A broody hen is one that signals that it wants to sit on eggs and hatch for new chicks, or is already in the process.
Brooding is a natural thing for certain breeds. Not all poultry breeds brood. However, a brooding hen exhibits a unique behavior and is easily distinguishable.
For best outcomes, you should care for a broody hen properly. In case you want to break the brood, you should ensure that your chicken remains safe and secure.
Signs of a broody hen
A broody hen is a hen that wants to sit on eggs and hatch new chicks. Notably, a broody hen exhibits a peculiar behaviour that consists of the following:
- For starters it has stopped laying eggs
- It stays and sleeps in a nesting box apart from when it feeds, drinks or relieves itself
- A broody hen will complain or attack you when you get close or try to remove it from the box
- It makes a huge poop since it does not relieve itself as often
- Additionally it complains when other hens come close or try to get in the nesting box
- A broody hen will sit in a nesting box even when there are no eggs
- It will have a pale comb or wattle and will not have belly or chest feathers
One thing to note is that brooding appears infectious, at least from our observation. When one hen in a flock becomes broody, within a couple of days, several other hens will become broody.
What type of hens brood
Not all hens get broody. For one, most single purpose commercial breeds do not brood. Their breeds are purposely developed for the maximized egg production. As a result, they do not brood at all.
In general, heritage breeds hens brood. However, some brood more often than others. If you’re interested more in egg production with such breeds, it is worth looking for breeds that brood less frequently.
Furthermore, if you are not interested in having hatching chicks using hens, or producing fertilized eggs, then chicken breeds that brood may not be your thing. Whatever your case, check out how to pick the best poultry breed for you.
How to care for a brooding hen
If you want to hatch new chicks, then you have to provide properly deal with a broody hen in order to do so.
First you should put the broody hen in a brooding box that is separated from the rest of the flock if possible. Separating a broody hen from the rest, ensures that it is not disturbed by other laying hens.
Secondly, provide the hen with fertilized eggs that it will sit on and hatch. 12 is a good number depending on the size of the hen. A standard sized chicken can sit on upto 14 eggs and hatch them all.
However, if for whatever reason you use a laying box accessible to other hens, you should mark the eggs you provide to the brooding hen for hatching. You can use a pencil or marker for the purpose. Moreover, this will require that you inspect the box every day, to remove newly laid eggs.
Fertilized eggs are eggs laid by hens that have mated with a rooster. If you do not have roosters in your flock, consider buying fertilized eggs for the purpose. Unfertilized eggs will not hatch chicks.
Thirdly, provide feed and water so the hen can feed at its discretion. However, it is also fine if the chicken remains in the same coop as long as it has access to feed and water.
Lastly but not least, the hen should hatch new chicks in 21 days since it started sitting on them. Sometimes, new chicks can appear on the 20th day. Since the eggs hatch at different times, even days, you should let the chicken sit on the eggs at least through the 21st day.
A broody hen after hatching chicks
Note however, not all eggs may hatch. For instance, if you had unfertilized eggs in the egg provided to the brooding hen, they will not hatch. You can of course, ensure that all eggs you provide to a brooding chicken are fertilized.
You should move and separate the hen and its new chicks from the rest of the flock so that you can care for the new chicks properly. That is, in order to provide chick feed, and some peace and quiet where they can get around without disturbance from the rest of the flock.
Depending on the breed, a brooding hen can care for new chicks for 2 – 3 months before it wants to rejoin the rest of the flock. Some hens may be done in lesser time. While it is still caring for them, walks and feeds with them, watches over them and protects them, and covers them under its feathers when they sleep.
From our experience, we will allow a number of hens say 3 – 5 to brood at the same time. However, once they hatch new chicks, we return some to the rest of the flock and leave the others to take care of the chicks. For instance, say from 3 chicken we got 25 chicks, we can return one to the rest of the flock and divide the new chicks between the remaining 2. Large chicken can care for upto 20 chicks. While you divide chicks among chicken, ensure that a hen is able to comfortably cover them under its wings.
You can also raise the chicks with artificial heating if you choose, we just find it more convenient for when the hen raises the chicks.
When to stop a broody hen
There are a number of reasons why you might want to stop a broody hen, or break its brood. These include the following:
- You do not have fertilized eggs for brooding
- It is inconvenient for you to hatch new eggs that the time
- You already have some brooding hens and do not want more
- Flock population control: you do not want to hatch new chicks
- You are more interested in egg production that brooding new chicks
How to stop a broody hen
In such cases, you want to stop a brooding hen or break its brood. You can do this in a number of ways but all are not equally effective. For instance, you can consider
- Giving the brooding hen a cold bath
- Removing the hen from the coop
- Distracting the chicken with food
- Constantly removing the brooding hen from the laying box
- Make it an adopting mother
From our experience, removing the brooding from the coop and putting it in a separate space is the most effective. While in such separation, the hen should break its broodiness in 2 – 3 days.
We find a cold bath a little inconvenient for the birds. Distractions and removal from nesting boxes, are too laborious and may not work at all. Broody hens behave as if they are under a spell that does not easily break.
Alternatively, you can let the hen sit on fake eggs and then introduce new chicks to it and make it an adopting mother. Although this may work, it can be risky if the hen rejects chicks. If you go this way, let the hen sit on fake eggs for at least one and a half weeks. To be safe, have a back plan how to care for and raise those chicks if they are rejected.