What is a broody hen?
A broody hen has the desire to incubate and hatch eggs. They want to raise chicks and become a mother. Broody hens will find a comfortable place – usually a secure and small space like a nesting box to lay their clutch. Chickens usually stay broody for about 3 weeks, which is how long it takes fertile eggs to hatch. Most of the time, hens will resume their normal behavior after that amount of time. Sometimes hens will go broody at strange times, like during the winter, too early in the spring, or in the fall. In these cases, it’s best to break her of her broodiness to preserve her health. Keep the food and water close to the nest to ensure that less adventurous broodies avail themselves of at least one meal a day. Fresh, cool water is critical to the health of a broody hen and should be made available at all times. A dehydrated hen can die very quickly. During the winter, a chicken needs to focus all its energy on staying warm and healthy, not being broody and raising chicks.
How to break the broodines
Create a separate environment for her using a small portable coop or crate. Removing her from the nesting boxes and eggs could help get her out of the broody mindset. This can often take a few days. Others find that moving the broody hen to an open pen, where there is good air circulation and no nest, is what it takes to break a brood. This is because she is uncomfortable and unable to nest, and then will return to the ‘normal’ business of laying eggs. I highly recommed you break the broodiness for the sake of the hens health, unless you want her to incubate and lay eggs.
