Questions about going broody

Date sort Score sort
bison

bison

In the Brooder
10 Years
Oct 2, 2009
60
2
31
West Point, GA
OK, so I'm new at this and I have a couple of questions that will show my "newbiness":

1) Is there a particular time of year when hens tend to go broody?
2) Do hens have to be a particular age before they go broody?
3) Is there anything you can do to encourage them to go broody?

Thanks for the feedback in advance!
 
(1) While they can go broody at any time, during the spring and summer tend to be more predominant.

(2) Anytime after they start laying eggs. What predicts broodiness often has more to do with the breed. Some breeds DEFINITELY tend to go broody with regularity, while others RARELY.

(3) I'd personally have to vote nothing with any reliability. Folks have suggested some things they've done to encourage broodiness, but honestly, you can't prove whether that actually does any good, or if the chicken just went broody. The joke is ... your hen will go broody when you don't want one and will refuse when you do. Incubators probably wouldn't have become so popular if you could get hens to fit your schedule.
 
Thanks, greyhorsewoman! Very helpful
smile.png
 
Last edited:
I believe it helps my jap hen to go broody if I let her hide her eggs, wink wink, Away from the crowd and do not collect eggs, date and rotate out old, but try to leave seven to ten, I have really good luck encouraging sitting by leaving eggs in the nest.
 
The first time my hen went broody was when I was gathering eggs and got sidetracked and put all five eggs down in one nest while I did whatever it was I had to do....went in the house and came back out an hour later and plop! there she was, happy as a hen with all five eggs under her. I'm hoping we can do this trick again soon. lol. last time I wasnt committed to having chicks. This spring I would like some!
 

Similar threads

peafowl_Lover
Hatching using a broody hen
Replies
2
Views
436
peafowl_Lover
peafowl_Lover
Slothinc
    • Love
    • Wow
Giving chicks to a bunch of broodies?
2
Replies
10
Views
1K
BigBlueHen53
BigBlueHen53
malirae
I am going to let a hen hatch so me eggs this year, is there any thing I should know? (First time hatching at home and from hen)
Replies
1
Views
413
malirae
malirae
RubelliteRose
    • Like
Incubated eggs for a possible broody
2
Replies
11
Views
892
RubelliteRose
RubelliteRose
O
    • Like
Broody Turkey Hen
Replies
3
Views
399
R2elk
R2elk

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom