Can I "make" a hen broody?

[Franecca]

We just got 11 hens and 3 roos from church friends who are moving. Ten of the hens laid the very next day, and 7 are laying daily. My ? is, can I make a hen broody, so that she will set some of the eggs? We are new at this, and I would like to have some chicks.

 

[seriousbill]

No, you cannot make a hen broody. It is a hormonal state, and there's nothing you can really do to control it. Some hens go broody, and some don't. Good luck.

 

[spook]

I have been begging someone to beat me with the broody stick! lol, I have the type of hens that go broody for everyone ELSE! I wanted to put 2 eggs under a hen, but no such luck, not this year...I should be happy that I get from 2 - 5 eggs a day out of 5 girls.

 

[estpr13]

Seriousbill is correct. The only thing you might do is try to change her hormonal state by breeding her to one of the roos. I keep my roos seperate from the hens and to breed them I put the roo in a 3'x4' cage and let the hen express interest then put her in for a couple of breedings then take her out. After doing this for 3 days the eggs should be fertile. But depending on the breed she may never get broody.

 

[estpr13]

Oh, another thing. The three roos may be pestering the poor hens too much for them to get broody. A former neighbor would put a broody hen in with roosters just to break her out of being broody!