Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Teila]

potato chip having broody’s is not so bad; if you do want to have chicks and you have a good broody, they do most (if not all) of the work. With some broody’s you can pretty much set and forget; they raise the bubs with no need for an incubator, brooder etc.

Also, a mother hen with her chicks is a beautiful thing to watch. She is so very proud, patient and dedicated. The bond between mother and chick is adorable.

If you have a broody and you are not planning on giving her eggs, she can be easy to break.

I have a small backyard flock and while they are definitely not cramped for space, they do not have a huge coop or acres to roam in and their coop is near to the house so any disharmony in the flock is probably more evident and more of a disruption than it would be if we were not all on a residential block together. Working from home also means that they can be a ‘constant’ for 14 or so hours a day if they are not happy and squabbling, I hear every argument.

As I mentioned, I love my broody’s and I am just sharing what little temper tantrum throwing princesses they are; not all broody’s come into that category

The 4 or so days of disruption and disharmony is not so bad when you factor it into the many, many, many, hours of joy they bring and laughter and smiles they cause.

 

[appps]

Yes, I don't see them going broody, they are way too keen on chasing me about for food to worry about sittin' on eggs.  

My new girls are araucana hybrids, one araucana/australorp and one crossed with light sussex.  I don't know what traits they'll display when they've grown up.   Hopefully not this "broody nonsense"

Time will tell. Australorps can be prone to broodiness depending on the strain.

I think once you get used to it it really stops being a problem. Penny was just broody, kept her off the nest for 3 days now she's not broody. Just something you do like feeding and cleaning them.

 

[appps]

Anybody else noticed an increase in hawk type birds overhead? Used to be I would see one every month or so (not nescesarrily at my house) lately I'm seeing one every few days to a week. Not sure if there are more about or I'm just getting used to picking them so they catch my eye better.

 

[satay]

While on the subject of broody’s .. they have actually calmed down a little today and are locked out on supervised free range with the rest of the flock.  While they are going back for the occasional peep into the locked coop, they are not quite so frantic about it and easily distracted.

Hopefully not long now …… 

Potato chip most commercial layers do not go broody as it has been bred out of them and they are bred specifically for egg laying.  Not all breeds go broody; I just happen to have the breeds that do    and yep, I have some princesses and their chickenality has a lot to do with it.  KiKi is not even 12 months old yet and this is the second time she has been broody while her hatch sister, Crystal, has never been broody.

Multiple broodys is common; at least here where I think it is contagious 

Yes people who have never had pekins would not understand their need to mother. I have quite a few and like teilas they are forever broody. Lucky they are cute i tell them. They are none to cute when broody though. Mine would happily take your eyes out if they could while broody but then return to the sweet ladies they are once not. I think last count i have my trio that have the two babies with them now and 6 other broody pekins. A few have quit but most are stili hard at it. My blue marans girl has been broody forever as well.

 

[satay]

Absolutely ! Certain breeds are more prone to go broody, silkies and Cochins are at the top of that list. Isa Browns are hybrids , specifically bred to not go broody.

Yes agree and my aussies are forever broody it seems too. I have 2 in time out right now.

 

[Teila]

Hey there appps, can’t say that I have noticed. Having said that, I do not stray too far from home so unless they are circling above our place, which is extremely rare (I think I have seen one in 5-6 years) not much chance of me seeing them.

 

[satay]

Anybody else noticed an increase in hawk type birds overhead? Used to be I would see one every month or so (not nescesarrily at my house) lately I'm seeing one every few days to a week. Not sure if there are more about or I'm just getting used to picking them so they catch my eye better.

Thankfully i have not seen any increase here either, We have huge eagles just down the highway as there is a meat works. They look stunning in the trees there but thankfully they don't venture up this way.

 

[appps]

Maybe they have always been here and I'm just getting better at spotting them. Saw one yesterday circling a backyard while out doing some driving practice with our L plater and one the day before circling a different yard on the way to town and one about 4 days ago on the way to my mums on the other side of town.

 

[User395221]

if you do want to have chicks and you have a good broody, they do most (if not all) of the work.

Also, a mother hen with her chicks is a beautiful thing to watch. She is so very proud, patient and dedicated. The bond between mother and chick is adorable.

I'd love to have chicks, but that isn't going to happen. I'm in the suburbs and have a quota of 6 hens (filled). I couldn't give anyone away and I am too much of a sooky la-la to cope with having to send any boys away to "not be pets".

I love seeing the mums with babies. A friend lived out of town where it's rural zoning, she had silkie chickens with babies. They were so adorable following her about everywhere. Mum would get very "look, admire, but don't you be coming near my babies, thank you very much". That's why I was going all "sooky" over not being able to let the broody chooks have babies. It is so "sweet".
Quote: It could be that you have some who've got their home near your place. I've got "my" crows. They live somewhere around here (perhaps the BIG nest in the tree over the back is theirs, I don't know.) They don't travel in to get the "goodies" in my backyard, they are locals. I also have local pigeons and there are a couple of lorikeets in that tree over the back as well. If those ones you've been seeing are "neighbours" that could be why you are spotting them a lot.

 

[appps]

It is for a while @PotatoChip but it's short lived. Now my silkies chick from last year pecks and chases her lol. Teenagers huh ;-)

We have been lucky here. The council has lots of information on distances from neighbours and all that but nowhere does it say in the two page poultry requirements how many we can keep. I'm guessing it's because we are a city with a rural background so nobody has thought to amend that bit