making bantams bloody ?

[ryanboi1234]

Is there any way that you can make a hen broody faster ?

 

[TickinChicken]

try putting fake eggs in the nest your chicken might go broody if u add enough!

 

[Pyxis]

try putting fake eggs in the nest your chicken might go broody if u add enough! :cd

Unfortunately this does not work. Going broody is a completely hormonal thing, and a hen will only go broody when her hormones tell her to. There is no way to make this happen. If they will go broody, the timing is completely random and is not influenced by eggs. Usually it is in the spring and summer, but it can happen in the fall and even the winter. It has nothing to do with whether the hen has eggs or how many. Determined hens will sit on nothing at all.

 

[gregg3]

I've had three of my 6 hens go broody this spring / summer. Each time, I intentionally moved eggs to one of the least used nest boxes. Without fail, once there were around 8 eggs in the box I'd find a hen sitting on them until hatch.

It might not work for all breeds, but for my Buff Orpingtons it's been fool proof. If your hens haven't had broodiness bred out of them, it could work for you. One thing if you go this route though - if you use real eggs, make sure to date them with a pencil so they don't sit too long without incubation. Otherwise, lots of members swear by using fake eggs.

 

[TickinChicken]

hmm that's interesting I used to do this all the time and it seemed to work thanks for the info though.

 

[Pyxis]

No problem! I've had crazy hens go broody in winter when no one was laying, and I've had hens sit on no eggs. I've left nests for days that accumulated over 20 eggs and it never caused a chicken to brood, and I keep several very broody breeds, including silkies, cochins, and buff orpingtons. It's all in the hormones.