hens wont sit on eggs?

[ChuckenGirl]

they wont sit on there eggs, this is there first year, so do they need to be taught? and one of the girls just let it get frozen and it get cracked open [eggs look funny frozen] and she pecks at it eating the shell. I dont know what to do =[

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

Glue her butt down to the egg. It might work

I know wha you mean when you say the eggs look funny frozen. They look so weird dont they

 

[horsejody]

What beed of hens do you have. Not all of them go broody. Even if they do go broody, you don't get to pick when. Hormonal changes cause them to want to sit. You can't control it. You can sometimes "break up" a broody hen and make it stop sitting, but I would never count on being able to make one go broody.
Jody

 

[gardener]

THey have to have the desire to sit and hatch out the eggs, called a broody hen, some breeds have more tendancy towards broodiness than others also. So even a hen that has been broody will not always want to sit, other hens may never get that desire. And when they go broody they stop laying eggs.

Wow There was no answers before I started typing.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Depends on what breed of chicken you are talking about...Hens just don't set or go broody on their eggs because you leave them in a nest weither its this time of year or Spring, Summer or Fall... A hen has to have a hormonal alarm clock going off inside her thats telling her to set on a clutch of eggs....

 

[wegotchickens]

Can you 'trick' a hen into going broody by leaving a nest full of fake eggs for her to set on?

 

[ChuckenGirl]

wgc: i tried that and they didnt do anything, they kinda stared at it. lol
and we have 1 bb red hen and the one that tries to eat the eggs is a golden duckwing. we only have 2 hens and 9 roosters. haha thats fun.

 

[wegotchickens]

Quote:
That's probably why the hens won't lay!
a) The roos won't leave them in peace.
b) They're afraid they'll hatch out more roos!

I have an EE that gathers up everyone else's eggs before she'll lay hers, and makes a real nice nest for them. I'm going to try putting 4 fake eggs in there to see if she'll go broody...

 

[MissPrissy]

Have they shown any signs at all of going broody? If not it is a waste of eggs and your time. They won't sit simply because you want them to sit.

P.S. Where have you been all week? I was asking because we had not seen you.

 

[crooked stripe]

How many eggs need to be in a nest for the hen to sit?
Does a hen ever steel a nest that has eggs already in it.