broody hen this year

[kkcummins]

OK, here is the question.
I Have a Black Australorp hen that went broody last May. I gave her 5 eggs and she hatched and raised 3 chicks. The other 2eggs never hatched. she did not go broody again all summer. Is there any likely chance that she will go broody again next spring or should I ask Santa for an incubator? I lost half of my Marans due to 2 evil roosters that have since been sent sent to freezer camp and I want to try to raise some to help replace the ones lost as Marans are very hard to find in Idaho.

 

[chicknshrimp]

Aussies are good mammas and often go broody every year, ours has. There is never any guarantee though and an incubator is never a bad thing to have on hand If you plan on raising a decent number of chicks then it would be good to have, if you only want ~10 or so then momma can likely do it.

 

[Happy Chooks]

It's likely she may go broody again, but not a guarantee. I have had hens this year go broody that have never been broody before. The strangest was my 5 1/2 year old hatchery Light Brahma that hasn't laid an egg all year. Others that usually go broody, did not go broody this year - which was fine with me because I had 10 broodies already.