Chicken Behavior

To incubate naturally, you need a broody hen. You cannot force a hen to go broody - it is something she does on her own. However, it is possible to encourage broodiness by providing dark, comfortable, secluded nest boxes and an environment that is not overly stressful.

When a hen is broody, she will sit on the nest all day and all night, except for a short daily break to eat, drink, and defecate. Usually this break will take anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour. Broody hen with chicks If the weather is hot, she may stay off even longer. If it is cold, she may stay off for only a few minutes. When she is off the nest, a broody hen will constantly make a soft "buk buk buk" sound, and she will keep her feathers poofed up. While she eats her food, she will act excited and make a quick, loud, staccato "buk-buk-buk!" like a rooster does when he finds food to share with his hens. While she is on the nest, she may let out a loud, screeching "crrrrrrrrawk!" when you approach, and, like most hens do, she will probably peck at your hands if you try to reach into the nest.

Usually a broody hen can care for the eggs perfectly well by herself. She keeps them warm and moist with her body, and she turns them regularly. However, there are a couple things you can do to help.

First, you can make sure the nest she is using is clean. If it is dirty, bacteria can get into an egg and kill the embryo inside.

Secondly, if it is unusually dry in your area, you can sprinkle a tiny bit of water on the eggs every few days, especially towards the end of incubation.

Sometimes a broody hen will forget to come off the nest during the day to eat and drink. If she frequently does this, you can help her by taking her off the nest around the same time each day. Make sure food and water are close by.

I find that it is a good idea to keep an incubator handy, just in case a broody hen abandons her eggs or tries to kill her chicks as they hatch. If an emergency such as those occurs, you can transfer the eggs to an incubator and they will still have a chance.