How can you tell if a hen is broody

[chickymomma1234]

Hi guys, recently I've heard a lot about ways to tell if a chicken is broody but i don't know if they work. I have just made a chicken ark so that if a hen goes broody,I could put her in it. I don't know how to tell if she is broody though so I wont be able to use it. I think one of my hens is broody because she is sat on a golf ball, a marble egg and two eggs. But when I went to lock them up at night, I saw her roosting with the rest of the hens. I've heard that if they roost with the others at night it means they're not broody.

Please could you help?

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us. Signs of broodiness include: sitting on a nest, long after they have laid, "growling" and pecking at you if you approach (and fluffing her feathers out). If I want to set eggs, I usually wait until a hen commits to sitting on a nest for at least 2 nights before putting eggs under her.

Do be aware, that some broody hens refuse to be moved from their chosen nest. If you move her and the eggs, she could well get up and walk away. I've always let my broody choose her spot in a nest in the coop and I've never had any issues with the rest of the flock interfering or harming chicks. Other members do experience issues, so it's a bit of a "suck it and see" kinda thing, if this is your first time letting a broody momma do the work.

 

[ChickenKeep01]

If you think a hen is broody try to pat/pet her and that should give you the answer

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are a lot of different signs that a hen might be broody, spending excessive time on the nest, walking around fluffed up and making a pucking sound, defending her nest, stop laying eggs, looking zoned out while on the nest, several different things. But I’ve had several hens that displayed some or even most of these and was not broody enough to deserve eggs.

Going broody is a hormone thing. Sometimes those hormones hit like a brick wall, but I’ve had hens that displayed most of the signs for two weeks before finally switching to full broody mode. I‘ve had some never fully switch and go back to not-broody mode.

I use CT’s method. If a hen spends two consecutive nights on the nest instead of roosting I’ll trust her with eggs. I’ve had some spend one night but not a second consecutive night. So two consecutive nights.

Something I’ve noticed, if you want her to go full broody, pretty much leave her alone the first night. Sometimes they are not totally sure that first night. If you toss them off the nest or scare her off the nest, she is less likely to go full broody than if you wait. But part of the two night test is to check under her or even remove her from the nest late the second day before the second night. If she goes back to the nest she is pretty well committed.

This means do not try to move her until after the second night on the nest. You want her fully committed before you try to move her.

 

[Fentress]

When I open up the coop door in the morning and the flock comes running out for breakfast and a hen stays on the nest, flattened out, oblivious to anything else going on, then I know she is ready. Harvey Ussery at the Modern Homestead has some good articles on this.

 

[chickymomma1234]

If i put her away from the flock in our broody chicken ark and she stays on the nest, does that mean she is broody?

 

[ChickenKeep01]

If i put her away from the flock in our broody chicken ark and she stays on the nest, does that mean she is broody?

Chances are yes if you try to pat/pet her and she fluffs herself out makes a loud noise she's broody also I don't know if it is just my hens but they seem to gain a very stinky smell when they go broody

 

[Hillaire]

the stinky smell is from their broody poops, the hold it in all day until they leave the nest to eat and drink and yes it stinks bad lol