How to Get a Hen to Brood?!?

[chicken_ladyGA]

I am wanting my hen to go broody and set on her eggs . She has 4 in the nest , will she go broody on her own or can i encourage her to do this ?

Thanks in Advance for the replies

I am so wanting to have some baby chics

 

[keljonma]

Broodiness is a hormonal change in the bird. She has no control over it. Whether or not she will go broody mostly depends on the breed. Of course, most people told me Buff Orpingtons were very broody, but ours has never gone broody in 2 1/2 years.

Most of my broody experience has made me think that PMS is the female human equivalent.

 

[chicken_ladyGA]

ok so just leaving the eggs in her nest does not guarantee she will sit

so in order to not waste eggs i should continue to gather them everyday , they have been sitting in the nest for 4 days now and i wouldnt dare eat them

 

[keljonma]

You will be able to tell when a hen is broody!

She will BAWK BAWK BAWK in a very deep voice.

She will ruff up her feathers and take on a sumo wrestler appearance when another bird comes near her.

Some, but not all, hens become very nasty when broody.

After she has laid all the eggs for her clutch, she won't leave her nest except once (maybe twice) a day to eat, drink, take a quick dust bath and drop the world's largest smelliest broody poo.

 

[keljonma]

Quote:
It wouldn't hurt you to eat them. But if you'd rather not, they are great scrambled and fed back to the hens. I add garlic, parsley and cayenne pepper to scrambled eggs for our flock.

 

[chicken_ladyGA]

Quote:
It wouldn't hurt you to eat them. But if you'd rather not, they are great scrambled and fed back to the hens. I add garlic, parsley and cayenne pepper to scrambled eggs for our flock.

ok so the eggs aren't gonna ruin in this heat ? and that was a good idea to flavor the eggs for the chickens they love table scraps lol xcept melon they refuse it