Hoping for a broody hen

[schambo]

Fingers crossed that I can convince this lady to go broody. She’s been very interested in sitting on eggs the past few days, so today I moved her to this quiet grow-out pen with a nice dark loft. I added straw and a few egg-ish rocks, food, and water. She seems happy so far, and has set herself to sitting on the rocks and moving straw around, so I’m hoping this works. I have a tiny flock of 3, and I only want to add 1-2 sex-linked chicks, so my hope is that if I can convince Jem to raise them, I’ll slip a few day-old mystic marans or buff or lavender rocks from a local breeder under her in a few weeks.

Any suggestions or hints?

 

[HuffleClaw]

Try golf balls or fake eggs instead of rocks. But there isn’t a way to ensure a chicken will go broody

 

[schambo]

Broody? Yes? No? Getting there? She’s an Easter Egger, and I know they don’t tend to be the broodiest, but she’s been obsessed with this clutch of ceramic eggs in the loft of our little grow-out coop all day, and won’t sit in any of our other nest boxes, she takes new eggs I offer, and I’ve never heard that obnoxious scream from any of my hens before.

 

[fluffycrow]

Broody? Yes? No? Getting there? She’s an Easter Egger, and I know they don’t tend to be the broodiest, but she’s been obsessed with this clutch of ceramic eggs in the loft of our little grow-out coop all day, and won’t sit in any of our other nest boxes, she takes new eggs I offer, and I’ve never heard that obnoxious scream from any of my hens before.

That's a broody alright

 

[schambo]

That's a broody alright

Any idea why she’d be kicking some eggs out? Is it because she’s still just settling into brooding as, or because she’s relatively young and just not an experienced broody yet? That’s two ceramic eggs, plus her blue one. Should I put the ceramic ones back, or just leave them and see if she tries to roll them back in? I’ll take the blue one; it’s unfertilized.

 

[fluffycrow]

Any idea why she’d be kicking some eggs out? Is it because she’s still just settling into brooding as, or because she’s relatively young and just not an experienced broody yet? That’s two ceramic eggs, plus her blue one. Should I put the ceramic ones back, or just leave them and see if she tries to roll them back in? I’ll take the blue one; it’s unfertilized.

It's probably both. Don't give her the eggs you want to hatch yet, give her some less valuable ones and see how she does

 

[schambo]

I’m not giving her fertile eggs anyway. I only want pullets, so I’m going to buy some sexed day-olds after 3ish weeks and try to slip them under her.

 

[schambo]

How long does it normally take a hen to go from "considering broodiness" to "full broodzilla"?