when will my hens start sitting on eggs? How do we encourage them?

[birdbrain19]

we've put eggs into a nest box and I can't tell if either of our hens are sitting on them. When ever either of us check on the eggs, to see if they're warm and also to see if any more eggs are in the box, we've never found the hens on the nest. Nor are the eggs warm. How do we encourage them to sit on these eggs, and how long should we wait till we get rid of these eggs?

 

[bturbo87]

when is thing of natural occurance and hormones... there is no real way to "make" a hen broody. trust me on this cause ive tried and probably wasted about $45 worth or hatching eggs, and that was with making a silkie try to go broody... of course, 3 weeks after she detroyed the second set we bought her to hatch, she went broody so shes sitting on some mutt eggs from our flock...

 

[Momo]

Your hens will go broody when they decide to (at the whim of their hormones), and there's not much you can do about it. Many - if not most - never will.

 

[sourland]

First question is what breed are your hens? Not all breeds are noted for broodiness. If you have a broody breed, just be patient. They will decide to set in their own good time.