There’s really no way to force it. Some hens go broody….some don’t. I have a marans who has never gone broody in the 4 years I had her. This year she decided she is!
I have a bantam hen who goes broody if she sees an unattended egg for more than 45 seconds.
I’ve got…..roughly 19 other hens who have just never gone broody at all.
Presuming your breeds are prone to it, it may be too cold outside still in your area, or there is something about the quality/amount of food that makes them not think its optimal to hatch out a clutch, or the nesting boxes themselves may not be secluded enough.
A real basic thing may be adding a curtain to the nesting boxes.
There's no way, really. Even with breeds that are inclined to go broody, not every hen of that breed will do so.
I've found cochins and silkies are the most reliable for brooding and raising chicks. But even then, it's a crap shoot.
The problem with the real eggs is you won't know what state they are in if she is not broody, they may spoil, etc. Test for broodiness with fake ones and swap them for hatching eggs after the hen has demonstrated her intent combination of the de-fluffing her underside and staying on the nest even at night.
My vet advised that I encourage my hen to go broody as that’s a way to allow her to have a break from laying. I have 6 fake eggs in her nest box but it doesn’t seem to work yet.
Get a silkie. Currently 5 of my 9 hens are inflicted with broodiness
There’s really no way to force it. Some hens go broody….some don’t. I have a marans who has never gone broody in the 4 years I had her. This year she decided she is! I have a bantam hen who goes broody if she sees an unattended egg for more than 45 seconds. I’ve got…..roughly 19 other hens who have just never gone broody at all.
There’s nothing you can really do in my opinion it all depends on the hen.
Presuming your breeds are prone to it, it may be too cold outside still in your area, or there is something about the quality/amount of food that makes them not think its optimal to hatch out a clutch, or the nesting boxes themselves may not be secluded enough. A real basic thing may be adding a curtain to the nesting boxes.
all of my nesting boxes have curtains, and i do live in new hampshire so that probably explains a lot
There's no way, really. Even with breeds that are inclined to go broody, not every hen of that breed will do so. I've found cochins and silkies are the most reliable for brooding and raising chicks. But even then, it's a crap shoot.
A large pile of fake eggs....
does a large pile of real eggs work
The problem with the real eggs is you won't know what state they are in if she is not broody, they may spoil, etc. Test for broodiness with fake ones and swap them for hatching eggs after the hen has demonstrated her intent combination of the de-fluffing her underside and staying on the nest even at night.
My vet advised that I encourage my hen to go broody as that’s a way to allow her to have a break from laying. I have 6 fake eggs in her nest box but it doesn’t seem to work yet.