Broody hens can be helpful if you're trying to hatch more chicks, or harmful if you're trying to get all your hens to lay eggs for the table.Either way, if a hen goes broody at the wrong time of year for hatching new chicks, you've got to either wait it out or take steps to shorten the broody period.
One of our broodiest hens decided that February 15th is a good day to begin brooding. It's too early to begin hatching here and I prefer to use an electric incubator anyway, so I decided to remove the eggs and move the hen off the layer box. Sometimes, if the season isn't right the brooding instinct will be a bit lessened and it can be easier to break them. I should know if that's the case in a couple of days.
Meanwhile, here's a more complete guide that I wrote about broody hens.
One of our broodiest hens decided that February 15th is a good day to begin brooding. It's too early to begin hatching here and I prefer to use an electric incubator anyway, so I decided to remove the eggs and move the hen off the layer box. Sometimes, if the season isn't right the brooding instinct will be a bit lessened and it can be easier to break them. I should know if that's the case in a couple of days.
Meanwhile, here's a more complete guide that I wrote about broody hens.
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