Aloha Bejay,

If your hens will go broody then you could get some fertile eggs for them to set on. That way they will hatch out replacements and the new chicks will blend right in with the rest of the flock. We've tried getting new full grown hens to add to our flock, but then there is a whole pecking order re-shuffle and all the hens have to be kept locked in their pen until the new ones settle in. We don't have a rooster but our hens still hatch out new chicks when we give them fertile eggs.

You can also get new breeds of chickens this way, too. So far, our auracana hen has hatched out cuckoo marans, australorps and white crested black polish. She doesn't seem to care if the chicks are colored or shaped differently than she is. It is fun to watch the hen with her new chicks and they grow up as part of the flock right from the beginning.

If you just want to hatch out just a few chicks, then you may want to put six or seven plastic easter eggs in the nest. I fill them with rice and tape them shut so they weigh about the same as a real egg. The hens are more likely to go broody when they have a lot of eggs to sit on.

A hui hou,
Cathy

I collect their eggs every day, so perhaps they have had no inclination to become broody. At what stage does this usually take place?

They are about 2 years old, and one finished molting several months ago, and the 2nd one is going through it now, although still continues to lay.

If I added a young hen, a small cage might be necessary - however, the enclosure now is about 6 x 6 ft., so it would have to be quite a small one.

The other thing, adding fertile eggs might be fun, but with my luck, there would be roosters, and in my suburban area, that would not be very welcome.

I purchased these hens from a nearby town - this is the 2nd time. Unfortunately, some coyotes broke into the first enclosure (chicken wire) and killed my first 2 hens. This made it necessary to build a stronger pen. I had hoped to try the tractor idea, but making it strong enough to protect them, and light enough to move proved to be unsuccessful.

Thank you for the suggestion, I may do that, if the girls prove to be good mothers, we shall see. Would be fun.

Bejay

Bejay,

My 5 chickens are 1 1/2 years old and I was thinking the same thing you were.

One and only one of the hens started sitting on some eggs(I didn't know how many and she sure wasn't going to let me lift her up to see!)

I felt so sorry for her because the eggs were not fertile. After talking to several people about my problem, one 90 year old farmer told me to do the following: He said to buy some very young chicks and just put them in the nest with the hen!!!

So, not thinking this had a chance in you know what, I bought 4 -2day old chicks from the feed store, took them in the chicken house and sort of "tossed them gently"(one at a time) into the nest trying to get them to the back of the nest. It was so cute to watch them cuddle down into their "new" mother's feathers. She didn't even budge!!!! She just accepted them like they were her very own. The next day however; she was still sitting on the eggs; so with a gloved hand, I put it over her head and got the eggs(4) out from under her.

She was a wonderful mother and when the other chickens would come around to see the chicks she would raise her feathers up and peck at the chickens. After about 2 weeks I opened the door to the chicken pen to see if she would take them out to eat some grass, she only took them a foot or two, however, gradually she would take them further and further, it was soooo cute to watch. She was an outstanding mother hen!

Good Luck!
Patsy Lee