Will allowing my broody hen to hatch out eggs discourage her from being broody in the future?

[abujumana]

From what you have said, this is what I would try:
--give the broody a few fake eggs to keep her happy for now
--set up a brooder
--buy your meat chicks
--when the chicks arrive, put them in the brooder for the first day, and make sure they all eat and drink. After dark, put two of them under the broody and take away the fake eggs. If the chicks are all the same color, any two will do. If they are different colors, pick two that do not match.
--the next day, watch how the broody acts. If she is nice and motherly toward the chicks all day, put more chicks under her that night. If she is not being a good mother, put "her" chicks back in the brooder if they are still alive.
--at some future point when the chicks no longer need her, put the broody back in the usual coop, and let the meat chicks finish growing to butchering size.

Giving her just two chicks at first is a way to test whether she will accept them, without endangering the whole batch.

If she accepts the chicks, after about three days you can quit worrying. She will not hurt them unless something really unexpected happens (she might step on them if something scares her, or if a chick gets hurt she may then try to drive it away or kill it.) There is some risk that a chick will wander off into a cold corner and ignore her clucking, but after a few days the risk goes way down (because they have learned, or else you have seen the problem and gone back to brooder-raising the chicks.)

I have given chicks to hens a number of times. If she accepts the first few, I have never had trouble adding more the next day except in one case where different colors turned out to be an issue. If she does not accept the first few, of course there is no point in giving her more.

I agree with you

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Well, I didn't end up putting the chicks under her last night so I have them in a brooder under a light. Long story short, I couldn't find a good way to section her nest off from the rest of the flock and also have a way for the chicks to get in and out of the nest, or get back up if they fell out. I just ran out of time and it didn't work out.

What I did decide to do last night though, was put the broody in the separate coop. I know you guys said there was a possibility this would break her, but I figured it wasn't working out in the big coop anyway and I have a brooder as a backup, so why not? Well, by dusk she was sitting on the new nest and puffing at me when I approached. Today she is doing the same. I feel like tonight I can give this whole thing a go. Wish me luck!

Ursula the grumpy broody

 

[Morrigan]

It sounds like you made the right choice for your circumstances. I'm very glad she stayed broody. Fingers crossed that she accepts her chicks tonight. Since the chicks have been nice and toasty in the brooder all day, turn off the heat in the brooder for a bit before you introduce them, so they get just cold enough to want to snuggle under that warm hen.

ETA: That hen looks like she means business!

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Okay! 2 are under. She did peck the one at first, but not super hard... so I pushed it a little under her wing and she kind of nestled over them then. Do hens ever do little pecks to tell the chicks to get under? Or is this a sign she might be aggressive?

She just did that same thing again to one that was hanging out beside her instead of under her, pecks that looked kind of hard but the chick didn't screech or seem too bothered. I pushed it under her wing and she nestled over it. Thoughts? Is it okay to leave them for the night?

 

[NatJ]

Okay! 2 are under. She did peck the one at first, but not super hard... so I pushed it a little under her wing and she kind of nestled over them then. Do hens ever do little pecks to tell the chicks to get under? Or is this a sign she might be aggressive?

She just did that same thing again to one that was hanging out beside her instead of under her, pecks that looked kind of hard but the chick didn't screech or seem too bothered. I pushed it under her wing and she nestled over it. Thoughts? Is it okay to leave them for the night?

I would probably try leaving them, but maybe check on them again in a little while. You might be able to check by listening, without disturbing them. Quiet is probably fine, little chirping and peeping sounds are good, clucking hen is good, loud unhappy peeping is not good if it goes on for very long.

Hens do sometimes peck chicks to tell them to go under, but pecking can also be aggressive, and I can't think of an easy way to tell the difference.

 

[Morrigan]

Gentle to medium pecks are pretty normal, particularly with some hens. I've even had some that peck hard enough to scare the chick, but I just kept putting them under the hen, and it all worked out in the end. From the hen's perspective, a new chick that just hatched should be under her! Pronto!

If a hen really doesn't want a chick, their intentions in that regard are usually pretty unmistakable. They stand up, puff up, hiss at the chick, and try to drive the chick away.

All that being said (other than one her drove the chicks from the nest) I've never had a truly bad mother in terms of killing or grossly neglecting her chicks, so I can't tell you want that would look like.

Check back before bed and first thing in the morning.

Once the hen starts making deep clucking sounds, you know all is good. It may take a few hours for this to start, as the hen has not had the normal signals of peeping/rocking eggs to alert her the chicks are coming and get her in the mood, so to speak.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Thank you both for the additional advice! I didn't have time to reply but I did read those last night and that eased my mind a bit so I could actually get a little sleep.

But anyway, so far so good! She seems to be mothering them. I realized that in the dark I accidentally left 2 of the wooden eggs under her with the chicks. I guess I'll make those "hatch" tonight when I put the others underneath. Maybe that was a good thing because it will feel more natural for her.

Here's Urs being a good mama!

 

[Krugerrand]

I'll be curious to hear how long before she goes broody again.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I'll be curious to hear how long before she goes broody again.

I'm very curious too. I will report back!

 

[Morrigan]

So sweet. Any yes, leave the eggs under her. You want her staying on the nest in "hatch mode" until you can foster the rest of the chicks. You might even do a test today of putting one more chick under her in the daytime and see how she reacts. If she's good, you and put the lot under her and be done with it.

If you decide to wait until tonight, that's fine too, but I would move the water and food close enough so she and her chicks can get too them without leaving the nest.

The reason for this is, that once a hen leads the chicks off the nest in search of food and water, she often (not always, but frequently) will abandon the nest. Once a hen has abandoned the nest, many will refuse to accept any more chicks, no matter how sneaky you are. I know, I've tried.

Beware, leaving food and water close by, she might poop in the nest, which is yucky, but just a manner of cleaning it up once you move her. Usually the chicks stay out of it.