How to make a hen go broody?

[Sara S]

Hi everyone! I was wondering if and how I could make a hen go broody? my hen is laying eggs and I want to hatch them. Thanks!!!

 

[demonic]

Hi everyone! I was wondering if and how I could make a hen go broody? my hen is laying eggs and I want to hatch them. Thanks!!!

I don’t think you can really make a hen broody, it’s just instinct when they do. Firstly, what kind of breed is she? Some don’t commonly go broody while some go broody often. Also, how long has she been laying for?

 

[Sara S]

I don’t think you can really make a hen broody, it’s just instinct when they do. Firstly, what kind of breed is she? Some don’t commonly go broody while some go broody often. Also, how long has she been laying for?

She’s a bantam Cochin mix, and I don’t really know someone gave her to me. Definitely a year at least because I have one of her babies

 

[demonic]

She’s a bantam Cochin mix, and I don’t really know someone gave her to me. Definitely a year at least because I have one of her babies

Never had those breeds but from what I’ve heard both bantams and Cochins go broody and aren’t one of those breeds that rarely go broody. Has she been broody before? I’ve dealt with a broody hen once before. My hen became broody after seeing all the plastic eggs I had in my nesting box which I used to encourage my chickens To lay there and I just never took them out. She assumed they were real eggs and sat on them. Once she is on the plastic eggs, she Will take any real eggs and put them under her if you give them to her. Also make sure food and water is close to the nesting box. Both these things might encourage a hen to go broody.

 

[Sara S]

Never had those breeds but from what I’ve heard both bantams and Cochins go broody and aren’t one of those breeds that rarely go broody. Has she been broody before? I’ve dealt with a broody hen once before. My hen became broody after seeing all the plastic eggs I had in my nesting box which I used to encourage my chickens To lay there and I just never took them out. She assumed they were real eggs and sat on them. Once she is on the plastic eggs, she Will take any real eggs and put them under her if you give them to her. Also make sure food and water is close to the nesting box. Both these things might encourage a hen to go broody.

Yes she has, she hatched out one of my chickens, Bob Ross

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Hello!
Unfortunately, you can't make a hen go broody. Bantam cochins do go broody often though, especially if they've hatched eggs before. There are some things you can do to increase the chances of her going broody, but I've never tried them before.

1. Leave a clutch of fake eggs in the nest.
2. Play sounds of chicks to her
3. Create a quiet, dark nesting area
4. Put herbs in the nest
5. Have food and water close to the nests

These won't guarantee her going broody, but they should improve your chances.
If you have any other questions just ask me.
Hope she goes broody!

 

[NatJ]

I was wondering if and how I could make a hen go broody? my hen is laying eggs and I want to hatch them.

Hens are most likely to go broody in the spring, when the days are getting long. She will probably get around to it sometime in the next few weeks or months.

If you want to hatch eggs, and do not want to buy an incubator, you can start saving eggs for when she does go broody. You can write the date on each egg, put it somewhere safe, and add another egg each day. If an egg gets to be 1 week old and she has not gone broody, eat that egg-- it is less likely to hatch if it is more than a week old when she starts to set. (But eggs that have sat at room temperature for a week are just fine to eat.)

That way you can always have a clutch of eggs ready for when she does start to set.
It can be very frustrating if the hen goes broody & stops laying eggs-- and you don't have any of her eggs to let her hatch!

 

[Kurczaklover]

Thanks for the info here, it has helped a lot, but I still have questions. Any insight would be appreciated. Golf balls and fake eggs didn't get anyone's attention, in fact only one hen would lay an egg in that box. So Saturday we made the decision to not collect eggs at all. Sunday morning we put all of the girls eggs into one nesting box and did not collect any eggs. Since then I have been checking about hourly, and it appears I have 3 girls taking turns sitting on a pile of about 16 eggs. Everyone else is using the other boxes. Should I just leave the pile and continue to monitor? Or divide it so I have a pile in 2 boxes to give more opportunity? The girls are all just over a year old, and the ones taking turn are a Dottie that went crazy broody in December and January, a turken, and an ameraucana.