I raise all of my chicks with broody hens. I find Asil are the best. Any Asian game is good, except for the really big ones like shamo. The American or OEG are good, just too flighty for my liking. I can count on mine to the extent of making arrangements to order in eggs for them to set. Like clockwork, start young and you might get 15 years out of them. They do multiple broods per year, most of mine will do three. Big enough to cover large clutches of large eggs. They don't tolerate snakes, cats or rats messing with their eggs or brood and will make most dogs think twice. They can do wonders finding food for the chicks in a free range environment. If you cross them with a large dual purpose breed, they make for some super free range broilers with plump breasts. (Asil were the well that the Cornish was drawn from, in regards to meaty breasts.)
I always heard Cochins were good, I raised them for several years and never had one that I would consider reliable, as in order Cemani eggs and shove them under a broody hen reliable. I would put eggs under my Asils and expect better results than an incubator. They are affected in no way by power outages or bad thermostats.
) Cochins (same breed as Pekins in the USA) are also excellent brooders.
