Normal behaviour for a broody?

Bokk

In the Brooder
Sep 22, 2024
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So my hen has been a little broody for a while not full on broody just sitting on eggs at night and when laying or randomly sometimes, I would’ve normally broke her but she wasn’t breaking and her health wasn’t declining plus she wasn’t being difficult so I decided to leave her alone since she still loved going out everyday , my concern is her behaviour , normally she’s friendly and cuddly but strong asl LOL will take on anything i noticed she became friendlier and cuddlier but so skittish, like if I breathe too hard she jumps which isn’t normal for her I raised her since she’s a baby so she’s so over confident and rarely gets scared, I realised it’s getting more everyday , I really care about my chickens trust so I want to know is this normal ? Because I heard somewhere broodies get bullied and stuff she’s not with the others atm so no one bullied her is it me or just the hormones? Is she stressed should I break her? I didn’t want to put her in broody jail if she’s just minding her business, me and my sister are the ppl she follows around cuz she’s scared , she get scared of us sometimes (rarely though)
 
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It’s the mama bear hormones. In her mind everything is a potential threat to her nest.
Oh ok makes sense! Just wanted to make sure she’s ok, thanks! :) ,btw does this still apply even tho we’re no where near her nest?
 
sitting on eggs at night
You leave eggs in the nests at night? This seems like a good way to tempt predators in, like rats, snakes or even raccoons, to raid your nests, and that could put your hens at risk.

I'm also confused about what the problem is. You say she's over confident but then you say she's skittish, scared and jumpy. So is she brave and confident, or is she jumpy and scared? She can't be both.

You also say
somewhere broodies get bullied and stuff she’s not with the others atm so no one bullied her is it me or just the hormones?
so I don't understand if you're concerned she's getting bullied but then it sounds like she can't be because she's not with any other hens, so why would you even ask this? I'm just confused.

If you can clarify these things it would be easier to try and help you.
 
You leave eggs in the nests at night? This seems like a good way to tempt predators in, like rats, snakes or even raccoons, to raid your nests, and that could put your hens at risk.

I'm also confused about what the problem is. You say she's over confident but then you say she's skittish, scared and jumpy. So is she brave and confident, or is she jumpy and scared? She can't be both.

You also say

so I don't understand if you're concerned she's getting bullied but then it sounds like she can't be because she's not with any other hens, so why would you even ask this? I'm just confused.

If you can clarify these things it would be easier to try and help you.
1.i meant plastic eggs

2.what I meant is normally (when she’s not broody) she’s over confident but also sweet as in she’s not normally scared like this but when she’s broody she’s pretty skittish

3.because I heared they’re skittish because when they’re broody they’re vulnerable but she’s wasn’t with anyone else so I was wondering if this still applies or if I did something to upset her

thanks! Sorry I wasn’t clear in original post
 
Okay that helps, thanks. Let's see if I understand ... you think she's broody but she leaves the nest during the day. She sets on fake eggs at night. She seems jumpy and skittish which is not her normal behavior. You're wondering if you should try to break her of her broodiness, is that right?
 

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