Barred rocks. Broody or not??

[Charlieharper1990]

Can anyone help me out here or shed there wisdom or opinion with me on if they have had any luck with there barred rocks going broody. Had that been bred almost completely out of these chickens or is there a good chance out of my 4 hens I may have atleast 1 go broody. Thanks so much guys. Newbie here!!

 

[Dawnclucks22]

Only my bantam has ever gone broody and I don't think I've heard of one going broody... but I'd wait for some other replies

 

[chickenluver10]

I've had a broody Buff Orpington, she came out of it on her own though. Are you trying to get her to break out of it, or hatch chicks, or just want some info? I have no barred rocks, so i am not sure if they go broody. is she in the nest box constantly?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Can anyone help me out here or shed there wisdom or opinion with me on if they have had any luck with there barred rocks going broody. Had that been bred almost completely out of these chickens or is there a good chance out of my 4 hens I may have atleast 1 go broody. Thanks so much guys. Newbie here!!

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Yes, it's possible for one of you Rocks to go go broody. No matter how many times people say such and such breed isn't broody... I've seen that breed be broody, hatch and raise chicks. Including white leghorn and sex links!

That being said, I have had hatchery Barred Rocks in my flock for a while. And yes one out of three of those ladies did go broody (during her second year), sit for a while and happily raise a clutch of 9 adopted Marans chicks! And she was a GREAT mama, never left anyone behind... though she didn't quite pull enough feed out of the feeder for all the babies. I just helped by making sure there was extra in their reach. If I'm not mistaken, she might have even tried being broody a second time after raising that clutch. But with too much broodiness and WAY too much chicken math going on at my place, she went to a new home.

IMO you are more likely to get a broody lady if you provide the right nutrition. Which IMO does NOT mean 16% layer feed for Rocks which are a dual purpose breed and not a light bodied, prolific layer breeds. I feed 20% protein flock raiser with oyster shell on the side. I do this also because I have chicks, juveniles, molters, roosters, broody's and layers in my flock most of the time. More protein has also been shown to give better hatches and chick vitality after hatch which to me says better egg nutrition for my family. Note the link I'm using has a misprint in one of the tables that says 5-17% and should say 15-17%....
http://ucanr.edu/sites/poultry/files/186894.pdf

Anything above 30% long term can be detrimental to health.

Also, a hen will go broody even if you collect eggs everyday. Adequate nutrition, space, and security are your friends. Beyond that it's completely hormonal.

I used to think I would never be lucky enough to get a broody. Now when I get a broody I'm like ! Too many broody's... and they won't lay eggs while they sit 3 weeks and another 6-8 weeks for brooding, and even another 2 weeks after booting the babes before I start to see eggs again sometimes. So 12-16 weeks at my place is a long time. No eggs for eating or hatching. And beware, broodiness can be contagious! I keep other non broody girls so we can still have eggs. And note broody's will not usually be friendly towards you OR teach their chicks to like you.

And most of all, you need to have a contingency plan for any cockerels you hatch. 80% is my usual rate of boys! Adopting sexed chicks from the feed store/hatchery is good way to avoid that issue (usually). Boys mature faster and start trying to mate earlier, so I recommend a separation plan by 12 weeks old at the latest.

Sorry so much info!

Short answer is... Yes, a barred rock CAN go broody!

 

[junebuggena]

I've never had any of mine go broody (I've had 8 of them).

 

[SethJ]

I've had barred rocks in my flock for the past 8 years or so,....

never had any of them go broody

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't have barred rocks so no personal experience. If you read enough threads on here you can find a lot of barred rocks that have gone broody, so it is possible. But they don't have a reputation for going broody a whole lot. They are better than some but worst than others. With four I'd say your odds of getting a broody hen are not that great. The only way you can control hatching is to get an incubator. I prefer my broodies.

If you ever get one to go broody try to hatch her eggs and save your replacements from her. That way you can greatly improve your chances of getting broody hens in the future. Broodiness can be bred into your flock as well as out of it. But even this will probably require and incubator.

 

[chickens really]

My Friend had one Barred Rock go Broody but was not a Hatchery Hen...came from a Broody Momma..

 

[SethJ]

In general,..I think like this...


My barred rocks,..production reds,..rhode island reds,...are all egg production birds. Most never or seldom go broody buy lay nearly year round.

My Cornish X....strickly meat birds,...never go broody..

My Buff Orphs,...lay pretty good until winter,...start back in spring,..but frequently go broody.

So you see I get certain breeds with a specific purpose in mind. Most chickens arent good at everything. They generally have an "area of expertise" lol

I even have a bunch of mix-breed i dunno what they are's that lay pretty good,...go broody,...and could be slaughtered if I needed to...

I'm not sure there is a DO-ALL chicken that really excels at everything. Dunno

 

[Molpet]

Last year I got 2 BR from Big R which uses townline hatchery.. one hasn't gone broody and the other hatched chicks on Halloween last year and labor day this year.