How often or when do hens go broody?

Date sort Score sort
cook_kaka_ook

cook_kaka_ook

Songster
13 Years
Oct 29, 2009
378
4
214
Do they differ by breeds? Does leaving the eggs on the nest encourage them to do so? My Austrolorp hen has been laying for about 5 weeks now. Is she going to be broody soon?
 
Ummmm, never. I waited and waited and waited. Then I bought an incubator, ordered eggs, incubated eggs, hatched chicks, they're now 15 weeks old and still no broody. (in their defense they are only a year old)

Hopefully I'll get one this year.
fl.gif
But I lost my best chance at a broody - my buff orp.

And no, you can't make them go broody. They only go broody when they get the urge. And some breeds are more prone to going broody than others.
 
Some breeds are more prone to broodiness than others, although anything is possible. Production breeds like Sex-links, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Leghorns and Austrolorps have been purposely bred for high egg production and selected against broodiness, so it's not highly likely your Austrolorp will go broody, but stranger things have happened.

The broodiest birds are Silkies, bantam Cochins and many other bantam breeds.
 
What Southenbelle said.
smile.png


My LF birds never go broody (buff orps, welsummers, wyandottes, EEs). They are going on two years old now and have never shown the least interest in being broody. My banties on the other hand go broody if you look at them. I had silkies taking turns last winter and a mille fleur d'uccle and a silver sebright that shared a nest and an egg. When it hatched they shared parenting duties. It was really funny. I figure the silkies will go broody again any day now. I have one that keeps playing at it. I figure she'll get serious right about the time the weather gets nasty.
roll.png
 
Quote:
I had one go broody as young as 5 months. Mine usually went broody about 4-6 weeks after they started laying eggs, then they went on never-ending broody cycles.
roll.png
 
Thank you everyone for your feedback. I'm just thinking of rewarding her to be a mom as soon as she shows broodiness since she lays eggs almost everyday. Then I'll have more prolific egg-laying hens like her if she'll have a good hatch.
 
I have an 8 mo BO that is sitting on 12 eggs now. She went broody a little over 2 weeks ago. I was unable to break her, so gave her some mutt eggs to try. We'll see. She is on day 8.
 
Southernbelle said:
Some breeds are more prone to broodiness than others, although anything is possible.  Production breeds like Sex-links, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Leghorns and Austrolorps have been purposely bred for high egg production and selected against broodiness, so it's not highly likely your Austrolorp will go broody, but stranger things have happened.


The broodiest birds are Silkies, bantam Cochins and many other bantam breeds.
Click to expand...


This is interesting maybe my girls are special i have no idea but I have 3 black sexlinks, 2 leghorns and 2 buckeyes all about a year old that are broody. We just rescued 5 wild baby turkeys and my sexlink has taking them. It's very fun to watch this happen. Turkeys weren't eating very much so we thought they needed a mom to show them the way and its been 6 days and so far so good!
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

sophi3
Trying to make a hen broody after flock deaths?
Replies
8
Views
924
aart
aart
RedHillChicken
    • Like
Broody hen setting without eggs
Replies
6
Views
880
rosemarythyme
rosemarythyme
S
    • Like
Buff Orpington
Replies
2
Views
489
Callender Girl
Callender Girl
Poppy Putentake
    • Haha
    • Like
Decorated fake eggs in the nesting box
Replies
5
Views
267
Ridgerunner
Ridgerunner
Fortune
    • Like
egg laying stopped...could it be rats?
Replies
5
Views
232
Fortune
Fortune

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom