"Pre"Broody behavior?...

[JBLane]

Hello Fellow BYC Friends,
I have a black Australorp hen for past 5 days acts as though she is going broody. But here's the twist... My other 4 hens are now going into the same nest box she is hogging, and they each lay there beside her and she scoops their egg under her. My barred rock roo actually escorts them to this hen and nest box! She hasn't begun sitting yet and I am hoping she will soon. Ever heard of such behavior? Thanks so much!

 

[jwcarlson]

A brood hen (in my experience) will take just about every single egg they can find. Some of mine even seem to find random stuff that's kind of like an egg to add to the clutch. I had one with one of those thermocubes in the nest with her eggs several years ago.

And I think naturally it makes sense for other chickens to want to add their egg to the clutch. I've got a goose that's "pre-broody" right now and she's actually getting out of the way to let the chickens lay and then coming back over and covering up the eggs with straw/hay. It's actually kind of annoying.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Yeah that all sounds normal to me. My rooster often sits with a hen while she lays or even picks out a spot for her to lay.

 

[Weetamoo93]

Does she stay in the nest box at night? I usually let mine sit in a box a few nights before I venture to give them eggs. All eggs are marked with a prominent "X" on both ends so I can check for any later additions and remove.

As for acting broody without setting, I have hens that will act broody a few weeks prior to setting, running around the yard all puffed up and doing their "chick talk". I had a pullet who had been "teasing broody" as I call it for at least a month; she's finally made her nest and is ready for eggs.

((Edited for typo))