Can the sight or sound of baby chicks cause hens to go Broody ?

[farnorth]

This is a "just wondering" kind of question.

I have a brooder cage inside my coop. I bought some baby chicks and was raising them in there. About the time the chicks became a month old. I suddenly had 3 hens go broody. One with a lot of determination and 2 who's broodiness is half hearted (I can make them leave the coop and sometimes they come back and sometimes they free range all day and sometimes they would walk around voicing their anger at me or trying to get back into the coop....but the one will fight and bite to stay in the box.

Two of these hens are older hens who no longer lay (a Barred Rock and a Delaware) the third is a year old hen who surprised me that she went broody as she is a Rhode Island Red. All 3 pulled feathers and tried to sit in the nest boxes all day. The old Delaware is the one who refuses to leave the nest unless I pick her up and lock her out of the coop. The Barred Rock has gone broody once before.

So I began to wonder if it was the sight or the sound of peeping chicks in the coop that sort of gave them the incentive to go broody ?

Or could it be that older hens that no longer lay eggs go broody easier? or is it seeing another hen setting that makes more of them go broody?

A few years ago I had 6 Barred Rock hens, had them for 2 years and none of them ever went broody.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Don't know, I doubt it, but it could be.
I think it is the desire to hear the sound of chicks that causes them to go broody.

 

[donrae]

I've never seen that. Man, if it were that easy to get a hen broody I'd be popping baby chicks in the coop all the time! I'm wanting broodies, trying to tempt them..........when I've had babies in the coop I've never had another hen go broody. bummer, that could have been a plan!

 

[Sonya9]

Reviving and old thread. I just put a recording of happy chick noises in the henhouse. Really hoping it triggers my bantam hen to go broody.

She is over 3 years old and never went broody until last spring when I brought chicks in, within a week she was sitting on eggs.

 

[aart]

Reviving and old thread. I just put a recording of happy chick noises in the henhouse. Really hoping it triggers my bantam hen to go broody.

She is over 3 years old and never went broody until last spring when I brought chicks in, within a week she was sitting on eggs.

Well, do update us here to tell us if it worked....or not.

 

[Folly's place]

I'll be interested too. My hens seem to go broody 'whenever', often in winter when I'm not having it, or later in summer. Their schedule, not mine. Hoping for a broody hen or two in mid-April, when chicks are coming. Hoping.
Mary

 

[Sonya9]

I'll be interested too. My hens seem to go broody 'whenever', often in winter when I'm not having it, or later in summer. Their schedule, not mine. Hoping for a broody hen or two in mid-April, when chicks are coming. Hoping.
Mary

A fox killed 4 of my birds (and all of my layers) 2 weeks ago so I really need to add to the flock and chicks are in short supply again this year.

The local store gets Cal Whites at the end of the month and I think I will buy some and raise them myself. I really want to try that breed. Haven't raised any myself for 7 years (always use broodies) but don't want to screw around and miss my chance this year. I am sure she will go broody 3 days after I get the chicks.

Though on a side note, someone I know on Gab bought 4 golden comet chicks and put them in a kennel that night with her older broody (that had not been sitting on eggs but has a good track record). By morning the hen had accepted them all and is now raising them.

 

[chkncrazy]

I had a two year old white leghorn that had never been Broody ever when I move my checks into a little part of the run she went Broody within 3 days and set on fertile eggs and hatch them herself I don't know if it was the chicks that inspired it or what I'm pretty sure that's what it was because nothing like that ever happened and I never moved chicks into the run before mind you the only other chickens I had at the time we're too young to lay I'm hoping I get another Broody because this happened in September and it wasn't the right time of year.

 

[taabeer]

I landed on this thread because I read this here on Wikipedia: "Keeping hens in dark places with warm temperatures and in view of vocalising orphan chicks can induce broodiness, even in breeds that normally do not go broody."

Does anyone have experience with this?