Broody hen

[glorianel5]

I have a girl maybe a red, who is just sitting all day.
She comes out for a meal and a dirt bath, but she just wants to
sit all day. Friend told me to get her some fertile eggs to hatch.
Im fine with babes and I have the room any one try this?

jen

 

[gritsar]

Yep, all the time. I have a bunch of chicks running around that my broodies hens have hatched out.

 

[Cackling Hen]

Yep I also let my girls hatch all sorts of eggs

Good luck

 

[Mrs. K]

nothing funner in the chicken world than a hen with chicks! Only problem, 21 days takes forever!

 

[CariLynn]

Just make sure that the eggs she is sitting are indeed fertilized, as my little broody Cochin was sitting 3 eggs that turned out not to be. I found that out when I candled them around 15 days, so we let her sit the remaining 6 days and the day they were due to hatch we bought 6 three day old chicks and put them close enough to her that she could hear them and then that night we slipped the 3 bad eggs out form under her and put the 6 babies back. By morning when I went to check on her, she fluffed up twice her size, gave me the stink eye and when I went to gently lift her breast feathers to see if I could see the peeps, got pecked for my trouble.

It is a JOY to watch a hen and babies...nothing more endearing or more fun.