To young for broody?

[Mommysongbird]

We have one pullet who has been in a nest box (actually 2 different ones) ALL day is seems. She was in there for at least 5 hours, she came out for a bit to scratch and then went back in. My son finally found an egg, but it was NOT her's, it belonged to one of our black birds (the one who lays blue/green eggs).

So what could be going on with her? She and the rest of our pullets are 24 weeks old. She had a fit when the roo came in to the coop. She seems to be okay with the other pullets coming in, but NOT the roo.

 

[hensonly]

mine went broody at 6 1/2 months... they were also ok with the other pullets coming and going, in fact I have some photos of two pullets in the same nest box (only one was broody, the other just wanted to lay an egg!). Mine never cared about the roo, either, but then he pretty much stays away from the nest boxes anyway.

A broody will stay on the nest, only leaving for brief time to eat, drink, and poop. She will growl and peck at anyone who sticks a hand within reach. One of mine was so vicious about defending her nest that we named her Atilla the Hen. Now that she's done being broody, she's just "Tillie".

Once she goes broody, she'll stop laying, until the eggs are hatched and the chicks raised. If you take her eggs every day, she will stop brooding whenever the hormones subside. There are ways to "break" a broody hen if you want her to stop brooding and start laying again, but I haven't tried any of them myself.

Just make sure she really is getting off the nest for a little bit each day.

 

[Mommysongbird]

But what if there are NO eggs???

There are NO eggs in the nest, she has not laid all day and our other 3 that are laying, only 1 actually laid today. So we only go 1 egg today.

And NOW this pullet seems to have been 'casted' down from the roost as well as our EE pullet.

Our EE has been roosting in the nest box or on the side for a few nights now. And that is the same nest box that the 'broody' one has been in all day.

So the 'broody' girl is lying in front of the nest box while our EE is in the nest box roosting.

I think it is ALL THIS ROOSTERS FAULT!!!

 

[Mommysongbird]

I am bumping this because I need MORE info.

Alright our little white pullet was being broody, my son found 2 eggs under her today, 1 was her's and the other was Queeny's (our little black pullet).

1. She is NOW laying behind (or in front of I guess) the egg boxes. She is laying at the closed end of the boxes, so (see #2)

2. HOW is she getting the other chickens eggs out of the boxes??? Our boxes are made from rectangler buckets that set up on a pedestal. The OPEN ends are actually toward the egg door and the closed end is inside the coop.

3. HOW do we break her from being broody???? We don't want anymore chicks right now and when we do, I prefer to hatch them in the incubator.

4. If she has been sitting on these eggs since at least yesterday (hince we only got 1 egg yesterday), are they edible??? I candled them, and they do look (the yolk) different. There seems to ben an "eye" or maybe a bloodspot but not bloody or dark, on the yolk.

I don't want her sitting on any more eggs, but I don't have a coop that you can walk into. She was sitting on these right at the door that leads out to the run. My son had to move her, not with his hands though, but kinda prodding her with a stick (it's actually a toy field hockey thingy, has the net on one end) anyway that is what he got her up with.

Will she do this again and how often??

 

[Mommysongbird]

Bumping again, sorry I just really need some answers for this.