What Triggers the Hen to Start Sitting on Her Eggs?

[cocopop]

My Hen has been laying eggs for a few months and she hasn't gone broody yet. So I stopped collecting her eggs and just want to know what will trigger her to start sitting. What will make her hormones kick in to start incubating? Is it the number of eggs? Is it when she finish laying a clutch? Is it the light, humidity, or temperature outside? I know she has laid more than a clutch but I have been collecting them. Well I put in a nest box in there cage and I am not collecting the eggs. Is it the site of 7 or 11 eggs going to trigger her to sit?

 

[azelgin]

Soooo many thing are in the formula, to determine whether or not a hen goes broody. Most important, is the breed. Some breeds almost never go broody. Even among the more broody varieties, it will vary from bird to bird. Health, makes a difference, as well as time of year. I have been told Silkies, are your best bet, to find a broody hen. My broody bunch are all Black Austrolorps. We're running 6/10, right now.
As far as leaving them eggs to sit on, hoping that triggers it, I can't see any evidence that its a factor. I empty the nests every day and my broodies will sit on air.

 

[cocopop]

Soooo many thing are in the formula, to determine whether or not a hen goes broody. Most important, is the breed. Some breeds almost never go broody. Even among the more broody varieties, it will vary from bird to bird. Health, makes a difference, as well as time of year. I have been told Silkies, are your best bet, to find a broody hen. My broody bunch are all Black Austrolorps. We're running 6/10, right now.
As far as leaving them eggs to sit on, hoping that triggers it, I can't see any evidence that its a factor. I empty the nests every day and my broodies will sit on air.

Thanks, I am tempted to take the eggs and incubate them, but I wanted to know if hen I got would hatch eggs. Not to mention that they do better than be because my hatch rate is like 15% 1 out of 7 eggs twice now. I thought she was going to sit yesterday because she was in the nest last night but today she was not in the nest at all. Looks like she was just sleeping in there. I see no clucking or puffy feathers. I was just hoping the eggs and nest would trigger out. These eggs might go to waste by her sitting on them getting them started and them leaving them the next day. Do eggs get started when they are warming them up overnight?

 

[azelgin]

Do eggs get started when they are warming them up overnight?

Not so much that you would be able to tell when they're in the frying pan. After a full three days, maybe.

 

[thehackleguy]

Usually all I have to do is hope and pray a hen won't go broody and then it's like magic, they are sitting. Example: I just went on vacation for a week, told the guy taking care of my birds that he didn't have to collect eggs if he didn't want to but it would be great if he did. He decided not to and I came home to 4 hens setting on eggs.....not a huge deal but I would have liked to collect another dozen or so out of each hen before they started.