Broody Hen – What does it mean?

Broody is defined by Merriam-Webster as being in a state of readiness to brood eggs that is characterize by cessation of laying and by marked changes in behavior and physiology.

When a hen goes broody, her body and hormones are telling her it’s time to hatch eggs. A broody hen will rarely leave the nest. The eggs have to be kept between 99- and 102-degrees Fahrenheit for the embryo to develop. So, to keep the babies growing, she will sit 24/7, even if it’s detrimental to her health. Most broodies will lose a significant amount of weight. Make sure to keep some feed and water close.

If you want to hatch eggs, a broody hen is much better at it (and a lot less work for you) than an incubator.

Because broodiness interferes with egg production, many breeds have been bred to be less broody. Some hens will only be broody for a few days then abandon the nest. If you want to raise chicks, monitor the days your hen is broody.  It takes 21 days for eggs to hatch. If you have a good broody hen, she will do all the work. She will rotate the eggs each day, ensuring the embryo doesn’t stick to the membrane and the gases are evenly distributed.

Once a hen goes broody, she won’t lay eggs. Broodiness is caused by an increase in the hormone prolactin. When the process starts, it’s hard to revert. If you don’t want a broody hen, you can try to break her. We haven’t been very successful…only 25% of the time when trying to break ours.

To break a broody, you need to bring her body temperature down.

You can put ice in the nest to cool her down. This makes the nest uncomfortable but also messy.  Another trick is to put your bird in a dog crate without any nesting materials. You will have to put hardware cloth or chicken wire on the bottom, then remove the bottom tray so air circulates underneath.  If these don’t work, dunk her bottom in a bucket of water.

We would take our broody out of the nest each day, several times a day, trying to encourage her to interact with the flock. Most times she would get a few bites to eat and some water and run back to the nest.  Because she didn’t interact much with the other girls, they would pick on her. I tried locking her out of the nest, but she would just pace back and forth, neurotically. I felt bad and let her back in. The urgency to return to the eggs is strong.

Some breeds are genetically broodier than others.

Silkies and Bantams tend to be broody and White Leghorns rarely are. Hazel, our Wyandotte has been broody once. One of the things she did was gather twigs and leaves on her back to take to the nest. We had no idea what she was doing – just thought it was another odd chicken behavior. But she was getting prepared. It’s probably where the term “nesting” derived.

Then she was Broody. I also found her feathers in the nest area. At first, I thought the other girls were picking at her, but then I witnessed her plucking out her own breast feathers. Broodies will do this to make sure the eggs stay at the right temp. Kinda like skin to skin with newborns.

Breaking a Broody

At this point, we needed to break her. For several days, we took her off the nest multiple times a day and dunked her vent in water. Thankfully, within a few days, she was back out with the flock.  

Our Silkie, Baby, was broody more than she wasn’t. Since we don’t have a rooster, she was never going to have chicks. It didn’t matter what we did, she would just go broody. We tried all the tricks above and nothing worked. We would gather eggs, several times a day, but she was fine to just sit in the empty nest. The hormones had to run their course. When the other girls would lay, she would steal their eggs and roll them underneath her. She was determined to have babies!

Her broodiness would last about a month. We knew she would make a good Mama, so we finally decided to let her have some chicks. I was reluctant to get fertilized eggs. I just couldn’t bare it if they died and didn’t hatch. So, we got day old baby chicks. My husband put them under her at night but I was concerned that she would kill them. Chickens do barbaric things. The next morning, before dawn, I went out to check and amazingly she thought she hatched the eggs! Everyone was happy! What a great little Mama!

It’s important to keep the babies separate from the older regular flock.

My husband had built a second smaller coop, so we moved them in there and set up the brooder. It’s important to keep them separate until they are around the same size as the older girls to avoid injuries. Chickens are relentless and sometimes do not accept new additions very easily.

A good broody will teach the babies everything they need to know. When I put food in the brooder, Baby would cluck (not her normal clucking) to let them know. She would sprinkle all around so each chick would get some. She always let them eat first before she would actually eat.

We kept them in the brooder for a week before we let them out for their first field trip. Mama needed some sunshine and exercise. My husband made a temporary run in the yard. This kept the other girls out and the babies protected. I put food and a tiny bit of scratch out and they got busy.  After about 30 minutes I decided the field trip was over, I could only carry Mama and two babies at once. I put her back in the brooder and blocked the door while I retrieved the other two. She was distraught and trying to get out until I brought the others in. She had adopted these babies as her own!

After a month, I let them out in my husband’s garden area where they could interact with the other girls as I supervised. They didn’t wander off too far from Mama and if they did, she would cluck, and they came running. I put a few mealworms out and she made sure each chick got one. She didn’t eat any herself.   

We still used the temporary run each day where they were protected, and I didn’t feel I had to supervise them.  

Around six to eight weeks of age, the Broody will abandon the chicks and return to the flock.

I notice a few weeks before when they would free range, Baby would leave them for short periods of time letting them do their own thing, dust bathing, foraging, etc. and then, one day, like a light switch, her broodiness turned off. She was done and just left them! She even acted like she didn’t know who they were. They would still follow her, but she ignored them and sometimes peck at them. My heart broke a little.

Now Mama is at the bottom of the original flock pecking order and the babies are their own little flock and establishing their order. In our city, we are only allowed a max of 6 hens, although we can have as many chicks as we want up to 3 months. We were over by two and would have to make a decision soon about re-homing.   

So, if you want to hatch chicks or purchase day old chicks, having a broody hen is great! They know exactly what to do for the babies. Just make sure you have a back-up plan for a separate brooder, in case she abandons them too quickly. If you aren’t going to hatch eggs, for the chicken’s health, it may be best to try and break her.

Check out my blog on Raising Baby Chicks.

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