Broody hen - would hatching help

[LittleCoopOnThePrairie]

2nd post from me today. I’m feeling needy. Lol
I have a hen who is almost constantly broody. We have no roosters. We’ve broken her over and over…we know the drill.
We have some friends who are looking into getting chickens.
This leads me to my question:
Could we get some hatching eggs, let her hatch them, raise them until they’re old enough (??? Past needing the brooder stage), and then give the babies to our friends? They’re on board, if we decide to do it.
Will it make her worse? I don’t want to put her through something for nothing, but then again, she’s doing that herself. Lol
Would hatching the babies and having them eventually leave be harder on her than all the broody stuff? What are the logistics for her hatching them? Does she need to be separated? If so, for how long? Could I ask any more questions?
Thanks for your help.

 

[All4Eggz]

Could we get some hatching eggs, let her hatch them, raise them until they’re old enough (??? Past needing the brooder stage), and then give the babies to our friends? They’re on board, if we decide to do it.

Yes you can. That's one way to break her broodiness
But then again, she could always become broody again.

What state are you in? I have high quality hatching eggs if you are interested. I'm located in Massachusetts. PM me if you are interested or want more details.

Will it make her worse?

I don't think it would make her worse. It's hard to say. She might actually get better.

Just want you to keep in mind that if you are in a cold state (north) or not even in the U.S., be sure that you have enough heat for the chicks. They are very vulnerable to death and sicknesses in cold weather.

If you end up letting her hatch, be sure she has her own space with the hatching eggs and potential chicks. The rest of the flock could damage eggs and kill the chicks if she is not separated. It is okay if she gets off the nest 1-2 times a day. She needs to eat, drink, exercise, and dust bathe (if available), so be sure you provide her with everything she needs.
She should be separated from the moment you give her the hatching eggs, to the time when the chicks no longer rely on her for heat (when the chicks are fully feathered, a couple weeks old).

Good luck And if you have any more questions, feel free to ask! I'm more than happy to try and help with whatever you might need.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Hatching chicks would definitely break her broodiness.
When you say, "make her worse", do you mean right now? Or if she will go broody more often?
When a hen hatches and raises chicks, she protects them for a couple weeks, but then she leaves them. This usually happens at around 7 weeks old (though some hens do it earlier, others later). She will start to peck at them if they try to cuddle up next to her, or take her food. Once they are old enough to take care of themselves, she essentially doesn't want anything to do with them anymore. So separating them won't be an issue.
The chance of her hatching them depends on a lot of things. As long as she sits on them consistently and doesn't abandon them, then all the eggs have the chance to hatch. However, getting a 100% hatch rate doesn't happen often, and you will most likely have at least 1 egg that doesn't hatch.
Some people separate the mother hen, others don't. It kind of depends on your situation, as well as the hen's place in the pecking order. I did not separate my mother hen because she is the leader of the flock, and I knew the other hens would not dare to do anything to her chicks. But if your hen is low in the pecking order, then it might be a good idea to separate her.

 

[All4Eggz]

What breed is your hen?

 

[Alaskan]

Could we get some hatching eggs, let her hatch them, raise them until they’re old enough (??? Past needing the brooder stage), and then give the babies to our friends?

Sure. Just understand that being hatched eggs you will have NO IDEA on the sexes. Worst case you could hatch a bunch of males.

So...have plans for extra males.

They’re on board, if we decide to do it.
Will it make her worse?

it will "cure" her for a cycle... but not for forever.

Would hatching the babies and having them eventually leave be harder on her than all the broody stuff?

you would want to keep the chicks with her until she is tired of them.... or about 6 weeks. Highly variable with each broody.

What are the logistics for her hatching them?

Mark all eggs with a sharpy. On a daily basis remove unmarked eggs that other hens add to the nest. Make sure she 8s eating and drinking.

Does she need to be separated? If so, for how long?

Depends on your flock.

Do the other hens let her stick to a single nest? Or does she move from one nest to another ? If she doesn't stick to a single nest, then she will need to be seperated.

Some hens are excellent at incubating eggs, but are horrid with chicks.

If at all possible keep a close eye on the calendar, and be right there when the eggs hatch.

With a first time mom I like to be there to see how she does.

A couple of times I have had a hen that loved to kill chicks.

And sometimes the broody is a good mom, but doesn't defend the chicks from dangers. Sometimes flock mates can be safe with chicks, and some times they can be deadly. I currently have a safe for chicks flock.

But you will not know what you have... until the eggs hatch.

Once all eggs hatch, you will want to remove any eggs that did not hatch (some times the hen will not leave the nest if eggs are still there), but also... some hens will leave as soon as a single chick hatches and good eggs are left to cool.... in which case an incubator is nice to finish up the almost done eggs... and once they finish hatching and pep up a bit, often they can be handed to the hen... (but not always)