First time Help! Lots of questions! - Page 2

Sounds like a plan!!  Here is my broody sitting on a chick.  She's a Silkie, and I have her separated from everyone else so that no one steps on her and so her baby doesn't get hurt.  This was my only surviving egg.  (although I have more in the incubator..)

According to the broody hen thread, these birds are among the best. I do think this list is mainly dual purpose types, and the OEgames  was probably not rated. Some breeds have had broodiness bred out so the hen so she can focus on laying. 

Last year I had a pullet buff orpington and a black austrlorp go broody AND hatch a good number of chicks. The BA has been broody for a number of weeks already.

What are the best broody hens?
Araucana - Frequent Brooder
Australorp - Very Frequent Brooder
Belgian D'Anver - Frequent Brooder
Belgian D'Uccle - Very Frequent Brooder
Brahma - Frequent Brooder
Cochin - Top Notch Brooders
Dominique - Frequent Brooder
Dorking - Very Frequent Brooder
Japanese - Very Frequent Brooder
Java - Frequent Brooder
Marans - Very Frequent Brooder
New Hampshire - Good Brooder
Orpington - Frequent Brooder
Silkie - Top Notch Brooder
Sussex - Good Brooder

I have an Australorp sitting on 12 eggs right now and they are starting to pip yesterday!  I can't wait to get home to see how many babies I have!  I put 6 Ameraucana eggs and 6 mixed eggs under her when she started insisting she was laying - after we moved her to a private suite where she couldn't be bothered by the other layers! On the first two days she hopped from nest box to another nest box! I thought we'll NEVER get chicks that way  - so we moved her out.  She's much happier alone!  Our rooster is a gorgeous Buff Orpington and I have one hen that is BO, then a black speckled Ameraucana, 3 RIR and Joan Jett the Australorp herself. Not sure if one of the brown eggs is hers or not - there are 6 green eggs and 5 brown and 1 pink under her... so we'll see what happens!  I was told this hen was a broody breed and I've had her about 8 months - she was acting broody when I got her but the new home and the move broke her of that.. now she's settled in and with the other 19 hens, she decided all those eggs in the nest box needed to be sat on, I guess!

Quote:

Originally Posted by NamahKatana 

I have three eggs sitting in the nest box from yesterday and today they've decided their not gona lay or their gona lay later. Which is weird cause for the past few weeks I'v been getting 6 eggs a day in the morning and only got three yesterday and none today so far.

 

Oh and a question. No one has decided to sit on the eggs and they are cold. Are they still viable?

 

 

If the eggs have not been subject to 102 heat of a hen , or been in an incubator, then yes they are good. A hen needs a number of days to lay her whole collection of eggs, so these wait, like in a stasis, until she settles down to sit on them. The freshest eggs 7-10 days old have the best hatch rates, though some really old ones have been know to hatch. too, just not at a high percent.

When they go broody, they stop laying. Other hens may contribute to her collection though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NamahKatana 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arielle 

If the eggs have not been subject to 102 heat of a hen , or been in an incubator, then yes they are good. A hen needs a number of days to lay her whole collection of eggs, so these wait, like in a stasis, until she settles down to sit on them. The freshest eggs 7-10 days old have the best hatch rates, though some really old ones have been know to hatch. too, just not at a high percent.

 

When they go broody, they stop laying. Other hens may contribute to her collection though.

 

Ok thank you very much!  I love you guys you are so helpful! My favorite forum ever. lol I'm thinking of letting them sit on more than 6-8 would she be able to do that? They are pretty large sized hens besides 2. What do you guys think is a good number?
 

 

Consider how many chicks you are ready to deal with. Will the hen raise them or you. ?

I've had hens sit on 25 eggs. It's  a bit much.  10-15 is easier IMO than 25 Remember not all will hatch and about half will be males.