Encouraging a hen to go broody!

[countryhatcher]

Hey! I was just wondering if I could encourage my hens to go broody? I have RIRs and red stars!

 

[MySweetChickens]

there is no way to really encourage a hen to go broody but you can try leaving some eggs in a nest box

but i have some bad news rir and red stars are specifically bred NOT to go broody they are meant to be production birds i am not saying its impossible i am just saying it is very unlikely like 1 out of 100 odds you need to get a more broody prone bird like silkies Brahmas etc. if you want a hen to set on eggs

 

[countryhatcher]

Thanks I do have 2 light brahmas hens that are about 14 weeks old and 2 speckled sussex hens that are the same. do you know how old they have to be before they go broody?I know im asking alot thanks in advance.

 

[JeanR]

As stated, you cannot "make" a hen go broody. It is a hormone thingy, and even with a breed that DOES still have the broody instinct, it will not happen until a hen has layed a :"clutch". This may be as few 15 eggs or 40 or 50!. So do not leave eggs in the nest box. Eat and enjoy and refrigerate and eat the beautiful eggs!

Leaving an egg in the next can show hens WHERE to lay. If you have a number of hens, most will lay in just one or several nest boxes, maybe leaving others empty. Why? Wouldn't you like to crawl into a warm bed, safe place? So do hens! And do you keep a rooster? Fertile eggs to hatch, require HIM, as you know, but no need to wait for your hens to "set", even with fertile eggs, it is MOST UNLIKELY.

Be patient with your hens (and indeed yours are unlikely to ever become broody!) If you want hens that will hatch chicks for you, when the time is right for them, obtain a breed, such as Speckled Sussex, that are beauiful, hardy, great layers, usually quiet gentle hens, and also great setters and broodies! Meantime, enjoy your eggs as they arrive. Red Stars are great layers for their first year, maybe a little longer, and Rhode Island Reds, also are good layers, maybe for 4 or more years, but fewer eggs as they get older.

And say???,again, do you have the necessary rooster? Or were you planning to purchase hatching eggs, when the time comes? Lots to learn and enjoy learning--have fun and know that hatching and raising chicks can be addictive! Good luck.

 

[JeanR]

Sorry, had not seen your post....If you do have a rooster--in time, you will have hens to set. How will you know? After laying for that indefinite time--a hen will stay on the nest overnight (eggs in the nest or not). Next day, she will still be there--may lay one more egg--and will kind of fluff up and maybe "growl" at you when you reach under her to see if she has an egg--her hormones have told her "SET". Best to prepare a separate coop for her, as the other hens will lay in her nest and you must not have eggs started incubating at different times. AS you are collecting eggs each day, write the date on each egg with pencil, store in an egg carton in a cool place, for a week. . Then start collecting another dozen, refrigerating and eating the previous carton of eggs. When she SETS, you put all eggs under her at the same time (night is best) mark 21 days on your calendar. AND get a pen ready for the chicks, feeders and waterers for the chicks--and you will be started on a wonderful experience!

Both your Speckled Sussex and Buff Columbians can be expected to be setters--and sometimes it seems "catching". If they start laying at about the same time, they may begin to SET at about the same time--so be prepared~ Two hens setting in the same nest is risky for a good hatch, and even if in the same coop, sadly, sometimes one will leave her eggs and crawl into the nest with the other hen--so watch--and enjoy!

So when will they set? Some weeks after they have been laying a LOT of eggs. It is not an exact time prediction--just after each hen has layed her (individually programed) clutch of eggs. Good luck!

 

[Angelo2014]

This blog http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2014/04/five-ways-to-encourage-hen-to-go-broody.html has something about encouraging your hen to go broody. Hope this helps.

 

[countryhatcher]

thanks JeanR!