Hens taking eggs but refuse to be broody?

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beaks_and_bills

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Jul 1, 2024
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South Dakota, USA
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Whenever I have a hen that I notice hasn’t left the nesting box for quite a few hours and seems focused or set on something, I’ll slip a recently-collected egg or a golf ball in her nesting box near her to test if she’s broody. Around nine times out of ten, she’ll take the egg or golf ball and nestle it under herself, just like a broody hen would! I get excited and leave her alone. When I come back to check on her a few hours later, the nesting box she was in was empty and cold, and she’s right back with the flock! Help! Why are my hens taking eggs but refusing to actually commit to sitting on them?
 
It doesn't seem they're actually broody. Some hens just take a long time to lay their eggs. Nothing you can do to make a hen go broody, either she goes broody at some point or she doesn't. There are breeds such as silkies and buff orpingtons that tend to go broody a lot but even then it doesn't guarantee that your particular bird will ever go broody or when she will
 
RiversideFlock said:
Whenever I have a hen that I notice hasn’t left the nesting box for quite a few hours and seems focused or set on something, I’ll slip a recently-collected egg or a golf ball in her nesting box near her to test if she’s broody. Around nine times out of ten, she’ll take the egg or golf ball and nestle it under herself, just like a broody hen would! I get excited and leave her alone. When I come back to check on her a few hours later, the nesting box she was in was empty and cold, and she’s right back with the flock! Help! Why are my hens taking eggs but refusing to actually commit to sitting on them?
Click to expand...
My hens do that too but I’ve only ever had two of mine go broody. And I have 10 hens!
 
FrostRanger said:
It doesn't seem they're actually broody. Some hens just take a long time to lay their eggs. Nothing you can do to make a hen go broody, either she goes broody at some point or she doesn't. There are breeds such as silkies and buff orpingtons that tend to go broody a lot but even then it doesn't guarantee that your particular bird will ever go broody or when she will
Click to expand...
Thank you! I was extremely confused on what they were doing. I’ll conclude that most of my hens just take a long time in the nesting box! That does make sense, since most of our chickens aren’t heritage breeds. We do have a Buff Orpington pullet though!
 
RiversideFlock said:
Why are my hens taking eggs but refusing to actually commit to sitting on them?
Click to expand...
I think it's just a behavioral instinct, but nothing to do with broodiness.

RiversideFlock said:
to test if she’s broody.
Click to expand...
These are the signs that I use to 'test' a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?
 
FrostRanger said:
Some hens just take a long time to lay their eggs. Nothing you can do to make a hen go broody, either she goes broody at some point or she doesn't.
Click to expand...


My test to see if a hen is broody enough to deserve eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of sleeping in her normal spot. There are a lot of different signs that a hen might be broody but those are only signs she might be. One night on the nest is not enough to convince me to give her eggs. It has to be two consecutive nights.
 
aart said:
I think it's just a behavioral instinct, but nothing to do with broodiness.


These are the signs that I use to 'test' a broody:
Is she on nest most the day and all night?
When you pull her out of nest and put her on the ground, does she flatten right back out into a fluffy screeching pancake?
Does she walk around making a low cluckcluckcluckcluckcluck(ticking bomb) sound on her way back to the nest?
Click to expand...
Thank you! I understand now that putting an egg under herself is an instinct and doesn’t actually mean she’s broody.
 
I think they just instinctively do that. When they start puffing out and making broody noises, they are about ready or ready to sit.

I have a cochin bantam that is broody all summer. She is cranky and unpleasant for months. She loves to hatch eggs but she's a bad mom. So no babies!!! This year one of my Australorps joined her.

Raven and Schmoo, The broody besties.

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