How to make chicken broody?

[SillyChick]

Hello

My New Hampshire Red hen just laid her first clutch of eggs and I am very happy that she finally started laying(put the eggs in the freezer).

I checked one egg and found out that it is fertilized(the blastroderm, I believe?) (she is also being mated by my grandma's rooster) and I'm thinking of hatching them to chicks, but we don't have an incubator so a broody hen would be nice. How can I make a hen broody? I heard that putting eggs in the nest box will encourage broodiness, but not quite sure...

Thanks in advance!

 

[silkiechicken]

It's all hormonal, so really... there's no way to make one broody. Presence of eggs may encourage it, but it may also accidentally encourage egg eating if one gets broken.

 

[SillyChick]

Thank you! I see...... I think a local hatchery has a hatching service, I might check it out. Also my grandma's free-range hen is broody, but I think she has her eggs in our neighbor's yard.....

 

[GwenFarms]

For very broody breeds, like games and buff orps, putting eggs in will work, but I"m not sure about New hamp. reds. I am wondering if they still go broody, or if it's been bred out like it has with RIR. You might want to ask over at the Breeds in General board. I raise red sex links, but have never raised the NHR, so I'm not sure.

 

[flock-mama]

I was trying to MAKE a hen go broody, I trapped one at a time in a nursery area with eggs, and not one of them went for it. But then I found one (black australorp) out of coop sitting on eggs. So we will see what happens. Good luck to you and me! I want lil babies so bad!