is she really trying to go broody on me?

[chickmomma03]

I have a young EE who just started laying 10/29/15. The past few days I have found her in the nesting bin laying on eggs. Day before yesterday it was a couple eggs, yesterday it was 5 eggs under her (hers and several other pullets), this morning I go out and she's laying on Ghost's egg. Call me mean, but I "kicked her out" of the nesting bin and collected the eggs. I don't want her to be broody, I don't want her to stop laying after she just started, and right now, especially with winter approaching, I don't want eggs hatched.

Anything I can do to get her to quit or is this just something I have to deal with? I tried to buy chicks that don't tend to be broody. These girls were suppose to be Ameraucanas, but ended up being EE. Everything I have read says they don't tend to be broody. Am I "wrong" for kicking her out of the nesting bin? I just don't know what else to do aside from removing her from the bin and egg.

Also, is it broodiness or her just being young? I didn't take the time to feel whether or not she had an egg near her vent, but she wasn't doing her "egg laying" position or anything like that when I pulled her out. She was literally just laying there. She usually doesn't lay until late afternoon or early evening.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

My ameraucana has raised many broods for me.
You never know when one will get the urge to raise a family. Some birds become setters after only laying enough eggs for a clutch. I don't know what a ghost egg is.
If you don't have fertile eggs or don't want chicks then you didn't do the wrong thing but that usually doesn't fix things.
The tried and true method, and really the only effective one is to put the hen in a wire bottom cage suspended so cool air can reach the underside. It will only take a couple days and is so much simpler than kicking them out of the nest many times a day - which doesn't really work. They'll just plop down somewhere to keep their belly warm.
The test of if she is broody is does she spend the night in the nest. If not, she's not broody. They're also cranky if you disturb them.
I would think a hen could keep chicks well in NC this time of year. I've had hens successfully hatch and raise chicks this time of year and it was quite cold.
Pullets and hens don't lay the same time every day unless they are either a super hen that lays an egg every day or a hen that only lays every few days. It usually takes at least 26 hours which means it will be a different time every day.

 

[junebuggena]

It's very normal for pullets that are new to laying to spend time sitting in nest boxes. I have a few that still like to sit for a few hours in a nest before they lay their egg, at 10 months old. Broody hens will be on the nest all day and all night.

 

[Nupe]

I have hens who run to the nesting boxes, plop an egg and run out singing. I have other hens who will sit on a nest for hours before they actually lay but they're not broody. When I see these girls, I just reach under their butts and steal the eggs. Sometimes they leave, sometimes they just lift their butts up til I'm done. (That's a wonderful time to check for external parasites around the vent, BTW.)

The way I determine a broody is how they react to being disturbed. They poof out their feathers, fan out their tails and verbally complain when you disturb them. When standing, they look like a little turkey. If she's broody and you have to cage her, offer her some scratch by hand every day. If she poofs up at you, she's still broody.

 

[chickmomma03]

Quote: Ghost is one of my other pullets, she's a leghorn. She definitely doesn't lay at the exact same time every day, but she's predictable in that she doesn't until afternoon or evening every day.

Quote: Thanks, she's not in at night, but she's been spending more time in during the day.

I was reaching under and just grabbing eggs, but she didn't care much for that, so I picked her up and she went on her way into the run and started eating and drinking. I give out treats a couple times a day in small amounts, so she was happy to munch on them.

Quote: yea, I've checked her vent because I wanted to see if there was an egg/where it was at in the process or if I even felt one. Everything looks and feels fine thankfully!

She has verbally protested, but I haven't noticed any feather puffing or tail feather fanning. Good to know what to look for though!

I definitely don't want chicks right now. It's not something I'm interested in yet. I just finished getting everything done with these babes late in the summer (mine are only 7mos and 5mos 3wks). I don't know if I'll be interested in Spring yet or not, but I know I'm not ready right now to handle a broody should it come up. I do have a cockerel for fertilization so at some point I plan for it, just not yet!