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Good time to force Hens to sit and raise babies

16 years ago

I am wanting to raise some chickens. I have five hens and one rooster. Is it possible to force a hen to sit on eggs? If so is now a good time. Spring is right around the corner.

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Comments (9)

simpleme
16 years ago
I've had chicken for 30 years and have never been ble to force one to set. Just now have 9- 3 week old chicks, teenage mom, only 9 months old, has gone off to let me raise them.Actually if she'd had her way she'd be dragging them around in the snow. So I kicked her back with the flock.

It's been in the 30's! Baby chicks need to be kept warm, and dry,still to early for chicks if you ask me. Wish I could speed these 9- across country to you. lol
I'm keeping them warm in an old chest freezer and brooder lamp. Can't wait till they are old enough to go out with the flock.
I usually have the opposite problem, trying to break one that wants to set. Have never succeded at that.They are so determined.
gook luck
dawn
Dibbit
16 years ago
It's my understanding that hens either go broody or not - some breeds have had the tendency to go broody bred out of them, and some individuals are not very strongly broody in the breeds that do go broody. So the short answer is, no, you can't MAKE a hen sit on eggs, she wants to or not, but it is her choice.

Knowing the breeds of hens you have might help in giving an answer that you like. (:-)
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Here's a link to the 'Broody Hens, Chicks, etc.' section of my chicken info site, it might help: http://home.earthlink.net/~velvetsparrow/VSChickHensBroodiesChicks.htm As for seperating the mama & chicks from the rest of the flock, I would. I've had hens fight over who got to mother the chicks that resulted in dead chicks. :( This was after an entire week with no problems, so you never know. The new chicks need Chick Starter or Grow Mash, they cannot eat standard chicken scratch or pellets. Also the baby chick food is specially formulated with the good stuff they need. Mama chickens do not feed their chicks by regurgitation like some birds do, instead they peck at the food and pick it up and drop it while clucking (roos do this too, to attract hens), and the chicks run over and instinctively peck at it. I'd just offer the entire family the chick food, mama will do just fine on it as long as you also offer fresh greens and some other goodies such as raw corn on the cob, diced grapes, diced tomatos, scrambled eggs, etc. Whatever foods you give must be diced very small to avoid choking. Mama hens are broody, and broody hens do not lay eggs while in that state, so calcium deficiency worries don't really apply during this period--just offer everyone a well-rounded diet. :) Once the chicks become junior chicks--about 1 1/2 months old with mostly real feathers and little, if any, chick down left, you can start mixing in regular old scratch or pellets and they'll naturally begin to eat it. The waterer you provide must have either a very tiny drinking trough or the trough should be filled with marbles (with just enough space between the marbles for their little beaks) to avoid chicks drowning in the drinkers. Once they get to be a few weeks old you can safely remove the marbles. Just in case broody mama rejects the babies, have a brooder box ready along with a heat source such as a lamp. Whenever I've tried to slip chicks under a broody hen, she panics and pecks the chick away, while scrambling madly to get away from what she presumes is some OTHER hens' nest and children, sure she's in for a major butt-whuppin'. The only time it's worked was one time when I had a broody hen who had hatched three of her OWN chicks--I had more eggs in an incubator timed to hatch out the same day and just shoved the new hatchlings under mom, it worked out great. Mother Nature is very wise, and you'll be amazed at how well your mama hen takes care of those babies and knows just what to do, it's very cool to watch. Good luck and enjoy your chicks! :) Velvet ~:>
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Velvet Sparrow: I read your "me page" about broody hens & found it very helpful & true. I have 2 golden sebright hens, both spring chickens, and both are/were broody. I originally asked about hen "Quantess"... Well, I didn't mention that our other golden sebright, "Quanto" had been sitting on a hidden nest since late August! Obviously, she's sitting on rotten eggs. No one knows where her nest is....under the tool shed, we suspect. We will smell it soon. This morning I grabbed Quanto while she was off the nest to eat. She was easy to grab because she was challenging me like a rooster. I locked her in a side-compartment of the coop. She seems to be doing fine. Acting weird, but, healthy. My question is, how long until I can let unsuccessful wanna-be-mom "Quanto" out? And, what is it with these Golden Sebright hens being so desperate to be moms, yet, so undesired by the roosters?! We have a Barred-Rock rooster and a Polish Crested rooster but both boys see Quantess & Quanto as desirable as chopped liver. Quantess and "Jackie" the polish crested roo were raised as a pair. The two were lil' buddies...until Jackie matured & met the beauty queen hen "Fancy". The 2 roosters compete over Fancy. Of course the bigger Barred Rock roo won the competition. Jackie only mates with his chickhood girlfriend, Quantess, when Fancy isn't around. Quantess is 2nd fiddle. Quanto, the Quantess look-alike hen .... I think she's still a virgin.
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velvet_sparrow
16 years ago
What breed are your birds? Some breeds (cochins, silkies, orpingtons) go broody more readily than others, some breeds (leghorns, polish, rhode island reds) rarely go broody at all. If you aren't sure of the breed, can you post pictures of them for us to help ID them?

