? Or, keep her locked down for a couple of more days to see if she stops the broody behavior?

 

[Brahmachicken240]

If she’s laying eggs then she is not broody.

 

[Susan Dye]

If she’s laying eggs then she is not broody.

Thanks. I thought that might be the case, she's just spending sooo much time on the nest.

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Thanks. I thought that might be the case, she's just spending sooo much time on the nest.

I have a hen that spends a lot of time in the nesting box too, sleeping in it at night as well sometimes. If they’re broody they will stop laying eggs and they’ll Only leave the nest for 15-20 mins to get food and water.

 

[Susan Dye]

I have a hen that spends a lot of time in the nesting box too, sleeping in it at night as well sometimes. If they’re broody they will stop laying eggs and they’ll Only leave the nest for 15-20 mins to get food and water.

Betty has always spent around 2 hrs on the nest when she's laying normally. But, when 4 other hens come in, lay, and leave and she lays and still sits on the nest, makes you wonder. Plus all the other broody behavior...growling, puffing up, pecking. Maybe she's working up to going broody again? Maybe I have too much time on my hands?

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Betty has always spent around 2 hrs on the nest when she's laying normally. But, when 4 other hens come in, lay, and leave and she lays and still sits on the nest, makes you wonder. Plus all the other broody behavior...growling, puffing up, pecking. Maybe she's working up to going broody again? Maybe I have too much time on my hands?

Lots of hens growl, puff up and peck at you when you’re trying to get their eggs, that’s just them protecting them. Doesn’t mean they’re broody.

 

[NNations]

Does she make a clucking sound when she puffs up? That is a broody trait. She may be going broody but still laying eggs to make her clutch. The trick to the broody breaker is a wire bottom to cool off their core temperature and place it away from the coop. Outta sight outta mind kind of thing. Takes mine about 2-3 days. When I walk up to the cage and they don't puff up at me or make clucking sounds then that is usually the sign they are no longer broody. Good luck.

 

[Susan Dye]

Does she make a clucking sound when she puffs up? That is a broody trait. She may be going broody but still laying eggs to make her clutch. The trick to the broody breaker is a wire bottom to cool off their core temperature and place it away from the coop. Outta sight outta mind kind of thing. Takes mine about 2-3 days. When I walk up to the cage and they don't puff up at me or make clucking sounds then that is usually the sign they are no longer broody. Good luck.

Yes, she clucks and growls, which she doesn't normally do even when I remove her from the nest. The last few days she has been clucking practically non stop. I took a chance and let her out this afternoon when I thought the others were finished laying. She stayed in the yard, did some dust bathing, ate a bit, and I assume, drank some water, though I didn't actually see her drink. Then, even though I had again blocked off the nests, she managed to move the block enough to sneak behind it and has been in there on the nest for 4 hrs now. No egg at this time. I think you may have hit on what's happening. She's going broody and was working on her clutch. She's going back in the crate in the morning. And, I'm going to work on something more substantial for blocking the nest!

 

[rosemarythyme]

She's probably thinking of going broody. I know most folks recommend waiting until they're definitely broody and then breaking, but I start the breaking process as soon as they show signs and so far that's worked for me. But yes that means I have had eggs laid in my broody breaker, as they can have a final egg on the way down the chute even as they start going broody.

 

[Susan Dye]

She's probably thinking of going broody. I know most folks recommend waiting until they're definitely broody and then breaking, but I start the breaking process as soon as they show signs and so far that's worked for me. But yes that means I have had eggs laid in my broody breaker, as they can have a final egg on the way down the chute even as they start going broody.

Yeah, I'm going to go full out break mode on her. She spent almost 6 hrs on the nest this afternoon/evening. No egg. I hate seeing her constantly pace in the crate, but the sooner she gets this out of her system the better. Just hoping this isn't going to become a "thing" all summer. She's so sweet when she's not broody, but boy does she become a terror when she is broody. When I took her off the nest this evening and blocked the nests, she turned on me like she was seriously thinking about charging me. She didn't, but she sure was mad. She terrorized a couple of the other hens before going in to roost. It's funny and sad at the same time.