How to Get Hens to Brood Chicks

Hens instinctively know when and how to brood their own chicks. Like other bird species, chickens enjoy a nest that feels safe from predators and weather. Many of today's modern breeds have had the broodiness gene bred out of them because it interrupts egg productivity. If you have a hen that has begun staying on the nest longer than normal, you probably have a broody hen. This just means that her instincts have kicked in and she's in the mood to be a mother.

Things You'll Need

  • Large cardboard box
  • Straw
  • Plastic chicken eggs
  • Feeder
  • Waterer
  • 16 percent protein chicken feed
  • Fertile eggs
  • Calendar
  • Flashlight
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set up a broody box separate from the rest of the flock. Use a cardboard box the size of a washer or dryer. Line the bottom of the box with three inches of straw. Set five plastic eggs in one corner of the box and a feeder and waterer in two of the other corners. The mama will need free access to food and water as she incubates her eggs. Fill her feeder with 16 percent protein feed. She won't need a higher protein because she isn't producing eggs.

    • 2

      Move the broody hen into the box at night. Set her on the clutch of plastic eggs and let her be. Watch her the next day to see if she settles in on the plastic eggs. If she takes to the new nest and eggs, she's ready to be a mama.

    • 3

      Set a clutch of fertile eggs beneath the hen all at once during the night. Fertile eggs come from hens that have been with a rooster. The amount of eggs you put under the hen shouldn't be more than she can easily cover with her feathers. Too many eggs means the ones around the edges won't incubate properly.

    • 4

      Check on the hen the next day to see if she has taken to the new eggs. If she's settled on the eggs, mark your calendar 20 to 21 days out. This is when the eggs will begin hatching. The hatching process can take up to 16 hours from the first to the last egg.

    • 5

      Candle the eggs on the 10th day. At night, make a circle with your pointer finger and thumb by pinching the tips together. Place an egg on top of this circle and shine a flashlight beneath the egg. Look for an embryo surrounded by a web of blood vessels. Throw out any eggs that don't have a growing embryo in them. These aren't fertile eggs and will rot under the hen.

    • 6

      Wait until the hatch date marked on your calendar. Keep the hen in fresh supply of water and feed during this time. If the hen ever shows signs that she wants to get out of the box, let her out for a little while, but put her back in after five minutes. Sometimes a hen just needs to stretch and will return to the nest instinctively.

    • 7

      Keep an eye on the hen during hatch day. Let the chicks hatch out by themselves. Enjoy watching as the hen teaches her chicks to eat food and water. Let the hen out of the box with her new babies if she wants to. She'll return to the box instinctively to warm the chicks. Check on the hen and chicks to ensure they are all in the nest at night. Mother nature will do the rest.