Hi. I have a young Silky hen who has just started to lay. She seems to have gone broody. The problem is, after three days I checked to see how mamy eggs she was sitting on and discovered none. Is it possible for a hen to go broody without eggs? I put some eggs under her, and the next day she changed nest, sitting on no eggs. Today she is back on the eggs. So what is going on?

-- Patrick Roll (PSRoll@aol.com), July 08, 2001

Answers

I have also had hens go broody with no eggs like that. Has she plucked her breast? If she is sitting at night, and not going back to the roost, she probably is broody. Your challenge now is to get her to sit consistently in the same place with the eggs ;-) (Some hens actually are much more clever about this than others.) Preferably, she should have a place away from the other hens, where they will not bother her or run her off, and where other critters likewise will not bother her. Good luck!

-- mary, in colorado (marylgarcia@aol.com), July 08, 2001.

I dont know anything about banties, but with my Rhode Island Reds, I have problems with some wanting to go broody even if I collect all the eggs faithfully. I would concider a broody Banty hen without a nest a real treasure, and collect fertile eggs from other breeds to experiement with... Just be ready to see a worried moma if you give her baby ducks and they take to water!

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), July 08, 2001.

Silkies tend to be very broody and make good mamas. I have a banty hen of mixed origin that has sat almost all summer each summer I've had her. She sits whether there are eggs or not. Nothing I have tried has broken her of this. Sounds as if you have a good future mama. Take advantage of it if you want chicks.

-- cindy (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), July 08, 2001.

It is not unusual for hens to set on empty nests. The hormones say 'set' so she does. Some folks attempt to break the broodys by putting them in a cage with food/water and no nest for a week or so. Chances are it'll work for a while, then she'll go back to being broody.

I've found it doesn't take any longer if I cage them or leave them alone, so I leave them alone. I remove any eggs if I don't want any hatched. The broody usually doesn't lay when she's in this state, but others will lay in the nest when the hen leaves to eat/drink/poop.

These broody hens are good for hatching all kinds of fowl eggs. I think it's so cute to see a bunch of ducklings following a hen mama!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), July 10, 2001.

People I know that get broody hens that move around restrain them on the nest of eggs by putting them in a box with nest, eggs, food, and water, or an enclosed area in a quiet spot with nest, eggs, food and water. That way she has all she needs, noone can bother her and she doesn't have anywhere else to go to nest. Friends have hatched out turkeys, guineas, and ducks this way as well as chicks under a broody hen. I had a broody Buff Orpington once and she was no problem whatsoever. She just appropriated the nesting box and didn't get out unless she had to to eat and drink then it was back onto the eggs after a bit of a leg stretch around the hen house. She was a darling!

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), July 10, 2001.

HI, WE HAD 4 BROODY HENS AS OF 3 WEEKS AGO. OME HATCHED OUT AND THE HEN WENT CRAZY AND RAN AWAY. SO I PUT MARCUS IN THE INCUBATOR FOR A DAY AND HE'S FINE. THE OTHER 2 I REMOVED THE EGGS AND THE THIRD IS STILL SITTING ON A EMPTY NEST. I'M GOING TO LET HER STAY IN THE BARN. WE HAVE A SMALL POULTRY FARM IN UPSTATE NY. WE MARKET BOTH FERTILE AMD REGULAR EGGS TO THE PUBLIC. WE JUST STARTED INTO GOATS LAST YEAR AND LOVE IT. WELL TAKE CARE AND GOOD LUCK. SUNSHINE -MOUNTAIN ASHE ACRES FARM---GP83196@AOL.COM

-- SUNSHINE (GP83196@AOL.COM), July 10, 2001.