What's wrong with my hen ? - Broody

Although it is getting a little late in the season, a couple of my hens are broody One is sitting on Guinea Fowl eggs due to hatch in 8 days time, the other is determined to become a mother despite not having any eggs to incubate and being constantly removed from the nest.

So how do you know if you hen is broody?

BROODY HEN - Is my hen broody ?

As a new owner you may not recognise the early signs of your hen going broody, the natural instinct to incubate eggs and raise young.
If you own traditional heavy breed birds or bantam hens such as Pekins or Silkies you are likely to come across a broody hen or two.
Broodiness has often been bred out of hybrid hens as they have been developed mostly for egg production, although there are always exceptions.

So what are the signs to look out for ?

1. Your hen may spend longer periods of time in the nest box, returning back to the nest if removed and often tucking eggs laid by the other hens under her, also sitting 'flatter' than usual so she can cover the eggs fully.

1. She may growl, squawk or even peck at you and the other hens if you get too close.

1. When out and about, she'll often appear 'fluffed up' and make the once heard, easy recognisable 'clucking' sound only a broody hen makes.

2. She may start to loose a few feathers from her chest, developing a 'brood patch'- an area of bare skin on her chest which enables her to make closer contact with the eggs , so regulating the temperature during incubation.

If you have a hen go broody you have the choice of 1. Let her sit 2. Try to discourage her.
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If you choose option 1. there are a few things to consider first.

Do you have space for more birds, will you be keeping the chicks or are you able to find new homes for them ?

Cockerels - in theory at least 50% of the chicks to hatch will be cockerels. Have you considered what you will do with them. It is not always possible to place them and culling may have to be an option.

Once you have decided you do want to set your broody, in my opinion you will need to separate her from the rest of the flock.(although I know many people do leave their hens in with the other birds, often with success )

As with most things within poultry keeping there are so many different ways and opinions on 'the best way' that I shall just tell you how I prefer to do it.

When I first notice a hen I think may be going broody I'll watch her for a few days. Most hens will spend a couple of days 'thinking' about it. They'll walk about clucking or will stay longer on the nest. Once I'm sure she is sitting tight i.e refusing to move from the nest box and giving everyone / bird a hard time, I'll move her into a small coop of her own.
As I keep most of my breeding flocks in a field in a neighbouring village and my broody hens and young stock at home, settling a broody hen into her own coop usually entails a car ride, so I tend to move her at night when she is calmer.

Once I've made the nest up in the coop , I use straw and sawdust, I place a couple of either fake eggs or unfertilised eggs in the nest for the hen to sit on. When, after a couple of days I'm sure she is still sitting tight. I'll swap the fake eggs for those I wish her to hatch. The number of eggs a hen will cover depends on her size and the size of the eggs. If you are unsure less is always best as it will ensure all of the eggs are kept warm. It's advised an odd number of eggs make up a clutch. I'm not sure this is necessary.

The hen will need access to fresh water and a small amount of food, although she will possibly only leave the nest once a day for a short break.Incubation will take on average 21 days.

Choice 2. Try to discourage her- Breaking a broody.

If you have a broody hen and have decided you don't want her to incubate a clutch of eggs you need to 'break' her from her broody state.

There are several reasons why it is best to discourage her.

1. I f she is a determined broody she will sit and sit and sit, eggs or no eggs under her. All the time she is sitting she won't be laying and if you are keeping hens for eggs it is one hen less producing. She will also gradually loose condition if she isn't leaving the nest too often to eat or drink.

2. If she is left in the nest box of the hen house she will cause chaos. If feisty she'll upset the other hens and may prevent them from coming into the house to lay. If they do lay in the nest box the broody may 'steal' all the freshly laid eggs, tucking them under her. This can lead to broken eggs and possibly start egg eating, not a habit you would want to encourage.

3. One broody often leads to many a broody hen as the others follow suit.

As always opinions on how to break a broody are many and varied, although I think most keepers now agree putting a hen into a bucket of cold water isn't recommended!
If your hen has just started to go broody and you are about most of the day, frequently lifting her from the nest and putting her in the run may work.

If I have several broody hens at the same time I will sometimes put them into a pen with a flock of birds and cockerel they aren't familiar with. Just the change will often 'break' them.

I have found the most successful, quickest and safest way is to place the broody in a large wire dog grate, raised slightly off the ground, with a cover on the top of the cage and of course food and water inside for her.The cage placed in shade within sight of her flock and put in a shed overnight. After 3 days she will usually have decided motherhood wasn't for her after all.