Good morning, I have joined with the hope of gaining more knowledge in regards to my Chickens. I have 6 Chickens and 1 Rooster. I have had chicken a few years ago but not a Rooster. I noticed yesterday that one of my chickens was on her own in the laying box. When I went to collect the eggs she puffed up and made a funny noise. I noticed that she has lost some feathers on the back of her neck. Does this behavior mean she is brooding? She was off the nest earlier this morning so I took the brown eggs from the nest. When I went back to check on her she wasnt laying on the white eggs that I left. If she is brooding, how do I keep her calm and healthy so she can do what needs to be done so the eggs hatch? Thank you Kylie28
! Broodies are really good at doing what they do - just put the eggs in whatever nest she has chosen - I recommend marking them because chances are your other birds will lay more under her and you'll want to remove them daily as they are laid or it causes problems down the road - and she will most likely settle right in on them. Just make sure she gets up once a day to eat, drink, and poop and she will be okay. In 21 days, if she is successful, you'll have peeps
Hello and Welcome to BYC! Some hens will puff up when they are laying eggs and you disturb them, so she may not be actually broody yet if she left the nest and hasn't come back. She may lose some feathers on her chest if she is brooding, but she shouldn't lose them from her neck because of that. The BYC Learning Center has a couple of articles on Broody hens. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks
I just want to say a huge thank you for all the welcomes. I checked on her a little while ago and she is on the eggs. So hopefully I will have some babies in a few weeks. Should I put some food and water next to her so she doesn't have to leave the nest? I will also check out the info you said Kelsie2290. Thanks heaps everyone. If they do hatch I will put up some photos.
You want her to leave the nest daily so that she does not defecate on the eggs. Welcome to BYC, and good luck.
