Trying to get my hen to go broody!!

[K. Kolberg]

Hey! So I have a roo, and 10 hens. I really want to have baby chicks!!
I started last night leaving the eggs in one spot. This morning I put a thing of cardboard for privacy, with a little door. Is there anything else I have to do? I have 5 White Leghorn chickens (I think), and five black chickens.

 

[SueT]

Hens go broody on their time, not ours. It's up to hormones. That said, leghorns are not known for broodiness. Maybe one of your black hens will eventually get broody.
Good luck!

 

[K. Kolberg]

Hens go broody on their time, not ours. It's up to hormones. That said, leghorns are not known for broodiness. Maybe one of your black hens will eventually get broody.
Good luck!

Right, but in order to encourage them to do it, I should leave some eggs in there right?

 

[JasperMoon]

Right, but in order to encourage them to do it, I should leave some eggs in there right?

Sadly I asked the same question, sometimes people do and it honnesty just depends on the breed, they will only go broody if they want to you really can't do much about it. But if you want a broody hen I suggest silkies

 

[wvchics]

Your best bet would be to get some hens of breeds that are more likely to brood. I have buff Orpingtons they are dual purpose and not bred specifically to lay. Most layers have this bred out of them, and most meat birds aren't meant to live that long. If you don't want to add any chickens to your flock you could always incubate eggs. Chances are though either they'll be broody or not. How old are they? My hen will not brood of it gets too cold outside. I had to provide her heat to get her to set for the Easter egg hatch because the temperature dropped back down right before the set date. Keeping her warm has worked so far, but she already had a tendency to brood before hand. I have another hen who sets sometimes, but she's not as consistent. Even with a breed more likely to go broody there's no guarantee. It just depends on the individual hen. If you ask around you may be able to find someone willing to part with a brooding hen. Some people don't want them because hens quit laying when they are trying to hatch chicks. Hope you are able to get babies one way or the other.wishing you the best of luck

 

[bobbi-j]

If you want to hatch on your schedule, you will need to get an incubator. As stated, hens go broody on their own time. Heat and cold don't have anything to do with it. It's more related to the length of the daylight they receive. I would not leave eggs in the nest. They're going to get broken or go bad and make a mess. If you really want to try to entice a broody hen to set in that place, fake eggs or golf balls will work just as well and you're not wasting eggs. A broody hen will sit whether there are eggs under her or not.

 

[wvchics]

If you want to hatch on your schedule, you will need to get an incubator. As stated, hens go broody on their own time.
Heat and cold don't have anything to do with it. It's more related to the length of the daylight they receive. I would not leave eggs in the nest. They're going to get broken or go bad and make a mess. If you really want to try to entice a broody hen to set in that place, fake eggs or golf balls will work just as well and you're not wasting eggs. A broody hen will sit whether there are eggs under her or not.

My hen Beggs to differ. We got a warm spell and she started sitting. The temperature dropped down into the teens and twenties and she quit trying to sit. I put her in the warm brooder and within 24 hours she was on the nest again. However the fact still remains it was ultimately her decision and she already had a tendency.