How do I make my hen lay on her eggs?

[Opa]

Quote:
You can store the eggs in a cool dry place you until you have enough for a clutch. I have successfully hatched eggs that were close to 3 weeks old.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Keep all the eggs you have collected from her in the past week in an egg carton. Write AM on one end & PM on the other. Keep it in a coolish spot in your house & raise one end of the carton a few inches. Morning & evening rotate the carton so the opposite end is raised up, the AM side in the morning, the PM in the evening. This keeps the yolks of those eggs centered, for optimal hatch success.

Keep collecting the eggs she lays. Meanwhile, put some golf balls or some fake wooden eggs in her nest.

While it's not always possible to MAKE a hen go broody, you can encourage her by keeping her in a small darkened enclosure. A big plastic dog kennel with a wire door would be ideal. You should even cover the doorway with a towel. Have her nest with the fake eggs in it, some food & water, & enough room for her to walk a few steps to poop. Try this for 2-3 days. Open the cage only after dark to collect the daily egg and speak words of encouragement to her.

This just might trip her broody lever. If after a few days she still is upset with the situation & complaining to get out, let her go, eat the eggs, and buy some more chicks/chickens. BUT if she starts to stay on the nest, puff up & growl at you when you come near, you might have a broody hen! Then you can swap the fake eggs for her real ones.

I'm sorry about your loss & wish you & this hen success!

 

[Lobee]

Quote:
You can store the eggs in a cool dry place you until you have enough for a clutch. I have successfully hatched eggs that were close to 3 weeks old.

Ok sounds good. Do I rotate them at all or just leave them alone?

 

[Lobee]

Quote:
Thank you! Ok I understand completely what to do now. Im sure though once I start tomorrow ill have a few ???, so ill right them now and share with you all. I really hope this helps otherwise ill be really sad over this. thank you for your wishes, i need them at this point. Shes my baby.

 

[elmo]

My hens only went broody when "enough" eggs had accumulated in a nest. For my bantams, it was 8 or 9 eggs (like clockwork). Larger hens will probably want to set a bigger clutch.

 

[FarmGirl01]

I store my eggs in the house for no longer than 2 weeks. It can take weeks for a hen to want to go broody. I will throw out the old ones and replace them with newer ones.

 

[SNUGGLEBB]

I've heard that if you keep the hen in a dark place and in a small space and let her out 2 times per day to go to the bathroom, you could bring on the broodiness. you might try it for a few days and if it works great!

 

[Lobee]

Ok that sounds good! I kept her in a dog cage today with her food & water, boy was she going crazy. Making a mess of everything, pacing, & making sure I knew she was unhappy! I gave into her and let her out to search around for bugs. I will try again tomorrow.

 

[Lobee]

Quote:
If I do end up incubating her eggs, I have to buy a new incubator. What is the right one to go with? I had the Styrofoam one and I didnt seem to successful with it. Thats what they had a TSC should I get that one?

 

[FarmGirl01]

You can search for that thread here on BYC. But I use the Gensis 1588. About 100.00 Sooo easy to use.