Are Buff orpingtons Good sitters?

[luvmychix]

I have had a few hens in my standard flock act like they wanted to set so I would give them some egg and then after 3-4 days or so they would decide that they didn’t want to do it anymore and leave the nest.... Now I have a BO that started acting like she wanted to start sitting on the 2nd. there was no eggs for her at the time but I have a duck setting on some eggs and she would keep trying to take them and roll them to her "nest". when ever my duck would leave the nest to eat/drink, when she would come back the BO would be on the ducks nest and wouldn’t let the duck have her eggs back. I would have to go out there and use a stick to get the BO off the duck nest. and this would happen 3-4 times a day and I would have to keep moving her. well on the 6th I gave her 5 turkey eggs so she would leave my duck and her nest alone. it worked. so far at least. it has now been 4 days of her setting on her "own" eggs.... so my question is... how serious are BO's at sitting and motherhood? what are the chances of her finishing or is she likely to give up the sitting like the other hens I have had do?

Thanks

 

[BeccaOH]

Yes, my BOs are good setters. My 2 year old is especially good and has raised up her own young. I had 3 BOs go broody this spring. The young ones gave up as I kept taking eggs from them, but the older one is minding a good clutch right now.

 

[WingingIt]

The one and only broody I've had so far was a BO and she was a WONDERFUL broody. I only gave her two eggs to hatch out (didn't really want more right now and wasn't sure how she'd do) and she hatched them both and taught them to look for bugs, etc. She would fluff up when I was in there but never pecked at me or anything. She let me handle them after they hatched with no problems, too. So my vote is yes, they are very good.

 

[luvmychix]

This hen is almost 2 years old. I am very happy to hear that they are good mommas!

 

[Mrs. K]

I have two BO, and they were raised by an adoptive mother hen. I tell them everyday, please, would someone go broody? No takers yet! Darn.

I even made a new nest, put in several egg shape rocks all in a pile, thinking that might trip the trigger, while all but one hen lays there, no one got the idea of being broody!

Any other ideas out there to encourage the thought? Mine are a year old hens, is that old enough? After having a hen raise chicks, I swore I would never go back.

Mk:/

 

[Rte.66_chicks]

I have one that is trying to hatch straw.

 

[BeccaOH]

Rte.66_chicks :

I have one that is trying to hatch straw.