Is this something that would work? Or just some made up stuff?

[Clwalls83]

A very hit or miss thing. Something I would give a swing at, if there are no other options.
Having past experience as a kid, successfully raising a newly hatched chick, in a nest made of a box, lined with towel, using a hot water bottle to keep the little guy warm, I fail to see how a lack of options could easily be a thing.

Now, if you are keen on the chance to have chicks, you could purchase some fertile eggs ASAP when she goes broody and slip them in the nest with her. Much better chance of success.

Ok, I will definitely keep that idea in mind. thank you.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am surprised at many of the responses on this post, and while I do agree with Ridgerunner, that they are animals and can act unexpectedly. I have never had a failure. I do tend to let the hen be broody close to the three weeks - give or take a few days.

It is an easy way to add fresh genetics to the flock. I don't worry about a healthy hen going broody. Contrary to the articles belief, is that a healthy hen can survive a broody period without a loss of health. It is a natural part of life.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have never had a failure. I do tend to let the hen be broody close to the three weeks - give or take a few days.

I have, with a hen that had been broody a little more than three weeks plus another that killed a couple of the chicks she hatched, not chicks I tried to give her. But I agree, it usually works.

Contrary to the articles belief, is that a healthy hen can survive a broody period without a loss of health. It is a natural part of life.

Let's look at how this works. Before they even start to lay a pullet or hen stores up excess fat. I've butchered enough pullets, cockerels, hens, and roosters to see that the difference is obvious. The girls have a lot more fat than the boys. That fat is there for the hen to mostly live off of when she goes broody. The hen will occasionally come off to poop and while she is off she will usually eat and drink, but that stored fat is what she mostly lives off of. Since she is using that fat she loses weight. Some people see the hen losing weight and think something is wrong. There is nothing wrong, she is simply using that fat for the purpose it was put there, so she can stay on the nest and take care of the eggs. Once the eggs hatch she starts eating regularly and regains the weight (and fat) before she starts laying again.

 

[Perris]

this bit

is simply false (exaggeration) and suggests to me that the AI that wrote it is 'hallucinating', or if a real person, is someone who has never actually had a broody sit normally (and/or failed to pay adequate attention to them). As Ridgerunner said, chickens can and do store fat before going broody and it can provide a lot of what they need for 3 weeks, but they will still leave the nest occasionally to forage and poop and drink during the incubation period.

 

[Shadrach]

Most hens, if they are able (not locked in a nest box or broody coop) will get off their nest once a day to ear, drink, poop and dust bath.
Those that do not one can lift of their nests once a day, carry to a place away from their nest and set down in front of food and water. Most get the idea pretty quickly and will do this on their own.
Sometimes the hen won't leave her nest for the first three days. This is because those first three days are critical egg turning days.

As for giving hens chicks and hoping she'll accept them; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The better option in my view is to give the hen fertile eggs once she committed to being broody.