Broody Hen

A broody hen is a hen that has started to set on eggs to hatch. She will gather eggs of her own, and others, and spread out over top of them. A broody hen may only get up from the nest once or twice a day to eat, sleep, and poop. Here’s what no one will tell you about keeping chickens, a broody hen style. 

Why Do Hens Go Broody?

Hens will go broody in order to hatch out chicks. They will sit on top of eggs and protect them, rarely leaving. Typically, hens will go broody in the spring and summer, an ideal time for raising chicks. 

How to Know if your Hen is Broody

When you see your hen setting on her eggs, she may seem very spread out. Some hens will set on 12-14 eggs at a time. If you leave and come back after an hour or so and she is still there, it is likely that she is broody and is set on the eggs, instead of just laying an egg. 

When you go to reach for her, she will puff up, similar to a dog raising is hackles. If you continue to try to move her, she will likely raise a fuss, shriek, and try to peck you. If you get her to the ground, she will remain puffed up and make a low clucking sound. Continue to keep an eye on her, as she may try to attack you.

A broody hen may also remove her breast feathers to add to her nest and won’t roost with the rest of the flock. 

What to Do if a Hen Goes Broody?

You Want Chicks 

If you have a rooster, you want chicks, and your hen is in a spot where chicks would be able to safely get in and out – leave the hen where she is. In 21 days or so, she will hatch out some chicks! 

If you don’t have a rooster and you want chicks, purchase some hatching eggs and swap them for the eggs under your hen. 

Caring for Mama Hen and Future Chicks

If your hen decided to go broody in an elevated nest box or an otherwise unsafe place for chicks, consider moving her to a better location. Keep in mind that this may break her broodiness. If it has only been a day or two, the chicks haven’t started to form. If her broodiness breaks following the move, it won’t be such a loss.

If it’s been over seven days, you have a decision to make. Personally, I would risk breaking her broodiness to move her to a safe space rather than have her hatch out chicks in an unsafe space. 

When (and if) you move the broody hen to a new location, she will need food and water close by. Feel free to add electrolytes to the water since she will be spending 23 hours a day on the nest. 

You Don’t Want Chicks

If you don’t want chicks, you can try a few steps below to “break” the hen’s broodiness. If you succeed in either method below, you will notice within 24 hours that the hen’s broodiness has broken. 

  • Go to the coop and remove the hen from the nest any chance you get. You will likely need to do this to multiple days. Watch out, she will like raise a fuss and peck you. 
  • If that doesn’t work, try to remove the hen to a separate space. Ideally, this would be somewhere without a nest box. Typically, a dog crate or separate hoop/mobile coop would work well. 

Breeds for Broodiness

Like cattle, some hens are naturally good mothers. Here are some breeds that would be great to add to your flock if you want a hen to hatch out some chicks. 

  • Orpingtons
  • Cochins
  • Silkies

Breeds that Don’t Go Broody

Through breeding, hatcheries have been able to reduce the instinctual broodiness. Here are some breeds that are known to be less broody than the rest. 

  • Leghorns
  • Sussex
  • Sexlinks 

Preventing Broodiness From the Beginning

To prevent broodiness, there are a few things you can do. 

  • Collect eggs every day. During broody season, spring and summer, you could even collect twice a day. 
  • Pay attention to the timing of your hen’s laying schedule. When they are done laying for the day, you can block off the nest boxes. Since you likely won’t wake up and get out there before they start laying, you can remove the blocks when you shut your chickens up for the night. 
  • Keeping only young hens. I know this isn’t ideal or desirable for everyone, but it is a way to prevent having broody hens. Older hens are typically the culprits for broodiness, so keeping young hens through their first or second laying season will decrease your chances of dealing with a broody. 

 

Check out more articles like this, with practical applications on chicken keeping – especially our post “What No One Tells You About Keeping Chickens”.