A
Anonymous
Guest
will a broody hen just keep laying eggs or will she lay a certain number and stop laying and sit on them?
Davidd
Active member
A "broody hen" wil not lay- broodiness is a state caused by hormonal changes- usually a hen will lay a clutch of eggs- this can vary greatly in number before going broody- some hens/breeds are more prone to broodiness and some strains/breeds never go broody.
regards, David
regards, David
A
Anonymous
Guest
Guess it depends on your definition of "broody". If you've a hen that absolutely doesn't want you to take her eggs, I call that broody even though she's not sitting. If you keep taking her eggs, sometimes she'll get over it and keep laying. Other times, you have to "break" her broody to get her to start laying again.
If you leave her alone, she'll lay a clutch of eggs and sit them. She'll decide how many - most of my hens try to sit about 14, so I usually candle at a week - at night (wear heavy gloves and arm guards, she won't be nice
) and take any duds away so she's not sitting on so many.
If you leave her alone, she'll lay a clutch of eggs and sit them. She'll decide how many - most of my hens try to sit about 14, so I usually candle at a week - at night (wear heavy gloves and arm guards, she won't be nice
) and take any duds away so she's not sitting on so many.