setting hen question

[Sunny Side Up]

I have a lot of mixed-breed bantam hens and many of them will go broody. Some go much more frequently than others, it must all depend on the little voices only they can hear in their heads. I too had a chicken hen who incubated & hatched duck eggs. It was a little bantam and it wasn't long before her duck children towered over her. But they wouldn't listen to her when she called them over as she scratched, and she wouldn't listen when they begged her to take them swimming.

 

[austinhart123]

if you want them to set dont collect the eggs so they can make a clutch

 

[Rogue_Woman]

We always have broodies...and they're always the ones who aren't supposed to like RIR and black sex links. I have NO idea what makes them do it, mine will sit empty nests for a month.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
But that's only if they're in the broody mood already. I don't think that seeing a pile of uncollected eggs would be sufficient to set a hen's mind on Brood. I've found hidden nests with 2-3 dozen eggs and no one was inspired to incubate them.

A broody hen will take a while to assemble her clutch, laying one egg a day for however long it takes her to reach her secret number. If you can notice a hen acting broodier than normal -- setting longer in the nest, puffing up & screeching when you approach -- you can try leaving her eggs in there for a day or two to see if she's planning to stick. Or you can continue to collect the eggs but leave fake eggs or golf balls in the nest to hold her place.