1. Most hens cannot resist a nest overflowing with eggs! Mark them so a week after she goes broody you can discard the old ones. Some hens need 20 eggs before they sit.😉
2. I use lots small plastic Easter eggs. I use them to show pullets where to lay in a nesting box. I use them to encourage hens to go broody. Also put lots on the floor of hens who eat eggs. They will get tired of pecking an egg they can’t eat and will ignore the real ones.
3. When one hen goes broody in a trio, add another nesting box with eggs. Other hen usually goes broody too.
4. Sneak hard to hatch in incubator eggs or fragile chick eggs under a broody. Just swap her eggs and put them in an incubator. She will hatch and teach to eat. After a week you can put in a brooder.
5. I use plastic cat litter containers for nesting boxes. (Or laundry soap) They are easy to clean, don’t harbor disease, have a handle to remove mom and eggs or chicks, are free and the hens love them!
Submitted by Angel Whitt THE SERAMA LAB