Im incuabting and I want to have a hen brood....only, I have no "broody" hens.

[MeghanChickLady]

Im going to incubate and set some golf balls down to see which hens is "broodiest" so that I can have her raise the chicks when they hatch. I have four silkie hens, and I hear they are famous(in some stories, infamous) for going broody. But none of mine will. Is there a certain age? Is there something I have to do to get this behavior going? Please help, I am scared my other chickens will hurt the chicks if they don't have a "mother" to protect them.

 

[Jedwards]

Sometimes it's completely random, as long as they've been laying eggs for awhile and there is a rooster around to do his thing, you can try just letting the eggs amount in the nest and maybe she'l take the hint. A hen of mine did that last week. Best of luck!

 

[MeghanChickLady]

Thank you! I only have two hens laying right now, and they are of a different breed. All my silkies are still pullets. Thank you for the advice! I will add a golfball a day, just as if an egg were being laid, and see if any hens(silkie or not, though preferably silkie) get broody. Ive seen this happen before, hopefully it works with me. Thanks!

 

[Stiggy]

I usually leave bait eggs in the nest for a few days just to see, often ( I've noticed ) if one goes broody others will follow which can be a giant pain. Usually mine start going broody around the 9 month mark if they are laying but it is different for everyone

 

[MeghanChickLady]

I plan on leaving golfballs In the nesting box. If a hen goes broody, (preferably silkie) I`ll move her to the brooder with the golfballs, all the while collecting eggs for a period of a few days. Until all are hatched, I`ll keep the hen in the brooder with the golfballs, and once they do hatch, I`ll put them in the brooder and take out the golfballs. I hope that works. If it doesn't, the chicks will have no "mother" to protect them because my other hens are aggressive too. NOt the silkies, another breed I don't know.