What does "Going Broody" mean??

[beth2384]

I know, dumb question. But I'm still a little unclear on it. I think it means the hens will sit on their eggs and become protective of them and not let you take the eggs. If so, do they eventually just give up and let the eggs be taken? Should I try to get the eggs from them anyway, or just let them sit on the eggs and leave them alone? How long does the "broodiness" last? Will that hen always be broody or is it just a phase?

 

[austinclarksf]

I also am a little unclear on this. I have a hen that could be 'broody', but I am nervous because its been three-four months... she is also laying eggs on a daily basis, when I thought broody hens STOP laying.

This 11-month old game bird just sits in a nesting box all day. She comes out around 4 times per day to eat and drink water, and fluff herself up before taking dustbaths. Never for longer than 15 minutes. I try to time my daily egg checks with this, because she is very defensive of her egg (or anyone else's she decides to sit on). Loud noises, pecking, fluffed up, etc.

I have no roosters, so I collect the eggs.

edit- I cured a cocci outbreak in my flock that had slowly infected all my hens two weeks ago (their egg production tripled after the meds) and hoped that maybe she was in some sort of slump. Now, she just lays more eggs and defends them with hellish vigor.

 

[donrae]

Broody means her hormones have told her it's time to sit on a clutch of eggs and hatch them.

A broody hen does not leave the nest except 1-2 times a day to eat/drink/poop/dust bathe/terrorize the rest of the flock. Then it's back on the nest. If she is setting on fertile eggs, she'll hatch chicks in about 21 days, give or take.

I've had lot of hens who just like to hang out on the nest box, and never go broody. I've also had some "practice" being broody, where they set all day but usually go off the nest at night. That's why I don't give a hen eggs until she's spent at least 2 nights on the nest, to be sure she's serious about setting.

A broody hen will spread out over her eggs like a chicken pancake and be very mean if you try to mess with her. It's different behavior than a hen who is just sitting in a nest box or laying an egg. There's a distinctive sound mine make, also, to warn others away. Once a hen is broody, she also stops laying eggs as all her energy goes to sustaining her body functions while she's setting.

If you don't have a rooster, or don't want baby chicks, just take the eggs every day. There are lots of threads here on how to break a broody.

Some hens are persistent broodys, they'd hatch clutch after clutch after clutch if allowed. Some go broody once or twice a year, and many hatchery hens never go broody at all. Some breeds are known for going broody (silkies, cochins, games come to mind), but it's just up to each individual hen and what triggers in her little brain.

 

[beth2384]

Thank you for making this clear! We do have a very young rooster and I expect the eggs will eventually be fertile, but we also have a couple hens that are in that "tend to be broody a lot" category. I'll just have to watch for them being off their eggs and swoop in to collect when I can. If it becomes a problem, the rooster will need to be relocated to our other run, at least until spring when we are ready for chicks.