1.9 Chick hatching/Broody hen project conclusion!!!

Conclusion: My attempts at making a hen brood or sit on eggs were unsuccessful and therefore, I was unable to test my theories about hens' and chicks' behaviors. However, this experiment was not a total failure. I did learn from my mistakes and resorted to testing ways to make a hen broody.

              First, I placed plastic eggs all over in the hens' usual laying boxes. This, I hoped, would stimulate the hens' natural instinct to sit on the eggs once a large pile has gathered. This, unfortunately, didn't work. It could be that the hens were able to tell that these eggs weren't real, but I don't believe that was the case. I've had a broody hen before and she gladly accepted plastic eggs. Then I tried a new attempt, force.

             I placed two hens in separate crates with plastic eggs and later real ones, trying to make them brood since they had nothing else to do in such a small place. However, I had to switch them out a few times, because they would get very stressed or angry and did not even seem to notice the eggs.

Lastly, I put a couple hens in a large stall with eggs scattered about, thinking that maybe the small space had freaked them out too much. Unfortunately, this didn't work either. They were too interested in exploring and at night started messing with things. I then removed them.

There are so many things I could have tried, but I have come to the conclusion that you cannot make a hen brood, she has to want to do it. Another source of error is my choice in hens. Some breeds are more broody than others and even then some just won't do it. Some proof that a hen cannot be forced is that Daisy has just started brooding. Doing this completely on her own, she went into their egg room and sat upon a single egg. She's been sitting there for three days now without any help or prompt from a person. This I believe to be a perfect example of my theory.

kk