When did YOUR hen go broody?

[LTygress]

Turns out that third hen just went broody after all. I guess she was waiting for the rain again, since that is when the other two went broody. So it has begged me to ask the question... when did YOUR hen go broody? Can you remember if it was raining or not? I know horses have a tendency to give birth when it's raining. Nature has a way of doing it then, which helps the horse by washing away the birth fluids so it doesn't attract predators during the process (especially since newborn ponies take a short while to stand on their own).

But maybe hens are the same way? Can any of you remember if your hen went broody sometime around a day that it rained - or ON a day that it rained? My other two went broody the day right AFTER it rained, and this one turned broody right BEFORE it rained.


The third hen has taken the nest to the far right, and fluffed herself up and got chatty just when I got somewhat CLOSE to her nest today (to check on the other two). I didn't even reach in like I did with the other two, but she was getting chatty and blowing up like a balloon!

The second broody hen (far left) has also been battling me against staying on her own eggs. She has switched nests TWICE to sit on golfballs, instead. I finally turned the golfball nest sideways (the others are in a line together), and moved it away from the other three, and so far she has stayed in her own since then. I'm hoping that "big change" fixed the issue (ever seen a pregnant woman freak when something was out of place??)

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I don't recall any weather coincidence.
I've had broody breeds that didn't go broody and non-setters raise several broods.
I had a group of 8 Penedesenca pullets that had just started laying and 7 of them went broody together in a community nest. It was a disaster spelled cluster****

 

[brairgirl]

1 Hen before we went on vacation.. Don't remember if it was raining or not. 6 went broody when we were on vacation, My grandma said it was raining a lot. But Don't know if it was raining when they went broody.

 

[LTygress]

I need to do more research on this. It would be interesting to find out that they do go broody when it is about to rain, or just did rain.

If it's true, I'm pretty sure it would be based on barometric pressure. Same reason why we "smell" rain, since the low pressure allows the smell of vegetation to rise up high enough to reach our noses. And the low barometric pressure is also why people with old injuries can "feel" the oncoming rain, since applying pressure from our own sources (like our hands or a tight bandage) reduces pain.

I would be fascinated go find out chickens went broody for the same reason!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

In nature, jungle fowl don't incubate in a nest box in a coop but rather under a bush. Would a rainy spell be the best time to have a cluster of eggs in a hollowed out nest?

 

[LTygress]

That's what I'm wondering. I would say yes, because it could be nature's way of "cleaning" the eggs one last time before they start incubating. Or perhaps the very last remnants of fluids from actually laying the eggs would be washed away, so the scent wouldn't draw predators while the hen is keeping them warm. Or maybe the rain is indicative of upcoming growth (like how your grass shoots up after heavy rain), which makes it an ideal time to incubate eggs, so the chicks have plenty of food available when they hatch.

I've got plenty of theories. I'm just curious to know if the rain does have any effect on hens going broody. Not *all* of them will go broody when it rains, since some places just simply won't get rain. But if the majority of them do, it might be a clue to what happened - and why - back before chickens were domesticated.

 

[Ntsees]

I would have to say it's a coincidence. If it were true that hens become broody after it rains, then chickens have the ability to determine the weather.

 

[meishka]

I have four silkie hens and they go broody every other month no matter what the weather. It's become clockwork. lay for approx 3 weeks, go broody for 4 weeks and start the cycle again. once they "wake up" it takes them a good week or so to start laying again.

 

[gryeyes]

Just a thought I suddenly had: perhaps their instincts tell them a rainy time is good to start a family because in three weeks, there will be lots of young grasses for chicks and later more grass seeds to continue to provide fodder for their families.

I was going to pooh-pooh the concept until I realized I have eleven (count them: 11) broodies right now out of approximately 50 hens. I have a very mixed flock, large fowl and bantams, lots odd different breeds and quite a few mixes - only 3 roosters - and the usual suspects and some surprising ones have gone broody lately. It rained last week, just one day, and a couple of weeks ago for two days. There are currently three hens with chicks, too.

Plus a duck with ducklings and three other ducks on nests.

I also have a silkie who just kicked her chicks to the curb and went broody after only four days of laying.

So, maybe with some chickens, rain may trigger broodiness, and others, not so much.

 

[LTygress]

There is also that issue. Silkies will go broody at the drop of a hat, and I've yet to have a leghorn go broody at all. The three I have that are broody right now are all 50% Ameraucana bantam/50% Mille Fleur bantam. So it probably does depend a bit on breed.

As for animals determining weather, they do. And like I said, people with old injuries do, too. If you've ever broken a bone, they say it feels different when it rains. If you ever see a flock of wild birds flying very fast and very close to obstacles (like a blue angel in an air show) it's because the weather conditions are changing and they sense it. I'm not saying these animals PREDICT weather, but they feel the effects of the change, just like we do. We can "smell" when it's about to rain. Geese migrate for the winter but somehow get out before it's cold - how do they know? I live in Georgia, and you will only see lizards, turtles, and similar creatures during the summer, even though many winter days are just as warm (82 degrees on New Year's for instance). Why? How do dogs and cats know to shed for the summer and grow thicker fur for winter before they actually NEED it? Why do horses (domestic and wild) tend to give birth when it's raining?

Animals DO know the weather and it does affect them. They aren't running around with umbrellas and snowshoes (NO that is NOT meant as an idea for chicken fashion) but they can feel the change just as we do. They aren't telling us what will happen in a week or three like our meteorologists do, but they know when change is already happening and it's already here. And so do their bodies.