will she go broody, and how will i know?

[birdbrain5]

ive been letting my chickens out to free range for an hour every night. i never noticed this in the coop, but both nights now i have witnessed my roo and my hen do the deed. she has just started laying about a week ago, and has been pretty consistant minus a day. now that i know this is going on, should i expect her to go broody? she is a cochin and ive heard they are more prone to being broody than other breeds. how will i know when she is? im confused because i have read they will lay one egg then get up and walk away like normal and may do this for days in a row until they decide to go broody. so what happens if i collect her egg a day like usual and then she goes broody? can i give her back a few eggs once they have already been in the fridge?

i dont want to leave them there if shes not going to set them

 

[pgpoultry]

Hi,
Firstly it is better to let a hen mature fully before she goes broody.....eggs may be too small, poorly fertile, and hen too small to go through broodiness easily.
However, not all young hens have taken the advice and some go broody at any early age. Your hen will sit and sit and sit on any egg/eggs that have been laid....her own or others and squawk when you go towards her, fluffing her feathers out. She may even go to peck you.
She will pull out her breast feathers so her skin contacts the eggs.
During the broody period she will only leave her eggs once or twice a day to eat/drink/eliminate.
The broody state is due to hormonal change and this happens whether or not there is a rooster around.

Sandie

 

[Wifezilla]

If you leave a pile of eggs she may set. You will know she is broody when she flattens out like a pancake on top of the eggs and glares/growls at you. Don't refrigerate the eggs.