She is laying but not brooding!!!!

wionna1202

In the Brooder
10 Years
Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
Points
22
Location
Naples
I have a question. I am new to chickens and new to this site. We have had some chickens for a few months now. I got 6 chicks from the store, 2 a little older from a lady. about 15-16 weeks now. and a rooster and an egg laying hen from her as well.

We didn't really know what we were donig at first then read that she can lay many eggs till she has a big enough grouping for a "brood" Anyway. so we stopped removing the eggs and waited. Didn't take long, now we are up to 15 eggs. an egg a day.

But why will she not lay on them or go "broody"

Any ideas. Thanks ahead of time.
 
welcome-byc.gif
and welcome to the fun of chickeneering!

Depending on the breed & individual disposition of your hens they may or may not ever go broody. Although most hens retain that instinct to lay their daily egg in the same place, many breeds have had the instinct to brood a clutch selectively bred out of them. If you want a hen to work laying eggs on a daily basis, you don't want her to stop to incubate a clutch & tend growing chicks. You want a working gal who will lay 'em & leave 'em.

You can go ahead and collect the eggs daily, and store them at room temperature. IF a hen ever goes broody, you could then return some of the freshest eggs to her to incubate. In the meanwhile, you & your family can enjoy eating the older eggs, keeping perhaps a dozen of the newest ones on hand ready to return to a brooding hen.

I wish you & your flock the greatest of success!
 
Hi and welcome to BYC!
Not all hens go broody. In fact, the broody factor has been bred out of alot of the egg production breeds.
I would wait until a hen shows signs of wanting to brood and then save some eggs to slip under her. A hen that's wanting to go broody will often sit on the nest for days at a time, rarely getting except to grab a bite to eat or drink. If you try to look under her she will fluff up and growl and/or peck at you. A hen that's gone broody will often do so whether she's sitting on a nestfull or no eggs at all.
 
Thanks for the responses!!!

What are the breeds that are best for broody behaviors?


I guess I will just have to wait till one of my chicks gets older and hope one is a brooder.

My flock is

Egg laying hen - Australorp or a Jersey Giant.
Rooster

14 week hens
hen 1 - Top Hat - Just for fun, she was too cute!
Hen 2 -

6 babies
Mixed. I got them at TSC store
They said they were Barred Rocks and Bantams, but i think Only one of them is a Barred Rock (black with white speckles). One looks like a Dark Indian Cornish Rock. and another Now I know is a baby roo looks similar to it, but spekled.

Well, I guess i need to post pics sometime! I will work on that this weekend.
 
I'm not sure about the other breeds, but I know australorps can go broody, I have 2 right now that are.
 
Last edited:
I dont think it depends on how many eggs they have. I have hens that randomly decided to sit and then those ones caused a few others to go broody. Its kinda like PMSing
hu.gif
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The just for fun ones are more likely to go broody. The production breeds often have the broody bred out of them.
 
My grandmother keeps JGs and out of her 7 hens she may 3 broodies a year. JG's just aren't the mothering type. Lol. In fact... My GM keeps a Silkie hen just because she will go broody whenever the wind blows. The Silkie is a great mom! She will sit on a golf ball! As a matter of fact, she sat on and raised my 5 JG chicks! They are as tall as she is now (they are 3 months) and they are still following her around.

Congrats on your flock! Can't wait to see pics!
 
Thanks everybody for the info.

I have created our page of pictures and our story so far. See our link as part of my signiture. I am learning all this computer stuff!!! It is so much fun.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom