Hens brood chicks as a response to hormones in their blood stream.
Chickens or hens do not make conscious decisions to take in orphaned chicks or become parents like you or I do. You might say that these actions are forced on chickens by nature but it is impossible for a mere human to force his or her will on a hen, either to make her lay eggs, hatch chicks, or brood these same chicks. In other words, this hen must lay a clutch of eggs, decide to sit on that clutch of eggs and spend some unknown amount of time incubating her eggs until such time as she is ready to move on to the next stage of chicken motherhood which is brooding her brood or clutch.
Chickens or hens do not make conscious decisions to take in orphaned chicks or become parents like you or I do. You might say that these actions are forced on chickens by nature but it is impossible for a mere human to force his or her will on a hen, either to make her lay eggs, hatch chicks, or brood these same chicks. In other words, this hen must lay a clutch of eggs, decide to sit on that clutch of eggs and spend some unknown amount of time incubating her eggs until such time as she is ready to move on to the next stage of chicken motherhood which is brooding her brood or clutch.
