How to get my hens broody?

[Hilltowngirl413]

I have two Amber Links and a rooster for them. I also have 5 Bantams 3 female and 2 roosters. I got the Bantam hens because I hear they are good at sitting on other chickens eggs. I want to have my Amber Links have chicks along with some Bantam babies too. What is the process on getting my Bantams broody. I know the eggs are fertile I just need them to sit and hatch them the natural way I live in Mass and its almost April is it too soon for me to have chicks being hatched? And will the Bantam mom take care of the Amber Link babies? Should I seperate half of the coop and isolate one or two of the Bantam hens? Thanks so much!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Broodiness is hormonal, so you can't really "make" a hen go broody. Bantys are really broody generally, so hopefully they will go broody pretty soon this spring. You can do things to encourage her, like have nice dark secluded nest setup for them to lay in, keep a number of fake eggs in there etc, but they will go broody when they want to. If you give the bantys the Amber Link eggs they will hatch them and think of the chicks as their own, they don't care where the eggs came from. With the eggs, the easiest thing to do is go ahead and collect the real eggs and write dates on them and save them until you have the number you want the broody to sit on and then just keep collecting replacing the old eggs with the newer ones as you collect more, then just give the collected eggs back to the broodys when they finally sit. There is a good article in the Learning Center on broody hens https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/broody-hens and a nice on on storing hatching eggs. http://www.brinsea.com/customerservice/storage.html When you have a broody setting, I do like to separate them out from the flock like you suggest, less chance of other hens bothering her and stomping on the eggs etc.

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

Unfortunately you can't make them go broody. Broodiness comes from their internal hormones. And each bird and breed are different. You can try and coax broodiness with making the nest box conducive for raising a brood. Make sure the boxes are always very clean and dry. Keep the nest box are dark and you can put up curtains over the nest boxes to give it the cozy touch. Broodies like to brood their babies in darkened areas. Also, keep some fake eggs in the boxes at all times. And not golf balls, but real looking fake eggs. The real ones will get broken too easily. And should one of them go broody, you can replace the fake ones with the real thing. Other than this, I don't know what else you can do but keep your fingers crossed!

Great to have you aboard and good luck with your flock!

 

[Judy]

Broodiness happens, if it does, because of hormonal changes. It's a little early in the season yet. If they are a broody breed, they may go broody in the next several months, when most do.

It's not too early for them to set on the eggs if one does go broody; the broody will raise the chicks from any eggs.

I prefer to have the broody set on the eggs separately, in a small pen where she can exercise but where hte others can't get at her, sit on her nest or un her off it, jostle the eggs, or any of the other things tht go on. I also prefer to let the mamaraise the chicks in with the flock. Just feed everone starter, grower or flock raise, and offer oyster shell separately. Not everyone does it the same way, of course. As a rule, the mama will protect her chciks from any hens that try to bother them -- but things do go srong at times.\\

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/broody-hens

 

[sourland]

Broodiness happens, if it does, because of hormonal changes. It's a little early in the season yet. If they are a broody breed, they may go broody in the next several months, when most do.

It's not too early for them to set on the eggs if one does go broody; the broody will raise the chicks from any eggs.

I prefer to have the broody set on the eggs separately, in a small pen where she can exercise but where hte others can't get at her, sit on her nest or un her off it, jostle the eggs, or any of the other things tht go on. I also prefer to let the mamaraise the chicks in with the flock. Just feed everone starter, grower or flock raise, and offer oyster shell separately. Not everyone does it the same way, of course. As a rule, the mama will protect her chciks from any hens that try to bother them -- but things do go srong at times.\\

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/broody-hens

X 2 on what Judy says. Also great posts by TwoCrows and Kelsie. I'll do a little broody dance and try to get your bantam hens to go broody - yes, they will set on the amber link eggs and hatch and raise those chicks.

 

[gander007]

Alright

it's great to have you joining the BYC flock

Broadness' is a lady thing and no one can make a lady do anything
she don't want to .... But if you find out how to get one to do something
she is not ready to do on her own you will make a fortune on the book

 

[drumstick diva]

I would love to see "Sourland's broody dance," I've heard about it and hoped it would be on you tube by now.

Even when a hen goes broody - things don't always go as planned. Some first time broodies will care for the first few to hatch and ignore the eggs that haven't. Others aren't truly committed and may seem broody for a day or two and then decide it's not for them. So don't expect too much of a newbie broody.

Eventually some will come through. Just don't give them more eggs than they can reasonably cover.

 

[azoh10]

I am hoping some one can help me! I have 15 hens and one rooster. I know he has his favorite hens. And none of them want to be broody, so how

do I know which ones are fertile to use in my incubator? And when or how long can egg sit in nesting box be safe to pick up and put incubator. All my hens lay so

I usually have about 12 to 15 a day. So do I just get them out of the nesting box and put them straight in to my incubator? My breeds are Easter Eggers.


Thank you!

 

[sunflour]

I am hoping some one can help me! I have 15 hens and one rooster. I know he has his favorite hens. And none of them want to be broody, so how

do I know which ones are fertile to use in my incubator? And when or how long can egg sit in nesting box be safe to pick up and put incubator. All my hens lay so

I usually have about 12 to 15 a day. So do I just get them out of the nesting box and put them straight in to my incubator? My breeds are Easter Eggers.


Thank you!

I think you have a better chance of getting the answer by posting this under hatching and incubating forum. Sorry, I don't have an answer for you.

 

[Timily Farms]

I have heard that if you want to know certain hens eggs from others you can put food coloring on their vents and then you might know which eggs are fertile and ones that are not