Hi, i am bakc after not being active for a while. My question is, why are my hens constantly setting, i have one hen that has set four times this year, each time having 2 chicks, one set and hatch 10, one hatch 2, and my two white leghorn batams hatch a total of 3. Not only am i having a bunch of hens set, but i have the most recent pair of chicks being raised by two hen, one that didn't even set on the eggs (i don't move setting hens unless predators can get them or the weather is cold). Now 3 years after starting raising chickens i have went from 3 chickens to 3 dozen. Mostly because of my hens, which most aren't supposed to set, are setting and raising chicks. Any idias why they are setting so often.

Yo Yo, I didn't think leghorns were known for going broody. What kind of birds do you have other than the leghorns?

The planets must be aligned right for setting leghorns. I have had several of my buff leghorn bantams go broody in the past year. In fact, I have 2 that are broody right now. I have heard several others report that their leghorns have gone broody this past year as well. Who knows what causes it, but whatever it is has certainly been present.

If you don't want the chicks can't you just take the eggs away? I know they will still go broody, but maybe not as often.
~Chikiechik~

THe reason i don't take the eggs is one nearly starved herself setting for nearly a month before her eggs hatched. When they set they are either hiding or only seeting on the few eggs laid that dday. The other birds that set are a little mutt bantam, a cochin bantam (the one that has set four times, so this isn't acting to unsual), and a what looks like a white leghorn bantam cross.

Hi Mark, I have heard that bantams tend to go broody more often than standards. Any truth to that?

Hannah, I would say there is some truth to that. This year was really weird though, I think every leghorn bantam hen I had went broody at some point. I have had some of these hens for 3 years, and they have not gone broody before, and they have never gone broody at this time of year! My standard leghorns (SC Dark Browns) go broody occassionally also, but with less frequency and they usually won't set for 3 full weeks. They tend to give up after week 2, so I don't trust them to hatch eggs for me. I can't explain the phenomenon, but I sure am experiencing it.