One of the most wonderful things to have in a flock is a good broody hen- at least to those who want to raise chicks naturally. They can be used for the whole process, part, or just to raise the chicks. I'll try to share a few insights about properly using this natural wonder.
Broody hens can be hard to come by. When a hen goes broody, she quits laying eggs, because she goes into "the broody zone". It's an almost trance-like state, and it gets deeper each day she's broody. (Note: if you DON'T want your hen to be broody, break her of it in the first couple days you see the signs, or it will probably be a lost cause.) Because they don't lay eggs during this time, hatcheries don't like broodiness in their stock, and will breed the trait out of even the heritage breeds. If you end up with a good broody, I highly recommend keeping her.
Some hens will go broody without any incentive. Even if you keep your nest boxes empty, some hens will start to sit on nothing. Keep an eye out, because other hens love to lay under her- that's nature telling them this is the spot their babies can be raised! And wear gloves when checking under the hen- some hens can deliver painful pecks/bites when they are defending their nests.
But you don't have to wait for nature. If you want to see if you can get a hen to go broody for you, try placing a group of golf balls in one of your nests. The basic idea is to make it look like a clutch of eggs. If you have a hen with any tendency toward being a mother, this should work after a while. I had a hen go broody on me, and she sat on the nest for 30 days. I finally broke her of it. One month later, I desperately needed a mother for some chicks I was getting ready to hatch. So I did the golf ball trick, and within a couple days, the same hen was on the nest. She made the best mother when I introduced "her" babies- but more on that in a minute.
The next trick is not to rush things if you can help it. Some hens will go broody for a few days, then get up and leave. The last thing you want are some semi developed eggs that are worthless for anything except the trash. A hen gets more and more in the "broody zone" as the days go by, but the amazing thing is there is no alarm for an ending day. I've had hens sit on a nest for over 4 weeks waiting for something to happen. So don't worry about letting 4-5 days go by to make sure the hen is really "in the zone" before giving her your hatching eggs.
If you have an extra place to put her, it is also a good idea to move a broody hen to a private location prior to giving her the eggs. I have several small coops, and once I have an established broody, I put her by herself. This eliminates needing to check if other hens have laid eggs under her, and keeps the babies safer once they hatch. By moving her prior to giving her eggs, I make sure she is willing to remain broody in the new nest. It also makes it less likely that other hens will follow her example- most people don't need more than one broody at a time! If you have no where to put the broody, I'd have to wonder if you have a safe place to keep chicks anyway. Young chicks are always safer in their own environment, with or without a mother hen. If you can't put her by herself, make sure you label the eggs you want her to hatch (I use marker and pencil, and mark the egg on every side) so that you can remove fresh eggs laid by other hens each day.
One of my favorite methods is to hatch chicks in the incubator, then place them under a broody hen. I've done this with several different hens, and never had any reject the chicks. (Timing is important to succeed- I usually give her the first chicks/pipped eggs right at dusk when she's headed into sleepy mode; I also tuck them in far under her- even doing it from behind- to make sure she doesn't peck the baby to death in the first moments of this new feeling.) Provided the hen is in the "broody zone" it doesn't even have to have been very many days before you give her chicks. One hen had been broody for about 10 days when I placed some eggs that were pipped and some newly hatched chicks under her. I continued to take new chicks to her as they would hatch for a couple days- just what happens in nature- and she took them all.
It also works to do it part way. If you have eggs in the incubator, and then a hen goes broody, follow the above steps, and then simply give her the eggs. She'll take it from there.
The only drawback I've had with using a broody is the number of eggs you can hatch. For a family project or backyard production, they are great. A good size hen can easily hatch 10 eggs, and if you are giving her chicks from an incubator, she can probably care for almost double that provided it's not too cold. But if you are wanting to hatch a lot of chicks, you'll have to go for an incubator- or induce more than one hen to be broody :).
I want to state that in my personal experience hatch rate percentage skyrockets when a broody hen is used. Not to say all eggs hatch, but the natural way tends to produce much better results.
Personally, I love not having to worry about my heat lamp going out and chilling the chicks, or starting the coop on fire if I didn't secure it properly (never happened to me but my mind thinks about it); I don't have to worry about a chick not eating or drinking- mama takes care of training them. And when you let them out to be with the big group at a few weeks old, they'll have a protector to take care of them.
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