Broody Hen!

 I have two Blue Cochin hens who get broody very often. Being "broody" is when a hen wants to be a mom, so she sits on her eggs until they hatch. Chicken breeds that are commonly known to be very broody are Cochins, Silkies, Frizzles, and Brahmas. My Cochins get broody every couple months. So if you really depend on your chickens producing eggs, don't get these breeds. But if you want to hatch chicks the natural way (versus using an incubator) then I know from personal experience that Cochins are great brood hens. Since my hen was VERY broody, I decided that I would let her hatch some eggs, just for fun. I got 3 fresh fertile eggs from a friend and sneaked them under my broody hen and took out the sterile eggs she was already sitting on. Twenty-one days later, two out of the three chicks hatched!  (Top left, is a picture of a very upset broody girl who can't go back in her nesting box!)

If you would like to try hatching chicks, here is what I did to prepare:

-I kept the hen separate from the other chickens so she wouldn't be disturbed

-Made sure there were plenty of shavings in the box to help keep the eggs warm

-Gave the broody hen extra protein and fat (like chicken scratch, chick crumble, seeds, etc) so she wouldn't starve, since she would only come out of the nesting box once per day for about 20 minutes to eat and relieve herself

-Checked on her regularly

- I recommend thoroughly reading this website before, it is very detailed:  
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chicks.html 

If you don't want your hen to be broody, then here are some ways to treat it:

- Collect all the eggs in the coop in the afternoon, take the broody hen out of the nesting box, and block the nesting boxes so she won't go back in (then remove the blockade when it's dark, so the chickens can the boxes use in the morning)

-A broody hen's body temperature will increase, so you can fill a bucket of cool water and hold the chicken in it for about about 30 seconds (only her undersides need to be wet)

-You can also keep her in a separate cage, but I think just blocking the nesting boxes is less stressful and easier

(Bottom left, is a picture of Adelaide, a Cochin, cooling off in a bucket of water)