What causes a hen to go broody? Hormones. What causes those hormones to hit? I wish there was a good answer. Some hens will never go broody, no matter what. Some hens go broody several times a year even if you collect eggs every day like I do. Genetics has a lot to do with that. Some chickens, especially production breeds, have had most of the broody bred out of them. If a hen goes broody she is not laying eggs and causes disruptions to the flock. They have incubators to hatch eggs. In these flocks going broody is often a fatal event. After a few generations of this you have a flock where hens seldom go broody. Some still might but it’s pretty rare.
Decorative breeds usually have not had the broody bred out of them. You still get some that will never go broody but your odds of getting a broody hen are much greater with these. What breeds do you have?
I have purposely hatched eggs from hens that go broody so I have a flock where most hens go broody. Most of them only go broody in late spring and summer when the weather is really good for raising chicks but I have had a few go broody late fall. I broke one from being broody last week.
There are threads on the forum like this one where hens have hatched and raised chickens in winter. It’s harder in winter and hens usually don’t go broody in winter but it happens. By far spring and summer is better.
Winter Brooding
http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/947046/broody-in-michigan-winter
I’ve hatched eggs my hens laid in January in my incubator. If the egg gets really cold it can cause it to not hatch. If it freezes and cracks forget it. Even getting pretty cold can cause hatchability to drop though some are really tough. When I hatch in winter I try to collect eggs several times a day so they don’t get too cold.
A broody hen will try to hatch any other hen’s egg, turkey or duck eggs, golf balls, door knobs, or about anything else. If something is not present they will use their imagination. Absolutely you can put fertile eggs under a broody hen and have her hatch them and raise the chicks.
I’ve tried a few times to entice a hen to go broody by letting fake eggs and even marked real eggs build up. Only one time I did get a broody hen but that was in another nest, I don’t think that counts. I do think letting the eggs pile up will help if a hen is thinking about it, but it is no guarantee.
There are a lot of different clues that a hen might be broody or going broody. It’s pretty common with mine for one to display some of those signs and not kick over to full broody mode. I’ve had hens walk around for two weeks fluffed up and making that broody cluck and never kick over. I’ve had some do that for a few days and finally go full broody. I’ve had a lot just flip to full broody with no warning. I’ve had hens spend all day on the nest, and occasionally even one night, and never be worthy of eggs. Hens on a nest laying eggs will often peck at me and growl if I stick my hand in there, nothing to do with them being broody. My test for a broody hen to be worthy of eggs is that she has to spend two consecutive nights on the nest instead of in her normal roosting spot. Some day that test will probably fail me but so far it has worked.
There are a few tricks that make it easier when hatching chicks with a broody and having her raise them. Do a little research about that so you are prepared, but using broody hens to hatch and raise chicks is the preferred way for a lot of us. The only problem with it is that you cannot control when or even if a hen ever goes broody.
