Can you encourage broodiness?

[the4heathernsmom]

How can you encourage any of your hens to go broody?

 

[ashyannehand]

Since it is a hormonal process, I don't think you can.

Good luck!

 

[beakkeeper]

Well apparently silkies will go broody at the drop of a hat...

but some breeds never will, because their broodiness has been bred out. What breed do you have? Also, it might be unwise to let her brood eggs this time of year--much too cold.

ETA: Ah, just saw ur in Texas.

I'm in MN, so that wouldn't be possible here... it still might be too cold there, though.

 

[LocoPollo]

I once "made" a hen go broody by placing 16 eggs in her nest. I had been collecting them for when she went broody, and finally decided that I would just put them all in and see what happened. She immediately looked at the eggs and sat right on them. Of course, she is a game hen which are excellent mothers and go broody often. You could try a bunch of plastic eggs to see if that encourages her, then replace them with real eggs if she goes for it. No guarantee but you could try.

 

[Red]

You can leave eggs / pretend eggs / golf balls in the nest and that will sometimes encourage a hen to go broody

 

[the4heathernsmom]

well I have 5 barred rocks, 1 ameracauna, 1 black star, 1 bantam cochin, 1 pilgrims pride huge white feed eating non laying white something, 1 red laced blue wyandotte roo, 1 bantam ameracauna roo, 1 unknown grayish blue muffed roo, and a silkie roo he's the youngest's pet and does no business.....kinda the outcast of the group.

 

[Cackel]

Do chickens still lay eggs when they go broody?

 

[LocoPollo]

No they stop laying.

 

[dancingbear]

I think in some hens, the sight of a nest full of eggs can trigger the hormones that make them brood. It won't work with all of them, and if it doesn't, you just have to wait until the time is right. Usually a combination of day length, weather, temperature, and who knows what.

Some say increasing the amount of corn in a hen's feed will increase her body temp, and that can trigger broodiness.

This is assuming you have a breed that will brood.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Quote:
I have four Buff Orps and I have found that feeding raw corn-on-the-cob for about a week triggers one of them to go broody. She went broody three times in her first year. So corn obviously affects her hormones at least.