Can you make a hen go broody?

[Smuvers Farm]

Mine went broody the end of September.... smh

 

[ChickenGirl555]

You also have to think about what you are going to do with the cockerels that hatch.

We'll give them away, but we are only going to get 1 or 2 eggs (maybe 3) so it's not like we'll have a ton. Is a hen or rooster more common? Or is it random? I've heard some people say the temp can somehow make it have a higher chance of a girl or a higher chance of a boy. I heard somebody else say it so please don't get mad.

 

[ChickenGirl555]

it's a good idea to have an incubator as a backup, incase she stops sitting too early.

We are only going to keep the eggs if they are raised by one of my pullets. Otherwise as a last resort we'll buy some chicks from the local mill.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Temp only affects some reptiles, insects and arthropods.
It is 50/50.

 

[ChickenGirl555]

Temp only affects some reptiles, insects and arthropods.
It is 50/50.

Ok, well it was just something I read. I kind of doubted it too. I will get rid of any cockerels I get, I can't have any because of the noise, and chance of breeding. We only want the chickens for eggs and show chickens.

 

[ChickenGirl555]

One more question I have, do you think they would all hatch? What has to happen to make sure the eggs hatch?

 

[Lordfeint]

This is why my main chicken lady friend keeps a blue cochin hen, a splash cochin hen and a bantam partridge cochin hen.
One of them is pretty much guaranteed to be broody from March-November. (We live in NH)
With neighbors who primarily have EEs, leghorns and mixes of other breeds, she's always volunteering her ladies for setting duty.
Plus feathered feet are the bomb.
She also had a broody Buff Orp and a Silkie/Barred Rock mutt too, but they're nothing like the Cochins.

 

[Rubysword]

Temp only affects some reptiles, insects and arthropods.
It is 50/50.

Actually, if you raise the temp by a degree, all the roosters will die in their shells.

 

[junebuggena]

One more question I have, do you think they would all hatch? What has to happen to make sure the eggs hatch?

No way of knowing. First time broodies are a bit of a gamble. Not every broody is great at sitting the full 21 days. And some broody hens are terrible mothers once chicks hatch. Then there is the added complication of the eggs being shipped, which further decreases the odds of a successful hatch.

 

[junebuggena]

Actually, if you raise the temp by a degree, all the roosters will die in their shells.

Not true in the slightest. If it were that simple, all the hatcheries would do it.