Broody Hens Explained

The signs are hard to miss once you know them. A broody hen stays in the nest box almost around the clock, including overnight when the rest of the flock is on the roost. She flattens herself over the nest, fluffs up dramatically when you approach, and growls, hisses or pecks. She plucks feathers from her own breast so her bare skin can contact the eggs, and she collects eggs from other nests by rolling them underneath her. She leaves the nest only briefly, once or twice a day, to eat, drink and produce a notably large and pungent dropping. She stops laying entirely.

Broodiness has a strong breed component. Silkies, Cochins, Orpingtons, Brahmas and many bantams go broody readily and make excellent mothers. Commercial hybrids and Mediterranean breeds like Leghorns rarely do, because the trait has largely been bred out of high-production lines. Warm weather, a full nest of eggs left sitting and lengthening days all make broodiness more likely.

If you want chicks, a broody hen is by far the easiest route: she does the incubation, the hatching and the raising, with far less equipment and fuss than a brooder. Move her to a quiet, separate, predator-safe space at night, with her own food, water and a floor-level nest so chicks cannot fall out. Give her the eggs you want hatched all at once so they develop together. Make sure she gets off the nest daily to eat, drink and relieve herself, and keep her free of external parasites, which build up quickly on a sitting bird. Incubation takes about twenty-one days. Remember that roughly half of any hatch will be male, and think ahead about what you will do with cockerels, especially if roosters are not allowed where you live.

If you do not want chicks, there is a good case for breaking the broodiness. A hen who sits for weeks loses body condition, eats and drinks far less than she should, is vulnerable to mites and does not lay. Left alone, a broody may persist for weeks and then simply start again. Breaking her early is kinder than letting her waste away on an empty nest.

The standard approach is to remove the conditions broodiness depends on: darkness, warmth, a soft nest and stillness. Collect eggs promptly so nothing accumulates under her, and lift her off the nest several times a day. If that fails, use a broody breaker, which is a wire-floored cage or crate raised on blocks so air circulates underneath, placed in a shaded, safe spot within sight of the flock. Provide food and water but no bedding and nothing nest-like. The airflow under her cools her breast, which is what actually interrupts the hormonal state. Most hens snap out of it within two to four days, after which they return to the flock and usually resume laying within a couple of weeks. Blocking access to the nest boxes during the day can also help.

Avoid the folk remedies involving dunking hens in cold water or handling them roughly. They stress the bird without addressing the mechanism any better than a well-ventilated crate does. And keep an eye on the difference between a broody hen and a sick one. A broody is alert, defends her nest and reacts strongly when disturbed. A hen who sits in the nest box but is quiet, unresponsive, straining, or has a swollen abdomen may have a reproductive problem and should be assessed by a poultry veterinarian or your local extension service.