The Broody Hen: What It Means and What to Do
TL;DR: A broody hen has switched from laying to sitting: she stays on the nest overnight, flattens out, growls when you reach in, and often plucks her breast feathers. She stops laying while she sits. If you want chicks, she is the best incubator on the property. If you want eggs, break her promptly — repeated removal, blocked nest, and a bright airy wire-floored pen for a few days. Either way, check her for mites and watch her condition, because sitting hens lose weight and are easy targets for parasites.
Every keeper meets this eventually, and the wrong move is to let it drift while you decide.
Recognising It
Not every hen sitting in a nest box is broody. The real thing looks like this:
- She is on the nest overnight, every night. This is the test that settles it.
- She flattens herself over the nest, spread wide and low.
- She puffs up, growls or pecks when you reach under her.
- She leaves only briefly each day to eat, drink and pass a single large, distinctive dropping.
- She plucks feathers from her breast, putting bare warm skin against the eggs.
- She has stopped laying.
A hen who is simply in the box during the day, and off it at dusk, is laying — not brooding.
Decide Quickly: Hatch or Break
The decision is yours and there is no neutral option, because a hen left to sit on nothing loses condition for weeks and produces nothing.
| You want | Do this |
|---|---|
| Chicks | Set her properly — see hatching under a broody hen |
| Eggs | Break her, starting today |
If You Want Chicks
She does temperature, humidity, turning and brooding without electricity — everything an incubator does, plus the part that comes after hatching. Full method in hatching under a broody hen; the essentials are a private nest, a clutch small enough that she covers every egg, all eggs set at once, feed and water within reach, and being left alone.
You do not need her own eggs. Hens do not count and do not care whose eggs they are, so keepers routinely set eggs from other hens or other breeds under a willing broody.
If You Want Her Back in Lay: Breaking a Broody
The principle is to interrupt the conditions that sustain the behaviour — a dark, private, warm nest — and to keep interrupting until the hormonal state passes.
What works:
- Remove her from the nest, repeatedly. Several times a day, every day. Once is not a method.
- Block access to the nest box she has chosen, if the other hens can lay elsewhere.
- Cool her underside. The classic and effective method is a broody breaker: a wire-floored pen or crate raised off the ground, in a bright, airy, safe spot, with feed and water available. Air moving under her breast is what does the work.
- Give her light and activity. Dark and quiet reinforce the behaviour.
- Keep at it for several days. Most hens give up; some are extremely persistent.
What does not work, and should not be done: dunking a hen in cold water, or any of the harsher folk remedies. She is not being stubborn on purpose — it is a hormonal state — and cold-soaking a bird risks chilling and stress for no benefit the wire floor does not achieve more safely.
Check she has actually stopped before returning her: she should be moving about, eating normally, and not going straight back to the nest.
Look After Her Either Way
A broody hen is at real risk of two things people forget:
Parasites. She is stationary, warm and sitting in one place for weeks — ideal conditions for mites and lice. Heavy infestation is a common reason hens abandon nests. Check her when you handle her.
Condition loss. She eats and drinks far less while sitting. Feed and water within reach of the nest is not optional, and she should be visibly checked for weight loss. A hen who finishes a hatch in poor condition takes longer to come back into lay.
Also, if she is sitting where the flock can reach her, other hens will add eggs to the nest and may squabble over the box. Mark the eggs she is sitting on and remove anything new — see egg-eating hens for what happens when eggs get broken in a nest.
Why Some Flocks Never Go Broody
Broodiness was deliberately bred out of commercial layers, because a hen who sits is a hen who is not producing. So:
- Commercial layer hybrids rarely go broody — see Lohmann Brown and best layer chicken breeds.
- Traditional breeds such as Sussex and Australorp go broody more readily.
- Silkies and many bantams are kept specifically for it.
- Native hens go broody often, which is part of why their egg numbers are low and part of why they sustain themselves — see native chicken raising.
If you want a self-renewing flock, that trait is an asset rather than a nuisance, and it is worth choosing stock accordingly.
The Honest Limits Here
Broody behaviour, its hormonal basis, and the standard methods for setting or breaking a broody hen are long-established poultry practice. This guide gives no number of days for breaking a hen, because hens vary widely in persistence — the measure is her behaviour when returned, not the calendar. It also gives no clutch size, since that depends on the hen’s size and the size of the eggs. Where a sitting hen is losing significant condition, treat that as a health matter and consult your agrivet.
Related: hatching under a broody hen, why chickens stop laying eggs, chicken molting, Silkie chicken.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does broody mean?
A hen has gone broody when her instinct to sit on eggs and hatch them takes over. She stays on the nest, stops laying, defends the nest, and often plucks feathers from her breast.
How do I know if a hen is broody?
She stays on the nest overnight, flattens over the eggs, puffs up and growls or pecks when you reach under her, and leaves only briefly each day. A hen that leaves the nest at dusk is not broody.
Is broodiness a problem?
It depends on your goal. She stops laying while she sits, which is lost production if you want eggs. If you want chicks, she is the cheapest and most reliable incubator you can own.
How do I break a broody hen?
Remove her from the nest repeatedly, block access to the nest box, and cool her underside — a wire-floored pen in a bright airy spot with feed and water is the classic method. Persistence over a few days is what works.
How long will a hen stay broody?
She will typically sit for the natural incubation period and beyond if nothing changes, which is why an unwanted broody is usually managed rather than waited out.
Which breeds go broody most?
Silkies and many bantams are known for it, and traditional breeds such as Sussex go broody more readily than commercial layer hybrids, which have had broodiness bred out of them.
Is it bad for the hens health to sit?
A sitting hen eats and drinks less and loses condition, and she is a stationary target for mites. Watch her weight and check her for parasites whether or not you are letting her hatch.