Get off that nest!

Janice Houghton-Wallace looks at what to do when you don't want a broody hen to hatch eggs When it comes to hatching fertilised eggs a broody hen is best at the art of incubation. Broodiness normally occurs in a chicken once she has laid a clutch of eggs that she will be able to cover and incubate effectively. The number of eggs in a clutch varies between breeds but an average ideal number is between 10 - 12. But what happens if you don't want her to be broody?

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The physiology of a hen changes once she has laid her clutch and she feels ready to incubate the eggs. The first noticeable sign that a hen is broody is when she ceases to lay as her body cannot carry out two different actions and to incubate the eggs she will need to concentrate on what is needed to accomplish that. Hormonal changes take place in her body, with the release of prolactin by the pituitary gland. When levels of this hormone increase it inhibits the production of gonadotropin, which stimulates ovarian follicles, which make up eggs. Her metabolism will slow and her temperature at this stage still be 37.7 degrees C. Into the second week of incubation her breast temperature will rise to 44 degrees C and during the third week gradually fall to 37 C. During the broody period she will not wish to move from her nest and appear in a trance. 

KEEP COLLECTING THE EGGS