How to get broody hen

[chick chicks]

I'm looking to hatch chicks this summer, I want to hatch eggs from my own hens and want the hen to do it herself rather than incubate because then the chicks are already incorporated into the flock as well as she will take care of them. I seem to have problem with my hens going broody though. They all lay in the same box so if one does go broody more than likely one of the higher up hens will chase her out of the box, I've seen this happen and by the time the 2nd hen is done laying her egg, the broody one has lost interest and the eggs go cold. Also my hens haven't gone broody very often, is this because they are so young? (11 months). And let's say one does to broody... Should I move her and the eggs to another spot? Like out of the coop? Just not entirely sure how to go about this

 

[Judy]

If they're going to go broody it will probably be in spring or summer. I separate my broody from the flock while she is sitting on eggs. If you don't, they will lay more eggs in the broody's nest (with or without her in it,) move eggs from one nest to another, break eggs, the broody will return to the wrong nest after taking a break, etc. My broody pen is an area about 5'x5' in my coop, fenced off with chicken wire. This gives the mama plenty of room to get some exercise when she gets off the nest. A day or two after the chicks hatch, I let mama and chicks in with the flock. This has worked well here.

 

[The Chickeneer]

Not all hens go broody. What breed do you have? If it's a high production breed that lays a lot of eggs, they probably won't go broody because they have the broody gene bred out of them. I have had hens go broody at 6 months, so they are old enough if they are 11 months.

If one does go broody, then you need to separate her to some other coop with her eggs. Some people use their garage. But I would never keep a broody with the rest of the chickens because then you could run into a lot of problems.

 

[chick chicks]

Ok I have 2 EEs and a dark Cornish along with one other that I'm not really sure of the breed.