Multiple gone broody?

[Cxwhit3]

Hi there,
I have nine hens that share 3 nest boxes and recently 3 of the girls have pretty much taken up permanent reisidence in them. They cackle and hiss when I force them out and then just lay on the coop floor glaring and pouting. 2 of them have their butts pulled featherless. Do multiple birds often go broody? (Like sorority sisters with synced up cycles?) When I lock them out in the run they drink and eat but they head back in as soon as I open the door to the coop.

I only got 2 eggs today, one of which was broken and crushed in the nest. I’m thinking the squatters are preventing the others from using the nest boxes.

We have been having very warm days, which I know can impact their laying and also we had a light running in the coop until a few days ago but our days are sunny and about 15 hours long. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Carol

 

[NatJ]

Do multiple birds often go broody? (Like sorority sisters with synced up cycles?)

Yes.

I'm not sure if they influence each other, or if they are all reacting to the same conditions at the same time (things like day length.)

But yes, hens definitely do seem to go broody in clumps.

I only got 2 eggs today, one of which was broken and crushed in the nest. I’m thinking the squatters are preventing the others from using the nest boxes.

Yes, they might be causing trouble for the layers.

You could put in some temporary nestboxes (even cardboard boxes can work.)
That would provide other places for some of the hens to lay, or for the broodies to sit.

You could move the broodies somewhere else, like another pen. Some hens stay broody when moved, but some hens quit being broody if you move them.

You could break the broodies (breaking their broodiness, not damaging the hens themselves.)
A common method is to put the broody in a wire cage (rabbit cage, dog crate, etc.) She gets food, water, and maybe a piece of wood to perch on. But she is on a raised wire floor, with no nest and nothing to snuggle in. This will typically break the broodiness within 3-5 days.

Of course you could give the broodies some eggs to sit on, but that doesn't solve the full-nestboxes problem. They could sit on eggs in the main nestboxes, or in a different place. If you want them to sit in a different place, move them first, give them a few fake eggs to sit on, and wait a few days to see if they keep sitting before you trust them with real eggs in the new place. If you want them to sit on eggs in the main nestboxes, mark the eggs you give them, and check each day to remove any newly-laid eggs in the nests.

If you just leave them broody, with no eggs, they will eventually quit being broody. But it might take them quite a while (I've seen 6+ weeks of broodiness from at least one hen I had in the past.)

 

[Cxwhit3]

Yes.

I'm not sure if they influence each other, or if they are all reacting to the same conditions at the same time (things like day length.)

But yes, hens definitely do seem to go broody in clumps.


Yes, they might be causing trouble for the layers.

You could put in some temporary nestboxes (even cardboard boxes can work.)
That would provide other places for some of the hens to lay, or for the broodies to sit.

You could move the broodies somewhere else, like another pen. Some hens stay broody when moved, but some hens quit being broody if you move them.

You could break the broodies (breaking their broodiness, not damaging the hens themselves.)
A common method is to put the broody in a wire cage (rabbit cage, dog crate, etc.) She gets food, water, and maybe a piece of wood to perch on. But she is on a raised wire floor, with no nest and nothing to snuggle in. This will typically break the broodiness within 3-5 days.

Of course you could give the broodies some eggs to sit on, but that doesn't solve the full-nestboxes problem. They could sit on eggs in the main nestboxes, or in a different place. If you want them to sit in a different place, move them first, give them a few fake eggs to sit on, and wait a few days to see if they keep sitting before you trust them with real eggs in the new place. If you want them to sit on eggs in the main nestboxes, mark the eggs you give them, and check each day to remove any newly-laid eggs in the nests.

If you just leave them broody, with no eggs, they will eventually quit being broody. But it might take them quite a while (I've seen 6+ weeks of broodiness from at least one hen I had in the past.)

Thanks. I had one earlier this spring that seemEd like she was broody forever before she gave up. Mostly I’m concerned about the other six

 

[janiedoe]

No rooster in our flock. Just the girls, so no hatching for us. We’ve set up more boxes. I’m just going to let them ride it out

Where are you located? It's pretty hot here, so if I didn't want one to hatch, I'd try to break them.

 

[NatJ]

Mostly I’m concerned about the other six

Extra nestboxes, or moving the broodies out, could take care of that.
Breaking the broodies will also get them out of the nestboxes.

 

[Cxwhit3]

Husband put in a couple more boxes. We’ll see what happens

 

[janiedoe]

A woman's hormones can be influenced by other womens' hormones, in the same household, to the extent that they cycle on the same schedule. I think it's the same for hens.
Do you want chicks? If not, @aart has explained how to break a broody.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You haven't answered if you want to hatch or not. Breaking the broodies would really be your best bet.

 

[Cxwhit3]

No rooster in our flock. Just the girls, so no hatching for us. We’ve set up more boxes. I’m just going to let them ride it out.

 

[Shadrach]

Hi there,
I have nine hens that share 3 nest boxes and recently 3 of the girls have pretty much taken up permanent reisidence in them. They cackle and hiss when I force them out and then just lay on the coop floor glaring and pouting. 2 of them have their butts pulled featherless. Do multiple birds often go broody? (Like sorority sisters with synced up cycles?) When I lock them out in the run they drink and eat but they head back in as soon as I open the door to the coop.

I only got 2 eggs today, one of which was broken and crushed in the nest. I’m thinking the squatters are preventing the others from using the nest boxes.

We have been having very warm days, which I know can impact their laying and also we had a light running in the coop until a few days ago but our days are sunny and about 15 hours long. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Carol

I have no idea how often it happens but I've had them do it a few times to me.
Mostly one or more give up but I've had two or three instances of more than one sitting and hatching. They all did a bit of mothering and the chicks didn't seem at all bothered by the extram mum/s