Is it possible to encourage them you might ask?? Well let me share what happen. My neighbor and I both happen to go to our local chick day at the same time. He got 30 and I got 30, same breed, same box---Rhode Island Red. We got 2 dozen female chicks and 6 straight run chicks. I had 27 pullets and he had 28. A year later my hens were laying good. I asked him about his---he said yea but he has several setting, 2 hens done hatched about 30 chicks? WHAT-----RIR don't set to often I did not think. A few weeks later he asked me if I needed any more chicks---I said no and he said he had about 75 hatched so far with a couple more setting. He called me up one day and asked if I would step over and feed his chickens because he has a emergency and had to leave quick and would not be home for a couple days. I asked him what to do with the eggs I gather----he said don't worry about them---he only collects them about every week or so??? I collect mine every day??? I went over, every nesting box had eggs in it---2 hens setting, some nesting boxes had probably 2 dozen eggs in them??? When he got back I talked to him and he said he just gets tied up and does not collect them, said his wife buys grocery store eggs because she don't want to eat fertile eggs---LOL. He said he takes a 5 gallon bucket ever week or so and collect all that do not have a hen setting on them and throws them in the woods behind his chicken house. In 2 1/2 years I had 1 of mine that came out the same box as his to go broody. So to answer that question, SURE I believe you can do things that will encourage a hen to go broody----like leave lots of eggs in the nesting boxes.
