Can you make a hen go broody?

[mother o' chicks72]

I don't know weather this is a stupid question or not but is it possible to MAKE a hen go broody? we lost a bunch of chickens recently and are looking to buy a few day olds but don't want to deal with having them inside the house. can we make our hen go broody so that we can slip some day olds under her? anyway if it's a stupid question tell me but if it's possible I'd like to know.

 

[jetskier506]

Yea. First make sure she's calm towards u. And if she's laying eggs of her own then she'll probably try to "protect" her eggs by pecking them away. And no matter what you do say you get six there's always one that she just won't like. Especially if your pen is too small. But keep them away during part of the days and supervise them and let them sleep in there at night

 

[Yay Chicks!]

As I understand it, you can not make a hen go broody.

 

[mother o' chicks72]

she lays eggs, but she's not broody. i want her to be broody. we only have 6 hens and are looking for another 1 or 2 chicks but we want our hen to raise them. is there a way to make her go broody?

 

[gryeyes]

Some hens never, ever go broody. Especially "production" breeds, as the broodiness has been bred out of the lines.

Some breeds are more likely to go broody, but that doesn't mean every hen of that particular breed will go broody.

And I beg to differ with anyone who claims human intervention can "make" a hen go broody. It is totally hormonal and based on genetics. Folks can make attractive situations to trigger a hen who might have gone broody anyway, such as leaving eggs in the nest instead of gathering them, but that may just as well let some eggs go bad.

Some hens can go broody without any eggs in the nest at all, or brood a golf ball or rock, hoping it will hatch. Hens don't know they need fertilized eggs to raise babies. When the hormones kick in just right, a broody-prone hen will want to be a mommy. Until or unless that happens, independent of any human desire or action, a hen will not set on eggs to incubate them.

 

[galanie]

Quote:
X 2 !

 

[gritsar]

What gryeyes said. It can't be done. I've tried every trick in the book, even with a broody breed (brahmas). A hen will go broody when she's good darn and ready to, not a second before.

 

[galanie]

Quote:
And they start laying on the same timeframe!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
And they start laying on the same timeframe!

Exactly. Chickens are gonna do what chickens want to do and you're only

if you think you can change it.

 

[kingdr85]

No, you cannot make her go broody but if you leave the eggs in her nest once she has a good amount of eggs (8-15 eggs) her insticnt will usually kick in and she will go broody.