Make hen go broody?

[pintail_drake2004]

Hey folks, I was wondering is there a way to make a hen go broody? I have some barred rocks and buff orpingtons I'd like to breed. I'm in the process of constructing a breeding pen where I can put the hens with a rooster and be sure to collect the right eggs. My plan was to get a clutch of eggs I wanted and have a hen sit on them in the breeding pen after I remove the rooster. What if my hen wont sit? Besides making sure there is a place that is dark and quiet for her to sit/lay, what else can I do?

 

[Top Rooster]

You can't make a hen go broody but you can encourage them to you can leave a clutch of eggs out that will make them want to go broody so just collect eggs less not everyday.

 

[Pyxis]

You can't make a hen go broody. It is a process that is totally triggered by hormones. You can leave the eggs in the nesting box and hope that one gets the idea, but there's no way to force it to happen. If you want to hatch when you want to hatch, you'll need to get an incubator. Otherwise, it's all up to the hens and their hormones.

Luckily, you have some broody breeds, so you'll probably get a broody. Every single one of my orp hens has gone broody this year.

 

[centrarchid]

I suspect you could use hormonal induction but not worth effort. The Orphingtons should go broody on their own. My approach is to simply provide hens with dispersed nesting sites and allow them to set clutches on their own. You can leave rooster in during that phase. Generally, I leave rooster in bigger pens with broody hens through at least hatch. Bigger conflict will involve hens.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hey folks, I was wondering is there a way to make a hen go broody? I have some barred rocks and buff orpingtons I'd like to breed. I'm in the process of constructing a breeding pen where I can put the hens with a rooster and be sure to collect the right eggs. My plan was to get a clutch of eggs I wanted and have a hen sit on them in the breeding pen after I remove the rooster. What if my hen wont sit? Besides making sure there is a place that is dark and quiet for her to sit/lay, what else can I do?

Hi, welcome to BYC!

How old are your girls? I have had my BO and a BR go broody, so you do have the right breeds for trying. I actually think that having lots extra protein might help a little. Reason I think this is because one of my girls, FBCM, followed me around getting worms this spring and went broody very soon. Some animals will be more likely to breed when the food source is abundant verses scarce. So if your feed layer (16% protein) you might consider trying Flock Raiser (20% protein). It will give you better vitality for your hatching chicks, as MANY breeders know. Plus your girls are heavy breeds and could benefit from it anyways, as well as your rooster benefiting from not having too much calcium which *could* (doesn't mean will) cause kidney issues in the long term.

Wish I could share some of my broody's with you! They are making me crazy. I've lost count of how many broody's I had to break this year. Some have already been broody 3 times and even raised chicks already twice.

My suggestion is be patient and be prepared for when THEY decide it's time. And then hook them up with some eggs. I personally collect every single egg every day, especially if I want them hatched to keep them fresh and undamaged. A hen who IS broody doesn't care and will brood AIR! Maybe use fake eggs if you're gonna leave them. Or leave eggs you plan to switch out once a broody starts sitting. My BR didn't go broody until her second laying season which is FAR preferred to a first season hen who is still growing and maturing.

Best wishes!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've tried a few times to get a hen to go broody by increasing the eggs in the nest one a day until I get to a dozen or more, then just leave them. Sometimes I mark real eggs and sometimes I use fake eggs, golf balls. One time I did get a hen to go broody, but that was on a different nest, I don't think that counts. Those hens were hatchery chickens or chickens I had hatched from hatchery chickens. A few had gone broody in the past, my Black Australorps. My Buff Orpingtons never did go broody. Some Ameraucana I got from a breeder went broody a fair amount too.

I purposely hatched eggs from the hens that went broody and kept some as replacements. By keeping my replacements, rooster as well as hens, from the hens that went broody I now have a flock that most of the hens go broody, some of them a lot. But I cannot control when a hen will go broody. To hatch eggs when I want I use an incubator.

I don't like just leaving real eggs in the coop overnight although I did it a couple of times to make sure it wasn't just fake eggs that did not work. Eggs left in the coop overnight are an invitation to predators, rats and snakes if nothing bigger can get in. I don't think they store real well for hatching anyway, though if the nest is on the ground it might work better. The ground will help regulate temperature. Instead of storing up eggs hoping a hen will go broody and maybe keeping them way too long, I wait until a hen goes broody and then start saving eggs for her to hatch.

That creates a problem if you want to hatch eggs from broody hens though, so maybe collect the eggs you want her to hatch and store them in an egg carton in a relatively cool place. Every day take out the oldest egg and save the newest. That way you always have fresh eggs to set. But as others have said, you may go months waiting for one to go broody, if one ever does. That's why I like my incubator, I control when I hatch.

 

[centrarchid]

See about setting nest up high enough so snakes cannot get in. Some of my hens will use nests formed by a basket of some sort placed in a rabbit cage on top of barrels.

My default system involves leaving eggs in the nest until onset of broodiness. Nest are visual inspected daily to check progression of egg deposition. Sometimes I mark eggs with pencil or Sharpie.

 

[Mrs. K]

What I have found, is in my flock, broody hens tend to go broody about the same time of year. I tend to get them in late May or early June to late July. But I did have one that went at the end of September, and she raised chicks too, even in very brutal weather.

So keep track when you do get one. As stated above, a clutch will sometimes trigger it, I think daylight length and brightness has some effect... BUT BEWARE...you really need to wait to set the clutch of eggs you want to hatch until you are VERY sure that she is broody. I have had numerous hens start...stop for a day or two, start... then get serious and really stick. As I can never wait, I have thrown out numerous eggs that I tried to set too soon.

Mrs K

 

[chickens really]

You can not make them Broody.....I have Orpington two have gone broody and the others have no interest..Its hormones and it helps if the Hens come from broody stock..I also have a Bantam that has raised and is raising her third clutch since Christmas...
Just wait and see what happens?...Broodys do not need eggs to go Broody..