Question about setting hens

[Dwightm]

As you all know, I'm fairly new at raising chickens. I was wonder if someone could help me out with a problem I'm haveing with getting hens to set. In the past,before my first clutch, I was gathering eggs every day, sometimes 2 and 3 times. I was watching very closely to see if I had a hen that was wanting to set , but didn't find anyone interested. After about two months of closely watching, and still no mother hen, I knew I was doing something wrong. I then decided to leave a nest of eggs in the pen at all times(15). It was then that I got a setter. That is the babies I got now. I now have another Mother hen setting on 15 more.

I decided to see if I could get another mother hen to set at the same time. Here is where I'm haveing problems. I have one setting in one box and I have another nest in another box(same pen different boxes) but no one seems to be interested. They have been in there about a week now and still no takers. Is there something I can do to get one interested? Is it possible to have two hens setting in the same pen, at the same time?

 

[jimnjay]

Oh Gosh yes, I had two Silkies in the same box and I could not seperate them no matter what I tried. I also had another little girl crawl in ther and lay between them untill I seperated her. I have small breeding pens, 4'x4' and I often have two at a time in the same pen.

Chickens do decide when they will set however, and your attempts usually don't make much difference. What is your breed? Some breeds will only set once or twice per year. Other's like Silkies, Cochins and OEGB's will just sit, hatch, lay a few weeks and sit again.

I just went back and read you have Golden Comets and RIRs. Neither of those breeds will typically go broody. I can happen but is not common. Your little game birds will be your best bet for brooding your eggs.

 

[DuckLady]

I am going to move this from the BYC Website/Feedback/Announcements forum to the Chicken Behaviors forum which is the appropriate catagory for better response.

 

[joannamarie]

it seems to me that not all hens have the ability to go broody as i have 2 bantam pekin silkies and only one goes broody the other just sits for five minutes and decides shes had enough this happens every time she has a broody session. just the fives minutes thats it, but the other one is totally different nothing will stop her

 

[akcskye]

My first broody, Heidi, would sit on the eggs as Moma Hattie, Domino, Marti, and Bright Eyes would come in and lay...haha

Then, I guess the "bug" hit Moma Hattie and Domino, also, and for the last 1.5 weeks of the "broody show" as my kids called it, we had 3 mothers sharing 13 eggs in the same nest box!!!

When one would get up, the others would scoop the eggs out from their spot, then there'd be a "flowering tail display" until the others gave them back...I'm surprised these chicks aren't stir crazy as much as their eggs were moved around! haha

 

[Dwightm]

The golden comit I got setting now is so tame with me that I can pet her and pick her up off of her nest to check her eggs without her pecking me. I have a big thick pair of leather gloves I handle them with just in case one gets really mad. The other day I went to check her and forgot my gloves in the building. I thought, well she hasn't got mad at me in a long time. So I started to check her without them. Boy was that a mistake.

I just about tore my own arm off trying to get it out of there. Never again.

 

[Lucky Lucy]

I havw two hens nesting together. They have about seven more days before hopefully I have some little ones for the first time. What I would like to know is why my other six hens are not laying any eggs. I haven't gotton any eggs for about a week and a half. Is this normal?:

 

[HollyOsborn]

I have a new little silkie cross that started setting, well i moved her so she could be away from the others since the last time with my other hen they kept laying on top of her and laying eggs, but NOW.... the new mama just wants out of where i put her, and wont set on the eggs.. should i just turn her loose and let nature take over or keep her locked up on the separate pen?