How to entertain a mother hen

[marvun22]

Here is my problem. My mother hen incubated eggs for 26 days (some were duck) and she hardly moved. She has now been raising her babies for 1 month. That is about 2 months of no fun. The problem is when I open my coop door and the bird rush comes and goes, she jumps out with them, but then she charges back into the coop because her babies are peeping because she left. I figure she is awfully bored. What could I get her that would be fun for her and the babies. I know I could get a mini tub for her baby duck. What could I get for her and her baby chick. Also, how can I make a chicken go broody. I want some more chicks, but I don't want to raise them. I tried the let the eggs stack up strategy. My last broody hen died because she was sitting outside the coop and the coon found her (That spot was heavily concealed). That saddened and enraged me.

 

[centrarchid]

Try giving her live mealworms. Make so she has to work to get them by scratching, jumping even flying a short bit up. Let hen fly up on to your hand and get worms out of cup and she will likely begin dropping them down for chicks to eat. Give her a large pot of dry potting soil she can dust bath in and chicks will likely join her. Disperse something like BOSS so she can search for it.

Hen I use for training educating hens has tamed to point where she will bring chicks up on my lap to snooze and she will actually walk off leaving them with me. She does not go farther that 30 feet and does come to collect them after about 10 minutes or so. The behavior is not natural in my opinion but she has been a very good mother rearing in excess of 70 chicks during her lifetime so far.