A broody will be more apt to go broody and sit on the nest more of the day if she doesn't have travel far to eat and drink. Put Feed and Water Nearbyīe sure there's ample feed and water close by to your nests. Add Some AromatherapyĬalming herbs such as lavender or chamomile can help a sitting hen relax and feel safe and secure.īe sure the nests always have plenty of clean nesting material that's thick enough to provide a nice cushion for the eggs so they don't break. Hang some curtains across the front of the nesting boxes, even a piece of sheet or fabric will help convince her the nest is a secret place to raise her chicks. You can also encourage a hen's broody nature by providing her a dark, safe place to sit on the eggs. Since most people raise chickens for the eggs nowadays and aren't concerned about their flock self-propagating, a hen who will stop laying eggs once she goes broody is counter-productive to modern backyard chicken keeping. Since the advent of incubators and shipped chicks, broody hens aren't as desirable as they once were. Sadly, the broodiness gene has been bred out of most modern breeds of chickens. The short answer is - You can't "force" a chicken to sit on eggs. So how do you know when a hen is broody and how do you "make" a hen go broody?
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The mother hen also shows the chicks how to find bugs and which weeds are safe to eat, and she will introduce them to the rest of the flock when she feels it's time.īut for this you need broody hen.
No more messy, dusty brooder in your laundry room or garage, no worries about heat lamps. The broody hen IS the incubator, turning the eggs and keeping them warm and at the correct humidity level.Īfter the eggs hatch, she acts as the brooder box as well, needing no electricity to keep the chicks warm and safe.
Letting a hen sit on a nest of eggs to hatch them is far easier than using an incubator.
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