Betty, one of my Plymouth Rocks, is broody. What is a broody hen? One that has the instinct to sit on the eggs and hatch them. A hen can go broody with or without a rooster, but only eggs fertilized by a rooster will hatch a chick 🙂 Not all chickens go broody. Some may never have the instinct to sit on eggs. Modern breeds rarely incubate eggs because the maternal instinct has been bred out of them.
We’re allowing Betty to sit on the eggs to hopefully add more chickens to the flock and to experience the chicks being raised by momma chicken. Betty is sitting on four eggs. There’s no guarantee that all four will hatch. Hopefully at least two will hatch so the baby chicks will have baby chick companions.
A broody hen is low maintenance. In fact they barely eat or move during the three weeks they sit on the eggs. Betty insisted in nesting in the most sought after nest box. I moved her to a smaller coop to give her privacy and avoid conflicts with the other hens once the chicks are born. Broody hens look for a dark and secure place to nest. I provided her with water and food inside the coop so she wont have to leave the coop.
Things to consider when having a broody chicken:
- Provide a comfortable nest for the chicken to brood
- Maintain water and food nearby as the chicken will rarely leave the nest and won’t have to travel far
- Keep the nest clean and comfortable, make sure the nest is soft enough to where the eggs will not crack.
I will be updating the post once the chicks hatch.
