strange behaviour

[lovely guy]

my hen sat on the nest while laying.....but the strangest thing is she grab the eggs placed in the nesting box beneath her....is it the symtom of oing to be broody

 

[milola]

A few of mine do that but have never gone broody. I don't know if it is instinct or they are just trying to get comfortable. But then don't take my word for it,i have only been doing this for a year. I guess if she gets out of the nest every time she isn't going broody.

 

[Hayduke27]

This is just chicken instinct. When they climb into the nest, they arrange it and settle so they are comfortable, and then they push all of the eggs under them. If you put another egg down in front of her, she'll roll it under her and keep it warm while she's laying. This does not indicate broodiness. As milola said, you'll know a broody hen because she'll only be off the nest for a very short time each day, and that can go on for weeks.

 

[lovely guy]

 

[lovely guy]

i am leaving the eggs in her nesting box...... does putting the eggs in the nest promote broodiness
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[Hayduke27]

I am no expert, but from what I can tell, the chickens will just go broody when nature tells them to. It's the same with how long they are broody for. I think the breed has a bigger affect on broody frequency than the environment. I don't think leaving eggs in the nest will encourage broodiness, but somebody else can chime in if I am wrong about this. I haven't done any chicken breeding yet, I'm still relatively new.