Roosters and Broody

My young roosters are determined to nest at night with my broody hen, she has been sitting for awhile now and should be getting close to hatching, I have put up some boards to block her off from the rest of the flock and last night I had 2 young roosters sitting with her to sleep, i moved the roosters twice and reset the boards. This has been going on for a week now. Any reasons?

Christine gongaware wrote:My young roosters are determined to nest at night with my broody hen, she has been sitting for awhile now and should be getting close to hatching, I have put up some boards to block her off from the rest of the flock and last night I had 2 young roosters sitting with her to sleep, i moved the roosters twice and reset the boards. This has been going on for a week now. Any reasons?

The psychology of a chicken? Well, they could be: young & mixed-up kids, have gender indecision, immature - can't leave the 'nest', or suffer teenage angst: 'hey - she's sitting why can't we'. More than likely they're simply not that smart and roosting is unfamiliar to them at the moment. It may also be a pecking order thing.

Suggest not to move the broody hen as this could disrupt her sitting and send her off the eggs. But, definitely remove the other fowl so when the chicks are hatched they won't be injured or killed by the others.

Many wild game birds, the males and females both sit eggs.  I've had roosters that loves to be in the nests with hens while they lay and sit.  I once had a bantam rooster help a hen sit her eggs and he helped rear them with her.  I think it's an instinct that's mostly been bred out.

If you trust the boys you can leave them with her.  If you don't know what they'll do, best to separate them til the chicks are strong and on their feet.