Is This What They Mean By 'Broody?'

[LisaJean]

This morning I went out early to look in the henhouse, and one of the barred rocks was in there, making little growly noises in the nest box. There was an egg under her, and she kept standing up, and nudging it under her with her beak, then settling down on it again. When I reached under her to get the egg, she got a little agitated.

And that what they mean by going broody? That she wanted to set on that egg, even though it wasn;t fertilized?

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

she sounds broody to me.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Yep-adoodles!

Better start investing in the chainmail gauntlets...

Miss MoneyPenny is finally not broody...she's been sitting on the same GD NONfertile egg since before Xmas. I just couldn't break her this time...

At least she's not vicious like Obelisk was...Penny would just flatten and scream. Obelisk would go right for your throat.

 

[lfoose]

My OEG is doing the same thing...only she is laying on the RIR eggs instead of her own...oh and the golf ball too!

 

[Ellie]

I watched two of mine doing that on Sunday, but then they did get up and go outside later. I take it that this means that they are NOT broody but could be later?

I am waiting for one to go broody so I can get a few eggs to hatch.

Did yours get up and leave the nest or stay?

Ellie

 

[S n M Poultry]

I have a broody hen sitting on 15 eggs right now. im gonna have chicks comin out of everything

 

[LisaJean]

After I took the egg, a minute or two went by, and then she just got up went out of the house and started pecking around the yard as usual.

I feel really bad, because she was taking such good care of that egg. But I don't need any more chickens (after the 10th one I'm getting Saturday), so I can't give her any to hatch out.

Will it traumatize her if I keep taking her eggs?

Also I think I prevented one of the other hens from laying this morning. After the broody incident, she went into the henhouse, and I wanted to see one lay an egg, so I lifted the lid of the henhouse and watched her.

She just stared at me like "Do you MIND?" And then got up, growling, and went out of the house. She didn't lay today at all.

There's another question, can a chicken hold an egg inside? Is it bad for them?

 

[Kaneke]

doubt if it will traumatize her -- especially if she isn't fully broody yet ... I collected 21 eggs from Black Maria before she went broody ... and the eggs she started sitting on were so old they probably would never have hatched .. they were unhatched eggs from under another hen who had left them in the nest after hatching eight chicks !

 

[SillyChick]

Congratulations on the broody hen! It's quite fun! Try dropping her on the ground. She might fall like a beanbag.

When a chicken is broody, they decide to hatch eggs and care for chicks. She will spend most of her time in the nest box, and little time to eat and drink. She will also aggressively protect her eggs/chicks from others. She will sit at anything that looks like an egg - even a golf ball! Chickens usually stay broody for up to 2 months, but some say their chickens snap out of the broody spell earlier or later.

I don't think she will be traumatized if you took the egg.
I heard that some chickens sometimes hold the egg inside them, but will eventually go out. Chickens don't usually lay an egg everyday; they lay every other day. She might lay soon. Also, sometimes when a chicken feels like they're going to lay, it turns out they were just going to poop. Just like people who feel like pooping then it turns out they were just going to fart! Oh, sorry if I grossed you out!

Good luck!

 

[silkiechicken]

If she got up and went about the day, she was not broody, but rather doing the normal hen thing after laying an egg and just enjoying sitting on them till the big human came over and peeked in. Mine like to hoard eggs while they lay, but after a bout 15-30 on the nest get up and leave. IF a hen is on the nest night and day for a few days, then you have a broody.