Hens that will not sit.

[markfish8]

I have two RIred hens that will not sit. They are two years old and they will fill there boxes up,but will not sit.

 

[horsejody]

They were bred to be production birds. Most of the broodiness has been bred out. If you want to hatch their eggs with a hen, instead of an incubator, you may need to buy a hen that is more likely to go broody. RIR's can go broody, but don't hold your breath. Get a couple of silkie hens. They go broodie more often and will sit on the RIR eggs for you.

 

[SportTees]

Some just aren't broody

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Get them a good book? Glass of wine maybe? That always works for me

lol no really, wrong breed for that, mine barely sit still long enough to drop the egg. You need a broody or an incubator.

 

[dancingbear]

Standard Cornish, (not Cornish X meat birds) light Brahmas, Australorps, Cochins, Old English game, Dorkings, Aracaunas, and a lot of the bantams tend to be very broody. You need a breed not bred for high egg production, they tend to have broodiness bred out almost completely. You can keep your RIR's and add a couple of the broody types, and stick any eggs you want under them, when they go broody.

Put a bunch (4 or 5) fake eggs, golfballs or some such, in a nest when you get some of the broody types, and then wait. When one gets broody, she'll latch on to that nest, and won't want to get off of it. Then you can take out the fake eggs, mark the eggs you want her to hatch, and put them under her. Mark them, so when other hens add more eggs you'll know which they are and can remove them. Or move her to an isolated area where the others will leave her alone.