- Thread starter
- #11
There is nothing YOU - or anyone else, for that matter - can do to "make" a hen go broody, despite what you may have heard elsewhere. It is an instinctual response to a hormonal condition. Hens can't control it, either. They don't "decide" to go broody - if they go broody it's because their genetic make-up triggers the behavior. Honest.
Hens don't know if eggs are fertilized and can go broody on unfertilized eggs, round rocks, fake eggs, and sometimes even AIR - nothing at all in their nests.
As teach1ruls stated, eggs could be stacked to the moon, and if a hen doesn't have the tendency bred out of her "line," she will never set on those eggs to hatch 'em. On the other hand, if a hen IS broody, it takes some work to "break" her of the session - which I find cruel and will not do - because she's reacting to the increased hormonal level and instinctual response within her body.
For example, I have found hidden nests where the silly girls have gone to lay their eggs, several hens have contributed to the nest, and NOBODY went broody on 'em. One nest was well over twenty eggs, another was close to fifteen, and a third was around 9 eggs. Just hidden collections of eggs. That doesn't mean I'm the impirical keeper of all broody knowledge from those three examples, it just means Egg Collections don't trigger broodiness in my flock. Or most other folks' flocks, either.
Why waste the eggs? I don't "give" hens eggs - I take them away from them. Now, if a hen goes broody, I usually let her keep her clutch, but I do mark each egg and take away any new ones she either steals or other hens lay in her nest.
Thanks gryeyes. That's why I checked here first before I decided to experiment on my own. I really don't want to waste eggs, either. Just wanted to try with a couple to see if she even bothered with them. My gut was telling me she wouldn't do it anyway, but I was still hoping, lol. I need to get some chicks regardless, because the first chicks I got back in August ended up being mostly roosters, of which I want to keep two and get rid of 3. My son brought those home and didn't really care what they were as long as they were fuzzy and peeping! I guess I'll either wait and see if she goes broody eventually and try it then, or run over to TSC when they get them in and (fingers crossed) get several pullet chicks. Thanks again for the info!