You can't really force a bird to go broody. You CAN place tempting nest boxes in a safe area that makes the hens feel secure, offer plenty of food and fresh water, and leave an egg or two in the nest to encourage nesting. My hens prefer the darkened and semi enclosed nest, not open ones. I'd mark the eggs you leave with a pencil, toss those out and leave the freshly laid eggs when a hen finally goes broody.

Good luck! :)

Velvet ~:>
fancifowl
16 years ago
Even better than leaving eggs in the nest (they could get broken), use golf balls or similar objects, the hens dont know the difference. Only a couple are required, hens dont count either. When(if) the hens decides to go broody, replace the fake eggs with the saVED HATCHING EGGS.

I did have a line of silkies which i could encourage to begin setting. They were selected for broodiness for over 10 years and would hatch out 3 broods in a row. They did require xtra good management as setting is quite stressful on the hen. It is generally a futile attempt to encourage setting. Sparrow has outlined the best scenario. increasing light may assist in broodiness.
posy_pet
16 years ago
I raised a lot of roosters last year with broody hens and as far as I have been able to learn,there is no way you can just have hen chicks.The best thing I did was go buy 4 pullets to go with the chicks a hen hatched(she was really good to take them,chickens can't count and I put them under her at night)Even so I bought a rooster that was supposed to be a pullet and every one that hatched out but one were roosters.The chicks are really fun to watch with the hen.Even my husband dug them worms to see the chick circus!I separated the hen from my flock.Husband built me a very nice broody hen cage that is also a safe place for the chicks for a few weeks.We lost chicks thru the cage to a rat so you need hardware cloth.Go to one of the chicken websites to learn how to set a broody hen.It is too early yet!Posy_Pet
gregf
Original Author
16 years ago
The chickens are Dominique. Three are older hens that have raised young. The other hen and rooster are not a year old yet. They all are laying. The eggs are fertilized.
velvet_sparrow
16 years ago
With Dominiques that have raised chicks before, I'd say you have a great chance. :) Create some perfect little broody nests and good luck!

Velvet ~:>
chrislbaggett_gmail_com
13 years ago
I just started learning to rais chickens. I dont know very much on the subjct other than how to keep them alive. I realy love chickens and want to rais them. My hen lays about five to six eggs a week but she hasnt started to sit on any of theme. I am so eager for this prosses to start it is about to drive me crazy. I heard I should place fake eggs in her nest. so I rushed out and bought some plastic easter eggs and did as i was told. She has started to lay her eggs right with the plastic eggs.But the girl just hasnt started sitting.Is laying seasonal. someone told me that.I have no idea. someone pleas help!!!!!!!!!!!
calliope
13 years ago
Chris.......how many chickens do you have? I wonder since you talk about the hen in the singular. You do have a rooster, don't you? If you don't the hen can sit the eggs until the cows come home but there won't be any chicks from them.

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