Is this a broody?

[BigBlueHen53]

Broody Trance....clenching?

These are my go-to signs of a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

If so, then she is probably broody and you'll have to decide how to manage it.

You have the best and most accurate description of a broody hen, @aart, but at 1:30 am I just did the best I could.

 

[aart]

You have the best and most accurate description of a broody hen, @aart, but at 1:30 am I just did the best I could.

You did fine, better than my stoic facts with your late night humor.

 

[Ridgerunner]

These are my go-to signs of a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

I can't argue with any of this, it is accurate. I've had hens do that and more and not really switch to full broody mode. My test to see if a hen if truly fully broody and deserving of eggs to hatch is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of in her normal sleeping spot. Of course, if she normally sleeps in the nest this won't work.

Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?

I'll add a bit to this. Most of my broody hens fluff up when they are walking around like this, I think they are trying to look bigger and more intimidating. They are telling the rooster and the other hens to leave me alone and don't get in my way. Mine don't do this just when they are going back to the nest. They walk around like this when they come off the nest, are eating, drinking, pooping, or taking a dust bath.

It's not that broody hens are constipated, they know to not poop in the nest and mess up the eggs. So they hold it until they come off the nest. Those broody poops can be huge.

 

[aart]

Mine don't do this just when they are going back to the nest. They walk around like this when they come off the nest, are eating, drinking, pooping, or taking a dust bath.

True. I can hear that sound from 40 paces.....
...and they often start that before any of the other behaviors.

It's not that broody hens are constipated, they know to not poop in the nest and mess up the eggs. So they hold it until they come off the nest. Those broody poops can be huge.

I think we were just kidding about actually being constipated.

 

[LalaP]

You guys are hilarious! Good comedy, thanks.

Bertie didn’t spend any time in the nest box today. I took another look at the bald patch and it’s bigger than I thought. She’s so naked! So do you think that she was feeling a bit broodish but not dedicated enough to go all in? I mean, it sounds like about as much fun as quarantining and social distancing for 10 months. Who in their right mind chooses that?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Bertie didn’t spend any time in the nest box today. I took another look at the bald patch and it’s bigger than I thought. She’s so naked! So do you think that she was feeling a bit broodish but not dedicated enough to go all in?

She's probably thinking about it so just keep an eye on her. Sometimes they decide to go for it, sometimes they don't, and sometimes they like to keep you guessing.

My last broody danced around the issue for about 10 days, then as soon as she sat in a nest box for like 4 hours I'd had enough of waffling and tossed her in the broody breaker.