When do Hens become Broody and hatch eggs? How to hatch eggs?

[tMaster16]

Hi Guys, these are my first Hens so l am not really an expert in this matter. I have two hens and my inquiry is that how do l make them broody or when will they start hatching eggs? Here are the details of my Hens:

White Hen (Murgi)
Breed = Brahma or Cochin breed, l am not really sure or whether its a cross breed.
Age = About 7 months
Laid Eggs = About 1 month ago

Brown Hen (Dora)
Breed = Brahma or Cochin breed, l am not really sure about this one too or its a cross breed.
Age = About 7 months also
Laid Eggs = I am not really sure .... I will explain why.

So the details are mentioned above, and these are my two hens. I had a rooster along with them as well but he died about one month ago, before my white hen began laying eggs. I am not sure why but he got sick and l have an assumption that l read on Google that some roosters die after mating so that might be the case. That's not the point.....

The point is, that these are my first hens and l am not really greedy for hatching chicks and l don't want to force my hens as well. As l mentioned earlier, l am not sure if my brown hen lays eggs or not because l can not distinguish between the eggs since both hens are in one coop/cage and l only find one egg day after day with one day break in between (D1 egg-D2 no egg- D3 egg). My white hen began laying the eggs first and now in total there are 14 eggs. The eggs are brown and slight brown in color but my white hen's first egg was brown, there are three slight brown eggs. They are about 2 to 3 inches in size (smaller than usual eggs). If l can get some help to distinguish between the eggs also, it would be highly appreciated and helpful.

Now the question is, that currently it has been 5 days since the laying has stopped. I want to know if it's time for my hens to hatch eggs or not and if they are about go broody, and how to provide them with the proper care and help them hatch eggs?
As far l have researched, I have become aware of a few methods that helps hens sit on eggs and hatch them. I know that it depends on the breed as well but my hens are both pure mothers as Cochin and Brahma both are hatching breeds. My mother suggested that hens hatch eggs in complete isolation and its better if they are in darkness and nest in a box. We have tried these things and are attempting to make our White hen sit on 2 eggs in a box, in darkness and have separated her from the Brown one as well. As of now, the white hen is resisting and not sitting in the box willingly unless we cover it with something.... I also tried to make a separate compartment for the white hen in the cage and tried to put the eggs there but it failed and now both of my hens sit in the compartment whenever they want. I also read that it's better to stimulate our hens by putting fake hens in their coop but l have not tried that. As mentioned above, the white hen is not sitting willingly in the box but last night she sat in it because the box was covered. My mother has told me to cover the box today also so she sits in it. Also please inform if l need a rooster for my hens in this situation and if it's required for hatching eggs and making my hens go broody. Thanks a lot

I don't want to force my hens to sit on eggs and hatch chicks because l understand that the hormonal changes which help them go broody also matter. The laying has stopped as mentioned earlier also and l am not sure what to do with the eggs as they are first eggs my hens have laid. l feel weird in cooking the eggs and can not give them away too. That is why l want to seek guidance from this community as there are a lot of experts here. If it's the right time for my hens to hatch eggs and they are about to become broody, kindly guide me how to do so. If it's the time, l will try the above mentioned methods but in this matter please guide about the details. How many eggs to put in the nest for one hen to hatch? The food they need? If a rooster is required for hatching chicks? The environment? Thankyou for reading this thoroughly but l wanted to provide you with the details so you can guide me better.

I have attached some pictures of the box, coop, my hens and their eggs: Please see and guide me, it would be greatly appreciated and helpful. Thanks a lot.

 

[arwoon]

If the eggs are not fertilized, if you have no rooster, the eggs will not hatch. I don't know anything about broody hatching. Pretty hens though!

 

[tMaster16]

If the eggs are not fertilized, if you have no rooster, the eggs will not hatch. I don't know anything about broody hatching. Pretty hens though!

Yeah l know that, l read on the internet that hens lay eggs without a rooster as well. But now that l think about it, you are right. I will edit the post lol, besides that l still want to know about my hens becoming broody and how to provide them with the right environment to hatch eggs. Thanks for the comment.

 

[arwoon]

@sourland ?

 

[Jtodd99]

Yeah l know that, l read on the internet that hens lay eggs without a rooster as well. But now that l think about it, you are right. I will edit the post lol, besides that l still want to know about my hens becoming broody and how to provide them with the right environment to hatch eggs. Thanks for the comment.

In my experience, a hen won’t go broody without a rooster. It’s the act of mating, and the act of letting a clutch of eggs gather that makes a hen go broody. Usually a hen will be around 2 years old for me before she sits. But it can vary from breed to breed. Also depends on how committed she is to sit for 3 weeks.

 

[tMaster16]

In my experience, a hen won’t go broody without a rooster. It’s the act of mating, and the act of letting a clutch of eggs gather that makes a hen go broody. Usually a hen will be around 2 years old for me before she sits. But it can vary from breed to breed. Also depends on how committed she is to sit for 3 weeks.

Thanks for the comment, it has come to my knowledge that a rooster is required in order to hatch chicks. I will get one and see if the hen co operates or not. If it takes around 2 years for a hen to sit, its fine by me.

