Is she broody?

embunney

Hatching
Sep 11, 2015
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hi there - I have no idea if I've posted this on the right thread, in the right place or even on the right website ! I'm quite new too keeping chickens but very new at posting so bare with me!

Basically I have three birds - 2 RIR and a polish cock.
starting from the begging - basically I have de mantled my chickens house in order to jet wash it, treat it for mites and weather proof it before the bad weather starts coming in when I noticed one of my hens acting more strange than usual.

She was sat in the nest box (bum on grass with no roof) pretty much all day... Come 4pm I started getting worried as she hadn't moved from there all day, so lifting her up we were surprised to see her clutching 2 eggs.

We moved her &I the eggs somewhere safe in the corner of the garden whilst we completed the house and put it back together (We also added another 4 fertile eggs making 6 alltogether)
She clutched them all day turning & counting them each time she moved, leaving once for food and drink..
When she did get off the eggs to eat, the house was back together so we moved the eggs into the nest box hoping she would follow - but she didn't.

When we showed her the eggs she seemed scared of them running a mile!
& that was it for the broodiness
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Did I break the broody spell by moving her twice ?
Was she even broody to begin with ?
Is there any way I can spur her motherly instinct to clutch some eggs again! I'm desperate to hatch my own chicks!
Thank you for reading - Emily
 
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Emily! You've come to the right place :)

Yes, your hen was broody. Most hens once they have settled into a nest and started incubating, do not like being moved, so yes that probably broke her. There are not really any sure ways to ''make'' a hen go broody. If she went broody once and didn't hatch anything, chances are she will go broody again at some point. If she does go broody again you will probably want to separate her, so she has her own place to sit. Also make sure that the eggs have all been put under her at the same time, or some will hatch first, and she will get off the nest with those and abandon the rest of the eggs, If that makes sense. Good luck with your flock!
 
Hi, welcome to BYC!
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x3 on mymilliefleur's comments. You'll more than likely get another chance with her going broody so don't get discouraged, give it time.

Thanks for joining us!
 
Hi everyone,
thank you for all your replies. She's no longer sitting on the eggs
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I must of broke her broodiness whilst moving her, I did however get the cutest little video of her clutching in her eggs and a memory ill never forget was the cutest thing ever!
 

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