When will she get broody?

[Eva79]

I've bought 2 bantam hens and a rooster with about 3 years old.
The rooster and one of the hens (they are Belgian D'Uccle Mille Fleur Variety) were a couple for all life and the guy who sold them said that they had had a few hatchs in those 3 years.
The hen started to laying about two weeks ago and already laid 9 eggs.
I already caught this hen and the roost doing ordinary things ( ) so i think the eggs are fertilized but i don't see her in the mood to get broody.
She enters the nest in the morning, lay the egg, stay for about 5/10 minutos and then she leaves it and only return the nest next morning to repeat this process...
This is a normal behaviour??
I would like to place some eggs from other hen so she hatch it but i don't know when and if she will get broody...
Some coments please?!

Note: I've been keeping the eggs in the nest ... should I get them out?

 

[Ridgerunner]

There is no way to know when or if either will go broody. You cannot force them. It is a good sign that at least one has gone broody in the past, she probably will again. But there is no telling when.

I've tried letting eggs pile up in a nest to entice a hen to go broody. Sometimes with fake eggs like golf balls and a couple of times with real marked eggs. It never worked and my hens often go broody. I just can't get them to go broody when I want them to. If a hen is in the mood to go broody letting eggs pile up might possibly help kick start her but there are certainly no guarantees. I don't know what you could use for your tiny chickens as fake eggs.

You only have two hens laying. That creates a problem. When a hen goes broody she typically stops laying. You can collect some eggs from the other hen for her to hatch but that can be a slow process. I have enough hens that I can get enough eggs for a broody in a few days but I don't know how many you want her to hatch. They all need to go under her at the same time. That is important. But you can collect eggs from the other hen for a week and set those at the same time.

Your goal appears to be to hatch eggs and not get eggs for eating. Hopefully you have a plan for any chicks that might hatch, male and female. What I'd suggest is that you remove each egg every day You can write the date on it if you wish. Store these eggs for hatching, keeping however many you want her to hatch. Once you get how many you want her to hatch start eating the old ones as you get new ones. If you store eggs too long they lose hatchability. I don't know you storage conditions but a week would be as long as I'd store them. Turn them a few times every day. When she goes broody you have fresh eggs to put under her.

 

[Eva79]

Thank you very much for your comment.

I thought that once she is laying, eventually she would get broody
Here in Portugal we have a great market of fertilized eggs so it's easy to buy from one day to another.
I was considering to place some eggs but not from my chickens.

I have a lot of space available and i'm starting my flock.
It will be the first and only time that i'll let it hatch and then it will be only for producing eggs to eat.

So...i'll remove the eggs today.
Thank you again

 

[Eva79]

My hen went broody yesterday

When I arrived home she was laid on the nest.
A couple os hours after I went to see her and try to remove the eggs and she was still laid and with a upset face watching all my moves

So I decided not to remove the eggs and wait for today to see if she still laid...and yes...she still

 

[john_wrightson2003]

My hen went broody yesterday

When I arrived home she was laid on the nest.
A couple os hours after I went to see her and try to remove the eggs and she was still laid and with a upset face watching all my moves

So I decided not to remove the eggs and wait for today to see if she still laid...and yes...she still

ah that's awesome, so excited for you!

 

[Eva79]

Hello chicken friends
Just to show some pics of my baby chicks.
From 7 eggs just 2 has hatched.
Still waiting to see if the other 5 will hatch too.