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So this brings up a good question. If you consistantly bred broody hens to roos out of broody hens
could somebody create a line that constiantly produced broodies? I'm almost possitive of the answer but would like a second opinion.
Yes, I think this would work. Like everything else, it would not guarantee a broody chicken but it would greatly improve the odds. My opinion only, never done it but will if I get the chance.
This was my guess most times selective breeding will intencify the occurance of a trait (like broodiness). Also selecting a breed that tends to be more broody to start with would help (cochins come to mind) but only breed broody hens to start with and then once est. only breed roos out of a broody hen. It could work and I think a broody strain could ready catch on with us BYCers.
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I don't think so, I considered it once when a hen was sitting on some non-fertile eggs; when she went away to drink, I'd quickly shove a couple chicks into the nest! I didn't, though, just because I'm a control freak and didn't want them to be crushed!
If I can't get one of my hens to sit on some eggs then, I will hatch them from an incubator and just raise them myself. My hens I have now I raised from one day old, so I know I can do it but I just like watching mama hens take care of their babies.
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I don't think that'd work. I read somewhere (quite likely here on BYC) that the hens listen to the chicks peeping in their eggs before hatching and learn their childrens' voices. Then if you put other chicks that they're not familiar with under them, they'll kill them. I think there was a study where they deafened a hen and had her sitting on a nest and when the chicks hatched she killed them because she had no familiar peeping to identify them. That seems really weird to me - seems like they'd realize they couldn't hear anything and would assume that was the issue with the chicks but...
If you did try to introduce the chicks, I'd say do it at night as Sallychickens said - maybe that would work. I'd probably be too nervous to do it, though - it'd be awful to go through all the stress and waiting of incubation and finally get chicks only to have them killed.
Hi! You can 'encourage' a hen from a breed that is prone to be broody by loading a nestbox with eggs (real or fake) and substitute the eggs you want her to hatch after you are certain she is broody.
A hen from a breed that is not prone to be broody *might* be coaxed, but most likely won't --- for some it is seasonal, if at all.
My Silkies, Cochins, and Cochin x Silkie crosses will roll a rock in the corner of the coop and set it.
I have to gather eggs often during the day from those pens or someone will go broody any time of year.
I put about 5 ceramic eggs in a nest box and left them there, only collecting the real ones that were laid. after about 3 weeks my buff orp went broody and I just moved her to a brooding box we made with the real eggs I wanted her to set on. Next friday is her hatch day, she has 6 under her.
It is just a waiting game to see when they feel in the mood. But like opa said, it is usually when you don't have any fertile ones! LOL.
I didn't ever think my girl would go broody so I started putting the fresh eggs in the fridge, and when she did I had to leave her on the fake nest for a day before I gathered new fresh ones to put under her.
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I don't think so, I considered it once when a hen was sitting on some non-fertile eggs; when she went away to drink, I'd quickly shove a couple chicks into the nest! I didn't, though, just because I'm a control freak and didn't want them to be crushed!
There are many threads on here where people have slipped day old chicks under broody hens at night and been quite successful. There are also threads where someone tried this and the hen killed the chicks. There are threads where a broody hen has taken chicks away from other broody hens and raised them. There are threads where broody hens have killed the chicks of other broody hens, often as they hatch. There have even been roosters that have taken over raising the chicks if the mother hen was killed by a predator or stoped taking care of them too early. You can never tell for sure how a broody hen will act. There are many more of the good stories on these topics than the bad stories, but you are dealing with living animals and anything can happen.
I have never seen a post on here where a hen that was not broody took chicks to raise, but I have seen several where hens that are not broody have killed chicks that did not have a mother to protect them. Somebody may come up with a story of a Silky that has done that, but no way would I risk a chick with a non-broody hen without the mother hen around to protect them. I think this is your real question with this post.
The hen and chick do talk to each other before the chick is out of the shell. I don't know how much of that is them forming a bond and how much is the chick saying, "Mama, I'm coming. Don't leave me now", and the hen saying, "Baby, don't stress yourself. I'm right here waiting." In other words, is it a way for the chick to tell the mother there are more on the way so don't take the first ones to hatch off the nest yet. A good broody does not need that communicaing before the hatch to bond to chicks, but she does need to stay on the nest during the hatch to regulate the humidity. I suspect the pre-hatch chirping is more for the humidity than the bonding, but it may certainly perform both functions.