 

[RebekahTN]

Thanks for the comment, it has come to my knowledge that a rooster is required in order to hatch chicks. I will get one and see if the hen co operates or not. If it takes around 2 years for a hen to sit, its fine by me.

In my experience with cochins and silkies, they often go broody within the first year. Usually 3-4 months after starting to lay eggs.
You would need the rooster with them for a month or so to get good fertility. It sounds like the eggs you have would not be fertile as your rooster passed about a month before anyone started laying eggs.
If you are only getting 1 egg every other day for a cochin, I would think you probably only have 1 laying.
You can't really "force" them to go broody. We are usually trying to get them to NOT go broody. LOL You will notice when they are ready to go broody when they start setting on a nest (even if there is nothing in it). When I see one sitting on the nest, I will usually give it a couple days to see if she is consistently sitting on the nest. If she is I will do one of a couple things, if my incubator is full and needing more room, I will take 5-6 eggs out of my incubator and put under her. By this time she has been sitting for 2-3 days, so I'll get some I have had in there about that long, or just over to put under her. I do candle to make sure they are good to go first. If my incubator isn't full, I will either put fake eggs under her for a week or so and then replace with eggs of the same age from incubator or look around and gather up other hens eggs and put them under her,
It is MUCH easier to let the hens raise their eggs than it is for me to. Plus it's a lot cuter watching baby chicks think they rule the roost walking around everywhere.

 

[tMaster16]

In my experience with cochins and silkies, they often go broody within the first year. Usually 3-4 months after starting to lay eggs.
You would need the rooster with them for a month or so to get good fertility. It sounds like the eggs you have would not be fertile as your rooster passed about a month before anyone started laying eggs.
If you are only getting 1 egg every other day for a cochin, I would think you probably only have 1 laying.
You can't really "force" them to go broody. We are usually trying to get them to NOT go broody. LOL You will notice when they are ready to go broody when they start setting on a nest (even if there is nothing in it). When I see one sitting on the nest, I will usually give it a couple days to see if she is consistently sitting on the nest. If she is I will do one of a couple things, if my incubator is full and needing more room, I will take 5-6 eggs out of my incubator and put under her. By this time she has been sitting for 2-3 days, so I'll get some I have had in there about that long, or just over to put under her. I do candle to make sure they are good to go first. If my incubator isn't full, I will either put fake eggs under her for a week or so and then replace with eggs of the same age from incubator or look around and gather up other hens eggs and put them under her,
It is MUCH easier to let the hens raise their eggs than it is for me to. Plus it's a lot cuter watching baby chicks think they rule the roost walking around everywhere.

Oh wow, l am really thankful for this comment. Thanks man, you really wrote the the details of everything l asked for. I know we can't force our hens to go broody, obviously l don't want that for my hens. Plus l am going to get a rooster for my hens and will see what happens.

 

[Faraday40]

I agree with what @RebekahTN wrote. It's so much easier for a hen to raise chicks for you than set up and maintain a brooder. The eggs your hens are laying are probably not fertile and not worth incubating. You can't force a hen to go broody, but there are a few triggers. (Like a very inviting nest full of eggs in a quiet darkened location, other broody hens, hearing the peeps of chicks, etc. That's why they say broodiness is contagious.)

I find that hens will go broody with or without a rooster. I've had several go broody about a month after they started laying. I often try to dissuade them by frequently removing eggs and putting them outside the coop, but sometimes they're too stubborn. Even if I'm able to break the hen of her broodiness, she'll often go broody the next month. It's always a little tricky that 1st time because you won't know if she's going to be a good broody or more accident prone.

Sometimes a pullet will "think about" going broody. = She spends more time in nest, collects eggs, grumbles a little, but still spends some time off the nest. You know she's truly broody when she flattens out like a pancake, spends almost all her time (day/night) in the nest, and screams like a banshee (or even pecks a little) if you take her eggs away.

A pause in egg production, could be caused by several things. Perhaps something changed- like the weather or a new feeder was added. Their bodies are changing a lot and production can vary a lot during those 1st few months. They could even be hiding the eggs.

When a pullet first starts laying, there will be more variety in size/shape. Could be large double yolkers or smaller ones, but their bodies will adjust, the eggs will gradually grow in size as they hit a general rhythm of ____ # of eggs per week. If you think only one is laying, examine the comb (nice red color not pink), the vent (looks slightly wider & moist), and squatting in submission when you walk near or pet them.

I can often tell who layed the eggs (even when hens are the same breed) by checking the nests frequently and labeling the eggs to compare. A specific hen's egg will have a similar shape, size, and shade. (Ex: My lav orp has a pinkish hue and a rounded egg. My blue orp has a giant egg so round it's often hard to identify the pointed from the rounded side. My laced orp's egg is the typical ovoid shape and is slightly darker - sometimes has slight speckles.)

 

[RebekahTN]

That's why they say broodiness is contagious.)

Isn't that the truth!! When one goes broody they ALL need to go broody. Last year I had 2 showgirls sitting on the same nest. This year there was 4 trying to share a nesting box so we took the "wall" between the 2 of them down so they could all spread out and be broody together.
I love it when the rooster joins in taking care of the babies. I have only had one do that so far... but he did it for each of his hens.