What are signs of broodiness?????????????????????

[ChickenKid11]

So today I went to collect the eggs and one of my hens was in the nest box! I just thought she was laying so I watched her and every time a chicken would go in there she would squawk at them. Then I got a golf ball and put it under her to see what she would do she had already an egg and a golf ball there. So I put the golf ball there under her and she adjusted it. Then I put another golf ball under her and she did the same thing! Oh one more thing she also squawked at me! So my question is, what are the signs of broodiness and is she broody from what I told you?

 

[fshinggrl]

Sounds like she may be broody. They do not have to be broody to arrange stuff like eggs & golf balls around however.

 

[ChickenKid11]

Thanks I just broke her broodiness by taking all of the golf balls and the egg!

 

[karlamaria]

Put her out of the box and make sure she does not go back in, mine went broody and stole the eggs from all the girls every time I took them away and put her out of the box. She then stopped

 

[azygous]

There are way more signs of broodiness than just sitting on some golf balls and eggs and being grumpy.

Is she missing a noticeable amount of feathers on her tummy to the point of being bald? When you touch her almost bald tummy, does it feel like it's giving off a lot of heat? The past few days, has she been walking around in an irritable mood, clucking in a very low voice that sounds more like a hiccup? Have the others shown impatience with her bad mood and given her a resounding peck as she fretfully wanders aimlessly? When she's on the nest and you touch her, does she fluff her feathers up, looking more like a hedgehog? Does she then flatten herself out on the nest, head down low, seeming to expand her size to almost double?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, then you can safely assume you have a broody.