Chances are you’re going to run into a broody hen or two at some point when caring for your backyard chickens. Broodiness is a completely normal and natural state for hens, but it might not be something you want for a variety of reasons. In this article, we’ll explain broodiness, how and why it happens and also some tips on how to stop it if you need to!

Quick Jump

A broody hen is one that sits on a group of eggs in the hope that they will hatch. Of course, if you don’t have a rooster in your flock, the eggs will not be fertilized, but that won’t stop a hen from becoming broody and she may even resort to stealing other eggs to look after while she’s in that state.

One easy sign to spot in a broody hen is if she becomes agitated when you’re trying to take the eggs from underneath her. If she lets out a loud squawk or possibly even a snake-like hiss, chances are she’s broody.

If she simply runs away in a huff when you grab the eggs, there’s no broodiness there, but she could be a little annoyed that you disturbed her.

A broody hen may also try to peck at your hand when you’re grabbing for the eggs, so be sure to be careful when you do this! Wear gloves if you have your suspicions.

Brooding can be caused by a number of different factors, but it’s generally understood to be a mixture of genetics, hormones, and increased sunlight throughout the day.

There’s no real way to prevent broodiness from starting, but later on, we’ll discuss some techniques to stop your ladies from going the whole nine yards!

If you’re seeing the above signs, it’s likely that your hen is broody, but do be aware that they could simply just be laying an egg or staying clear of a more aggressive member of the flock.

There are certain breeds that tend to go broody more than others, as well as breeds that tend not to go broody so often. If you’re raising chickens for the eggs themselves, you may want to pick an Ancona, a Hamburg or a Leghorn for your flock, but if you’re hoping to see some chicks someday, check out our graphic below with the best broody hens!

<p><strong>Please include attribution to www.milefour.com with this graphic.</strong><br><br><a href="www.milefour.com/blogs/learn/broody-hen"><img src="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0016/2276/9776/files/Breeds-Most-Likely-to-be-Broody-600px.jpg?v=1575581222" alt="Breeds Most Likely to be Broody" width="600px" border="0"></a></p>

Bottom middle. Who's that fluffy son of a gun?!! That’s a Silkie. The G.O.A.T of the broody world. A real-life Jenny from the Flock!

Not only do they make great broody hens, but they’re also great mothers, and if you’re planning on raising chicks in your backyard farm, a Silkie is the way to go. They look pretty cool too, right?!

Chapter 2: What To Do With a Broody Hen

Brooding Nests

The rule of thumb for a broody hen is to separate her from the rest of the flock into a Brooding Nest. This is because, despite the fact that they only leave the nest around once a day, you don’t want another hen to settle in her nest and force the broody hen to resettle elsewhere.

This brooding nest should be close to a separate source of food and water from the rest of the flock since she’ll need a different diet during her broody period. We’ll go through that next!

Managing a Broody Hen

It can seem a bit daunting to have a broody hen, but it can be an exciting experience that will be very rewarding, especially if you have a rooster that has fertilized the eggs your hen is looking after.

During her broody period, she will not eat a whole lot, and you shouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t even leave the nest for the first day or two.

Once she does leave the nest, it’ll only be to eat, drink and poop, and then she’ll head back to her eggs. 20 minutes max! As for the food she should have available to her, we recommend you provide a high protein Starter Chicken Feed because of her infrequent trips to the feeder.

If she is going to hatch chicks, this will be the food you want to feed them too, so having it on hand isn’t a bad idea anyway!

If you’re worried that your broody hen isn’t eating and drinking, you can encourage her by gently lifting her off the nest and placing her close to the feeder.

There is a chance however that she’s been eating when you’re not around, so don’t worry too much if she still doesn’t seem interested after you’ve tried this.

Candling Eggs

In our last article, the “Free Range Eggs Ultimate Guide,” we discussed a bit about candling eggs.

Candling eggs is the process of viewing the inner contents of a fertilized egg by placing it in front of a bright light (most people use a flashlight or a specific candling device). The reason its called “candling” is that they used to use a…...candle. Shocker, eh?

Candling is used to estimate the age of an egg, as well as whether it’s been fertilized or if it’s going to rot. When you’re shining the light onto the egg, if you can barely see the yolk, you’ve got yourself a fresh egg, but if you’re seeing the yolk move around the egg freely and clearly, you’ve probably got an egg that’s older.

You’ll want to make sure you’re identifying the non-fertile eggs early and often because they are likely to burst in the nest and contaminate the other eggs. It’ll also stink and nobody needs that!

The best way to candle an egg is to hold the egg with your thumb and first two fingers. Place the flashlight facing the larger end of the egg. By tilting the large end of the egg slightly toward the light, you’ll be able to examine the contents of the egg.

Candling is a process generally used when hatching chicks using an incubator, but there’s no reason why you wouldn’t be able to do it with your candling device when your broody hen leaves the nest to eat and drink.

Creating a candling schedule is a good way to stay on top of things. Some get really into it and candle their eggs every day, but we suggest doing it every second or third day, and not starting until around day six or seven. This is because your hen’s eggs won’t develop much in those first few days anyway, and it’s harder to tell whether an egg is good, bad or ugly.

Once you hit day 16, you should stop candling completely. We know, we know, you are curious! But as they go into their last few days of incubation, they shouldn’t be moved or turned at all. It’s unlikely you’d be able to see anything in there anyway since the chicks will have developed so much over the first two weeks.

Below we have provided a handy graphic to show you how to candle an egg.

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