Should a Broody Hen be Moved?
Kevin Felts 11.09.16
There is a broody hen in the flock, now what? For those who not know what the term “broody” means, it is when a hen will sit on eggs to hatch them. The batch of eggs is called a “clutch.” While broody, the hen will stop laying eggs.
When a hen goes broody, she is determined to sit on the clutch of eggs until they hatch. The instinct is so strong she may sit on rocks, golf balls–anything that looks like an egg. She will only get off the clutch long enough to eat, get a drink of water, relieve herself, then back on the eggs she goes.
Chicken eggs take around 21 days to incubate, so she will sit on the clutch for at least that long. Figure she will be sitting on the clutch for around a month.
Recently, I had two Buff Orpingtons go broody. One was in a popular laying spot. The other was in a corner of the chicken house where no hens lay their eggs. There was no way the hen in the popular spot was going to be able to hatch the chicks. Besides those two, several of my hens have gone broody over the past few years.
Broody Hen Issues
Stress – A broody hen likes peace and quiet. She does not want other hens getting near her. All she wants to do is sit on her eggs and be left alone.
Too many eggs – At any given time there may be 2 or 3 hens trying to get in the same laying box. Some hens have a preferred box. If there is another hen in her favorite spot, she may squawk until the box is free.
A hen can only sit on X number of eggs. Depending on the size and breed of the hen, this could be 4, 6, 8, maybe even a dozen eggs. Hens laying eggs into the clutch means there are too many eggs, which reduces the viability of the clutch. As a result of new eggs being laid, the incubated eggs may be pushed out of the clutch.
Bullying – Chickens can be vicious creatures. A hen sitting on a clutch may get pecked by other chickens. Why are you always in “my” laying box and just sitting there? The constant pecking can cause sores on the head, which poses a health issue.
Not in a safe place – Sometimes a broody hen will go away from the flock to lay her clutch. She will get out of the chicken yard to seek a quiet place. Somewhere she feels the clutch will be safe and she will be left alone. Somewhere the other chickens will not bother her.
Other times, a mama hen may sit on eggs in the chicken house where all the traffic is at.
Before Moving a Broody Hen
Should a broody hen be moved? A lot of it depends on the circumstances listed above. Is the hen being disturbed by other chickens? Is she being bullied. Is she safe?
There is a chance that after being moved the hen will abandon the clutch. She may say “never mind I do not want to sit on the eggs.” If she does, return her to the flock.
If you have to move a broody hen, where will be be moved to? Will she be next to a road? Will she be next to barking dogs? Will she be safe from predators?
Several years ago I built a rabbit hutch, which is where I moved one of my broody hens to. The other went into a 6 foot X 8 foot chicken house that is no longer used.
Before moving the hens, I gathered straw from a freshly brush hogged field. The straw was placed in the boxes to make a nest for the eggs.
Moving the hens
Get a good pair of leather gloves. Some broody hens are VERY protective of their eggs. Those eggs are her chicks. There is a good chance she will peck your hand hard enough to draw blood.
Get something to put the eggs in, like a small bucket.
Hen A – This hen was sitting in the high traffic spot. I picked her up, put her under my left arm, gathered the eggs, brought her to the old chicken house, put the eggs in a laying box, placed her next to the eggs so she could see them, then let her go.
She started squawking, walked around the chicken house and acted very upset.
Hen B – She was in a low traffic corner of the chicken house. I did the same thing to her as with Hen A, except she went into the rabbit hutch. While walking to the rabbit hutch I kept the eggs where she could see them.
Inside the hutch is a rabbit box with a lid. The eggs were placed in the box, then hen was put in the box where she could see the eggs.
She squawked for a little while. Maybe 15 minutes later she had settled down and was sitting on the eggs.
The Next Day
24 hours after moving the hens I checked to see what was going on.
Hen A was still on the perch and was not on her clutch.
Hen A abandoned her clutch of eggs. Rather than sitting on the eggs she was on the perch. As a result she was returned to the flock.
Hen B had settled in quit nicely.
Broody Breeds
Certain chicken breeds are more prone to go broody than other breeds. If you want hens that hatch chicks, get breeds that are prone to go broody. If you want to avoid going broody, get breeds that rarely go broody.
These are breeds that are known to go broody.
- Buff Orpington
- Australorp
- Silkies
- Dominicker
These are breeds that are unlikely to go broody. There is still a chance a hen will go broody, but it is unlikely.
- Barred Rock
- Rhode Island Red
- Wyandotte
- Leghorn (can sometimes go broody)
- New Hampshire Red
There are dozens of chicken breeds, way too many to cover here. The breeds listed are some of the more popular ordered by farm supply stores and sold by hatcheries.
