Is Bluebell getting broody?

I am wondering if the spring weather is making Bluebell broody. Pepper often takes quite a long time to lay her egg, often up to an hour but Bluebell, who is our most prolific layer tends to go in, get her egg laid and back out again in a very short time.

Yesterday both Pepper and Dotty laid their eggs in the morning. Bluebell went into the nest box in the late afternoon. I kept looking out for her to come back out but she stayed in the nest box. I opened the nest box a couple of times to make sure she was okay and she was serenely  sat in there. After more than an hour had passed I went to check on her again as it was so unusual for her to be in there so long. I decided to feel under her and see if she had laid her egg and sure enough she was sat on a very warm egg. Had she just laid it or had she been sat on it for sometime?

Bluebell then went out into the run and sat with the other girls for a little while in a dust hole. She then returned to the coop and sat on the coop floor. I have never seen her do this during the day before and when I went back a little later she was back in the nest box.

By now it was getting towards dusk and the other two girls were going through their pre bedtime routine of feed, drink and peck around. Bluebell then came out of the nest box and had some water then some grit. She didn’t seem interested in the pellets so I put down a few sunflower hearts to tempt her. She ate a few then went straight back into the nest box.

I went back after dusk to check on the girls and the coop door had shut but Pepper and Dotty had settled on the coop roof and Bluebell was still in the nest box. Since the better weather Pepper and Dotty sometimes decide they want to sleep out. I always check on them and lift them down from the coop roof and pop them in then close the door again. I had one last look in through the nest box and Pepper and Dotty were on their usual perch while Bluebell was still in the nest box. I wondered if she was going to spend the night there.

This morning I went out just after first light and they were all in the garden part of their run as usual. I poop picked the coop and there was no poop in the nest box, it was just in the usual roosting spot. I think Bluebell must have joined Pepper and Dotty soon after I put them in. She is behaving normally this morning so I will just have to see how she is when she lays her egg today.

Bluebell has been wagging her tail from side to side recently and I did a bit of research on this. Some people said their hen would do this when their cockerel was nearby. Some people said when their hen had chicks she would point her tail downwards when the chicks were doing something she didn’t want them to do and would wag her tail when they were doing something correctly.

This seems to tie in with Bluebell getting a spring feeling. I have read a lot about broody chickens but have not experienced it myself. I have read that some people leave them be and some people try to break them out of it. It could be a problem for my flock as they only have one nest box. They do sometimes sit in there two at a time when two want to lay at the same time and sometimes if they all want to lay at once the odd egg gets laid on the coop floor. This isn’t a problem as its got a thick layer of pine shavings and is always clean as I poop pick first thing every day.

The other concern is that if a hen is really committed to being broody, she will only come out once a day to do an enormous poop, have a quick drink and feed, then back to sit again. This can cause the hen to lose weight and condition.

I will see how Bluebell progresses before deciding on any action. If like yesterday she only sits for part of the day then returns to normal, I will leave her be. I would only try to break her of it if she was in the nest box all the time and I hope it won’t come to that, also this could be a one off so it’s a case of seeing what happens today.

Breaking a broody involves cooling the hen down. It’s recommended to sit the hen on the bare metal tray of a dog crate with food and water available until her temperature is lowered. Some people put wrapped ice blocks in with them and during hot weather others sit the hen in a bath of cool water.

I hope not to have to do anything this drastic but have read up on this in the past because it’s good to have as much knowledge as possible in case it’s ever needed. I believe in letting nature take it’s course if at all possible.