Broody Hens

Many times the questions come up concerning broody hens. How can I make a hen go broody? How can I break a hen of being broody? How can I tell if she is broody?

A hen cannot be made to go broody. Many breeds of chickens have even had the broodiness bred out of them over the years, such as the Leghorn. Other breeds seem to always want to go broody. Contrary to popular belief, there does not have to be a rooster present for a hen to go broody. A hen will go broody and try to set on a nest of infertile eggs. So if you do not have a rooster or you don’t want chicks, then your hen will have to be broken of her broodiness. That will be covered later.

So what happens when a hen goes broody?

A hen that is going broody will find a nesting area that she feels most comfortable in. This may be a back corner or more likely up in a high place. She will begin staying longer on the nest each day as she begins laying  her clutch of eggs. She will work on building the most secure nest that area materials allow her to build. She will lay her clutch of eggs which could be from 1 to 14 eggs or more. If other hens are using her nest, she will also take their eggs. When she has laid her clutch of eggs, she will stop laying and begin setting on her eggs. At this point she will become defensive and have a tendency to growl and fluff up when anyone or anything comes near. When her “set” begins, from this point it will be approximately 21 days till the eggs hatch. During this 21 days she will generally only leave the nest once a day to eat, drink and poop. This usually takes her about a half an hour. She will then return to the nest to care for the eggs. She will spend the next 21 days turning the eggs up to 50 times a day to regulate the temperature and also to exercise the embryo and to keep it from sticking in the shell. She will also spend this time talking to the chicks as they grow inside the shells. After 21 days, if all goes well, a clutch of cute little fuzz balls will emerge from under her.

If you free range your chickens and a hen comes up missing, don’t always think the worst. It may be that three weeks or more down the road, she will come strutting back with a clutch of chicks in tow.

If you don’t have a rooster present and you have a hen that wants to go broody, you can get her fertile eggs to set on or you will need to break her broody cycle or maybe you just don’t want to have chicks at this time.