A broody hen usually means the hen’s hormones are flaring. She basically stops laying eggs and instead starts sitting. However, are there signs to let you know when a hen is being broody? If so, what are the signs, and how should you proceed?
All of the broody hen’s time will be spent sitting in the nest box with the eggs. If you get too close to the hen, she will puff up her feathers and start making noisy, agitated noises at you. She will attempt to make a run back into the nest box if you try to take her out of it.
Keep a keen eye on your hen’s routine to detect when they go broody. The chances of you picking up on the fact that a hen is broody if you don’t regularly go into the pen are somewhat slim. Therefore, here are the main signs that a hen is broody, and here is how you can proceed once you see those signs.
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All About Broody Hens
Brooding hens often only lay eggs once or twice yearly in the warm months. Weather, day length, an overabundance of food, and other additional elements contribute to broodiness. A hormonal reaction causes a hen to become broody when the circumstances are appropriate.
They will remain in a nest for the 21 days it takes chicken eggs to hatch. Even if there aren’t any eggs, the hen will continue sitting on their nest until either its hormones return to their normal, non-broody state or a person steps in to stop the broodiness. It doesn’t matter if you have fertilized eggs or not. Hens can go broody.
All About The Signs Of A Broody Hen
There are different signs to look out for that immediately signal that your hen is broody.
The Hen Will Spend Her Time Sitting In The Nest
As the hen wants to hatch eggs and is no longer interested in laying them, the first way to tell that a hen is broody is when she spends all her time just sitting in the egg nest box where the eggs are. Usually, hens lay their eggs daily, get out of the nest box, and go about their business.
Hens Become Fussy And Noisy When You Approach
Another excellent sign that a hen is broody can be observed when an individual approaches. Suppose you approach a hen that is sitting in the egg nest box. They are brooding if the hen starts fussing and fluffing up their features. Broody hens generally don’t want people coming near them.
Additionally, the screeching noises the hen will emit indicate that she is broody. Broody hens also get agitated and noisy when other hens come too close. Therefore, it is not limited to humans. Broody hens just want to be left alone.
The Nest Box Is Soiled With Litter
A broody hen’s nest box is generally filthy. There are tons of droppings and filth as they stay in the nest box pretty much 24/7. Therefore, the hen is brooding if the nest box is quickly filled with poop. Some brooding hens may hold their poop for a while, and when they do finally poop, it is a lot and smells incredibly bad.
The Hen Stays In A Nest Even When Away From The Box
Suppose you remove your hen from its nesting box. They are broody if they stay in a nesting position even when away from the nesting box. If there is hay or straw around her where you have placed her, the hen will try their best to pull it all around themselves to try and build what they feel will be another little nest.
The Hen Will Always Run Back To The Nest
If you have thrown a hen out of its nest and find them back in the nest when you check on them again, they are clearly brooding. Brooding hens always want to be inside the nest. Therefore, once you get out of their way after removing them from their nest, they will try to find their way back to it. They cannot help but want to be inside the egg’s nesting box.
How Should You Proceed With A Broody Hen?
Hens generally stay broody for roughly three to four weeks. You can proceed in two ways once you are aware that your hen is broody. The first would be to take advantage of that time. Therefore, if you are interested in your hens actually hatching eggs and want to use it to your benefit, it would be wise to separate the broody hen from the other hens.
The reason being the other hens will continue to lay eggs on the broody hen’s eggs, and it will become difficult to tell which eggs have been sitting out there the longest. Depending on the number of eggs you wish to hatch, you can take away eggs and add new ones.
A broody hen should be moved to a broody box at night. To prevent her from fighting to return to her original nest and breaking broody, the broody box should be hidden from the view of the hen house. If the hen’s eggs are expensive, consider ensuring you have access to a quick-start incubator in case she gets out of broody after the incubation process has begun.
If a hen was bred for it, keeping eggs in the nest box will encourage her to become broody. Golf balls work well as substitutes if you’re also eating, selling, or hatching specific eggs.
However, if you are interested in getting your hen out of brooding, the best way to do that is to remove the eggs. This way, you’re preventing the hormones from settling in. The hen will come out of broodiness within a day or two of the eggs being removed.
Conclusion
Knowing the signs of a broody hen can help you decide how you want to proceed. Broody hens are noisy when approached, agitated, and barely want to leave the nest box. You can either take advantage of broody eggs or intervene and break the broodiness.
