Will hen go broody

[FarmerGilland]

I have 3 hens that are laying. There are 14 eggs in the clutch. When will the hen go broody? Does there have to be a certain amount? Also, on some eggs there is a lot of poop, should I try to clean it off? I've always used an incubator but now I'm just about burnt out on using the bator. So I thought that I would try to let a hen go broody. Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[ChicKat]

Perhaps leaving the eggs will encourage broodiness....but perhaps not.

I had a hen showing broody tendencies...and I did things to encourage her to be broody and magically she was (For 1-week, then she abandoned the nest).

Could you possibly get a broody hen from someone else? That might be a better "guarantee"...but even moving her could disrupt the cycle. If you found someone who wanted to get rid of a broody hen...the quarantine period would just about match the brooding and raising chicks---and then -- no need for an incubator.

Good luck!