Not Your TYPICAL Broody

[BackAcre]

I have a hen that has been with me since spring. She came as a trio, but has since lost her two mates (1 to illness and 1 to predator). She has adjusted to being an only hen much better than I imagined, although I have plans in the works to build her a new flock - babies in the house and another mature hen spoken for. My problem is that she has been intermittently broody for the past 1-2 months, but not so broody I have felt she needed to be put I a broody breaker. I did that the first time she took to her nest in the position and spent her entire days there, even though she would go wander and peck around with the others if I physically removed her (this started before she lost her friends, so I don't think that is playing a role). I put her in a dog kennel in the garage overnight and by morning she seemed over it, a few days later resumed laying perfect eggs. 3 weeks later she started acting broody again, but only it seems when she has nothing better to do. Typically I open the coop in morning and she comes out to eat and stays outside for most of the day. When she is brooding, she won't voluntarily do that UNLESS I close the coop door behind her. Then she will happily free range or stay in her own all day and not act broody- no squatting or nest digging or looking for a spot to brood. She will free range for hours, and go in the coop and hop onto her roost at night time - only to find her in the nest the next morning, when we lift her off and start all over again. Today I put a plywood blocking the nests so I can leave the coop door open. She ate breakfast and then retreated to her roost rather than free ranging. I am not sure if a session in the broody box is the answer because she will go 12 hours or more without even thinking of her nest when it is not easily accessed. We are also in the process of building a new coop for her and the new flock. I know that will mean an interruption in eggs as well. Should I just leave her and hope she eventually resets when she has new company and new surroundings? Or should I force the issue with a night in the broody box?

 

[varidgerunner]

Sounds typical to me. If you don't want chicks, put her in a wire bottom cage so she can't keep her belly warm, for a few days. If you want chicks. let her set for a while in a pen of her own and then slip some fertile eggs under her.

 

[BackAcre]

Ok, guess I will have to pen her then! I thought broody hens were so single minded that all they would do is sit and sit, and constantly return to the nest or find a spot to nest if removed from their nest boxes. This girl is happy as a clam to dig and scratch and walk around all day, but as soon as she sees her nest she gets reminded all over again that she wants to sit.

 

[aart]

Hard to say if she's really broody or not, it may just be a reaction to being alone...
...or she's thinking about being broody but hormones are high enough to really let it kick in.
I would put those chicks out where she can see and hear them, see how she reacts.
How old are the chicks and what is your plan for integration?
What's the deal on the other hen?

 

[BackAcre]

The current older hen has met the chicks through fencing outside already and it went relatively well. There was flapping between her and the largestI have a plan for integration but I am definitely open to suggestions from experienced chicken owners! The new coop is almost ready (waiting on Windows to arrive and still need to build the outdoor run) but we are ready to evict the three chicks out of our bathroom, so we are planning to put the three chicks in the new coop with the window boarded over. I was thinking that after I did that, I could put the two older hens each in their own wire kennel in the coop as well (there is a separation wall in the middle of the coop, so they would be sharing a building but not a room). This starts my integration process and deals with my broody in one, haha.